Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 191

Summary - Essay Example Most reviewers have given positive comments about the film and commended it as a classic production. The plot is cast deep in the Chechen Mountains in a war environment. While on war duty, Russian soldiers get ambushed by a group of rebels. A fight ensues between the two groups which ends in the death of all the Russian soldiers save for two; Sasha and Vanya. The two of them get taken captive by the rebels who subject them to a situation where they have to cope with cross cultural and civilization differences. Notably, Sasha is and old soldier while Vanya is merely a new recruit. Perhaps it is this difference that makes them bear differences in preferences and characteristic traits. While the former works on a plan of escaping, the latter instead develops an approach of attempting to please his captors in one way or the other. While Sasha remains extremely cynical, Vanya gets portrayed as gawky and Naà ¯ve. In the Caucasus where they are captured, Islam is the main religion. As a result, they both have to cope with Islamic tendencies. They get chained together and have to live as one almost all through. This forces the two into developing a comradely bond and the warmth of support for one another. Specifically, the young soldier begins to develop emotions and feelings for their captor’s daughter which makes him warmer to the family as opposed to his counterpart. Apparently, the daughter of their captor also gets touched by Vanya’s kindness and warmth; a point that makes her risk the wrath of her father by extending a warm and helping hand to the former. The reason for keeping the soldiers captive is the hope of a possible swap between the rebels and the Russian Soldiers. Apparently, the Russian soldiers also hold the son of the chief captor hostage. The major themes portrayed in the film include pessimism, disillusionment, war, despair, and extreme cases

Cultural Competence Essay Example for Free

Cultural Competence Essay Cultural and linguistic competence in nursing can be defined as a set of related behaviors and attitudes that integrate together within a healthcare system or institution and among the professionals that work within the system or institution with the purpose of enabling effective and efficient delivery of health services in cross-cultural scenario (Jeffreys, 2006). Below is a brief description of the eight principles of cultural competence: †¢ Broadly defining culture This involves identifying the other factors besides race, language and ethnicity that determine an individual’s sense of awareness in relation to other people (HRSA, 2001). This is because health services are delivered to an individual, and group characteristics may not be a reflection of a person’s attitudes and life experiences (Lundy Janes, 2003). †¢ Valuing Clients’ Cultural beliefs This involves caregivers or professionals in healthcare sufficiently learning the attitudes, knowledge and belief of their target population regarding healthcare and applying what is learned for the delivery of culturally competent care (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Recognizing complexity in Language interpretation This is identifying any hindrances to effective communication and targeted group due to language differences; and laying down strategies to address the same (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Facilitating learning between caregivers and communities This is the creation of environments under which caregivers can learn about the beliefs and attitudes of the targeted cultural group and their impact on healthcare; while the targeted community learns more about how healthcare works (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Involving the community in the defining and addressing healthcare needs This is getting the community to fully participate in the formulation of health policies in the system that serves them so that managed care can be fully culturally competent (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Collaborating with other agencies This is forging working alliances with groups that are familiar with the needs of the targeted community to boost the chances of delivering culturally competent services (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Professionalizing staff hiring and training This is setting cultural competence standards for new caregivers getting into the system; and continually training serving staff in emerging standards of cultural competence (HRSA, 2001). †¢ Institutionalizing cultural competence This is making cultural competence standards an integral part of healthcare planning and optimizing hiring, training and funding to meet these standards (HRSA, 2001). In conclusion, the above principles are very vital to the delivery of holistic healthcare services for healthcare professionals working in cultures different from them (Lundy Janes, 2003). ? References Health Resources and Services Administration, HRSA (2001). Cultural Competence Works. Retrieved on 14/5/2010from ftp://ftp. hrsa. gov/financeMC/cultural-competence. pdf Jeffreys, M. R. (2006). Teaching Cultural Competence in Nursing and Health Care: Inquiry, Action and Innovation. Springer. Lundy, K. S. Janes, S. (2003). Essentials of Community-based Nursing. Jones Bartlett.

Free College Essays - Religious Symbols and Symbolism in Sweat :: Hurston Sweat Essays

Religious Symbolism in "Sweat" Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" is a short story rich in moral and religious parallels. This story is about a common African- American working woman in the deep South and how she clings to her faith in God to see her through the hardships caused by her faithful and abusive husband. Throughout this story there is religious symbolism that characterizes Delia and Sykes Jones as two people on opposite ends of the moral spectrum yet bound by marital vows that have lost their meaning. Delia Jones is a hard working woman who uses her faith in God to guide and protect her from her husband's relentless physical and emotional abuse. From the very beginning, Delia represents diligence in work, humbleness, and saintly virtue. This protagonist is depicted as physically feeble yet spiritually strong. Diametrically opposite to Delia's character is her husband Sykes. Sykes Jones seems to oppose Delia in his every word and action. He is physically abusive toward his wife, non-virtuous in that he is adulterous, and he takes advantage of Delia's hard work by spending the money that she makes on his lover. While Sykes is physically strong and has no virtue or faith in God, Delia's strength lies in her religion and humble tolerance of her husband which proves, in the end, prevalent over his brute strength and abusive attitude. Certain objects and situations in the story suggest the influence of religion. The white clothes Delia washes in the story are symbolic of her character. White represents her virtue and saintly tendencies as she humbly tolerates Sykes' torment. The religious association of snakes and evil is prevalent in two instances in this story. Sykes at one point uses a whip to scare Delia by rubbing it on her and making her think it was a snake. Also, later in the story, Sykes places a real snake just outside the door of their house for the sole purpose of scaring Delia. These two examples could be seen as a biblical allusion as in the story of Adam and Eve when Satan took the form of a snake. The symbolism of snakes in "Sweat" subtly and cleverly illustrates Sykes as being an evil antagonist character. The pattern of good vs.

The History Boys Comedy Essay

The History Boys Essay 13. â€Å"Brilliantly funny†¦. but by the end, tears are as near as laughter. † To what extent can we read The History boys as comedy? One of the key factors that makes the History Boys such an iconic play is its witty comedic effect throughout the entire book. Using various techniques, such as parody, contrasting characters and clever juxtapositions within the plot, intelligent metaphors, bathos and many more.But at first glance the history boys could seem a typical dramatic themed book with a group of characters restricted almost entirely to a single location and a short period of time however looking deeper into the play you begin to notice the comedy reveal before your eyes. Within Hector’s French lesson, the juxtaposition of Hector’s character immediately contrasts that of the headmasters as soon as he walks in.Hector’s strangeness and open-minded character contrasted with the headmaster’s strict adherence to rules, regulations and formality with Hector interrupting the headmaster’s dialogue â€Å"Mr Hector, I hope I’m not. . . † with the informal gesture that is â€Å"an admonitory finger. † The use of the â€Å"admonitory† there comically reverses the power balance between the two characters, with Hector playfully showing that he has authority in his lessons, much to the shock of the headmaster who feels both humiliated and challenged enough to try and speak French and keep up with the students.The Headmaster finds difficulty in speaking French, having to hesitate and show non- fluency features in â€Å"Pourqoui cet garcon . . . Dakin , isn’t it? . . .est sans ses trousers? † having to switch back to English with simple words â€Å"trousers† for lack of knowledge showing low confidence which brings amusement to the boys and to the audience. The headmaster is a subject of mockery because of his unlikable character.This unlikable character is emphasised later in the book with the Headmaster using the word â€Å"silliness† to describe the exercise that Hector had made the boys take part in and then taking back what he had said, saying â€Å"not silliness† showing that he is hypocritical with what he says to the boys in order to encourage them with their studies, which he only says to allow himself to have his school higher up in the league tables â€Å"Yes, yes. I know that, Dorothy. But I am thinking league tables. Furthermore the fact the French scene is allowed to go ahead in lessons demonstrates the boys and Hector are willing to cheekily challenge and mock authority figures with their intelligence, all knowing French to a better degree than the Headmaster. The use of â€Å"ma tante! † creates bathos for the pretend character with â€Å"tante† showing desperation for ideas to keep the lie going. The following questioning â€Å"sa tante? † by the Headmaster and Timms’ repl y of â€Å"la famille entiere† as if the headmaster missed something embarrassingly obvious adds to the comedy because the boys team up with each other to justify and ridicule the headmaster.Irwin’s unexpected input of â€Å"Il est commotionne, peut-etre? † is another example of Bennett’s clever character juxtapositions but also of using unexpected events to contrast what was being done before it, with the stage directions of â€Å"the classroom falls silent† suggesting that the boys’ found it rude and out of place for Irwin to but in. The language â€Å"fall silent† contrasts with the hectic and the loud situation that occurred before it, using Irwin’s awkwardness to change the tone of the scene. Hector not knowing what the word means and using the interrogative â€Å"comment? † adds to this awkwardness.There are many important scenes throughout this book where you can feel the comedy seeping through even though some ma y say it shouldn’t be used while writing about certain topics, including the scene in which Hector and the Head master are discussing the matter of â€Å"a man†¦fiddling. † In this scene I really agree with the question in whether the history boys is seen as a comedy as you can’t help but thinking Bennet may have used some of the characters personality traits to bring a humorous feel to a dark subject but not to make an audience laugh out loud necessary but instead to make them feel uncomfortable with inappropriate laughter. Ah think† Hector once again in the book uses his quick wit and intelligence to frustrate the headmaster giving a sarcastic response to a question the headmaster clearly wants answering and for him not to use his poetry and intelligence to get him out of a situation as he normally would do so. â€Å"I have no idea. What women know or don’t know has always been a mystery to me. † using the word women hector tries to re late to the audience and make a remark about men and women in general, suggesting that does any man know what women do or don’t know which may have been intended to make the audience laugh and leave them wondering hy Hector isn’t taking this matter seriously and is instead making jokes, showing how time and having a modern audience viewing this brings shock to us as issues such as this would been taking much more seriously and probably involved police but the headmaster is more worried about how the school may come across if he has to fire Hector then the actual behaviour that he has displayed â€Å" I do not want to sack you. It’s so untidy. The use of historically details of a war battle is another way Bennett creates humour in the play but is also Bennet showing off how the boys will use their intelligence in almost all situations even sex, using â€Å"around 23:00 hours our forces withdrew† as metaphorical euphemisms for Dakin’s activities wit h Fiona, here bennet uses contrast in showing the not so exciting historical details with the exciting details of his own sex life. Bathos is applied when Dakin breaks off from his metaphor and uses the word â€Å"tits† and then cuts back into using his military jargon such as â€Å"front-line troops† and â€Å"territory. As Dakin goes further and further into detail Scripps makes a final comment on the matter â€Å"I can’t take any more. Enough† adds a final touch of humour to the matter as the audience can tell that Scripp’s is both jealous and disgusted at what he is hearing. Also highlighting the fact that he is deeply religious but also a teenager and the contradiction between the two of wanting to have sex and not wanting to displease God by doing so. The use of a historical metaphor is showing just how the boys will use anything that they can to make an intelligent joke.One of the history boy’s many strengths is its portrayal of the various individuals in the play. Using extremely contrasting personalities emphasizes the individuality and purpose of each character. One character that specifically stands out is Dakin, possibly the most socially dominant boy of the class and one of the most comical characters, helping the history boys to be seen as a comedy rather then a drama. Dakin is popular boy in his class, even in the whole school. He is, extremely witty.He is the most complicated and mysterious character throughout the play and only shows what’s on the surface, he does not show his emotions but his main purpose is to use his wit and desire to entertain and amuse the people around him. Even Mrs. Lintott says that he is â€Å". † Instead of being bad or naughty like normal teenagers, he plays with others and tests the people around him to create a comedic effect. We can see it through his â€Å"love† story. Even though he has a relationship with Fiona, a chool staff, he flirts with Irwin for he thinks that Irwin might be homosexual and would like to go out having some drink with him he might be bisexual yet, he does that just for fun, just for saying thank to Irwin, and just for answering his curiosity about Irwin’s way of life. There is also another funny scene later on in the play where the boys receive a piece of work from Irwin. Dakin is annoyed to find he hasn’t receives a good mark off his teacher which he longs to impress.Scripps comments on how his writing has changed to be like Irwin’s, Dakin denies it but then Posner, who has always had a crush on him, says â€Å"you copy him and I know because I copy you. † It shows another comedic moment in the book because it shows how Posner’s complete obsession with Dakin And how the other boys can just dismiss this behaviour as normal to them suggesting that the environment they grow up in has a lot of unusual behaviour in it.This is fundamentally a very funny book. The level of qu ickness of wit displayed definitely suggest that the history boys is a comedy with no doubt and that Bennets main aim was to show the lifestyle of A level adolescents making their final steps to adulthood before university with many serious and controversial subjects throughout using humour to allow these matters to be downplayed and create a fascinating and a memorable book. WORD COUNT : 1499 (minus the title and question quote)

Chinese Views on Death and Dying Essay

Chinese religion and strict cultural beliefs are inseparable from the death rites performed. Many different names for death are scattered throughout Chinese history, including an ideogram that depicts a person kneeling in front of their ancestor’s bones 1. In Chinese culture, death rites are intricate and well thought out works on preparing one for the afterlife and rebirth. Chinese funeral rites have strict guidelines as to where the rites are to be performed, how the rites are performed (ritual bathing of the corpse), the dress of the attendees and the dead, the transfer of material goods on Earth to the dead, acknowledgement of the deceased and the actual burial of the body. All these sacred rites are performed by specialists (usually priests or otherwise) who are paid by the deceased’s family members. Death rituals carry on long after the burial of the body in terms of grieving for the dead. These rites include returning to the burial site on specific dates to mourn, perform yuan-fen (a symbolic act in which the burial site is rounded off with dirt to give it a nice and proper shape) and burning of incense and earthly offerings 2. Attitudes and beliefs on death and the afterlife are quite the same among the Chinese people of the late Imperial Chinese culture and the Chinese culture of today. The continuing traditions of the ritualistic burials sheds light on one way a society can be linked culturally. 1. T.C. Lai â€Å"To The Yellow Springs: The Chinese View of Death† (17) Hong Kong: Joint Publbishing Co. and Kelly & Walsh, 1983 2. Watson, James L. and Evelyn L. Rawski â€Å"Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China† (12-15) Berklely: University of California Press, 1988 Different cultures harbor different views on death and dying, and it is important to understand the significance of these contrasting elements of other cultures and our own. The Chinese cultures do not see death as something shy away from, but rather it is a part of life that is revered. Death is such a scared step that it embodies many different characters for definition such as ni 3a and qi shi 3b. The transition from being a mortal and alive and being deceased is very important to the Chinese. The Chinese  have a strict set of funeral rites that must be followed completely in order for the transition between this world and the world after death to be smooth- the rites are so embedded in culture and rich with rules that there is even a set time for certain levels of grievances. Death rites are often followed by a series of mourning sessions over the year. However, death rituals for those higher up in society, of course, differ from those of the common man. James L. Watson states that â€Å"To be Chinese is to understand, and accept the view, that there is a correct way to perform rites associated with the life-cycle, the most important being weddings and funerals. By following accepted ritual routines ordinary citizens participated in the process of cultural unification.† 4 and with this in mind we can begin to understand the reason why the Chinese abode by such rigid structure for the burial of a deceased person. The structure that was imposed on the people of China was embraced because it brought everyone together. 3. T.C. Lai â€Å"To the Yellow Springs: The Chinese View of Death† (18) Hong Kong: Joint Publbishing Co. and Kelly & Walsh, 1983 4. Quote from: Watson, James L. â€Å"Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China† The Structure of Chinese Funerary Rites: Elementary Forms, Ritual Sequence, and the Primacy of Performance (3) The sequence in which the ritual is performed is laid out perfectly and begins with public notification that a death has occurred. As soon as a death has occurred women in the presence of the death must announce the death by wailing at the top of her lungs, such wailings, as documented by Watson were not voluntary. Along with the informal announcement of death was a formal one where white banners and blue lanterns are placed around the abode and along the doorway. Some of the formal notices were voluntary in part of China, whereas in some parts they were also mandatory. Not much unlike Western culture, different colors hint to a time of mourning. Instead of wearing black (like in Western cultures), those who are mourning  the deceased in China are seen wearing white clothes, shoes and cloaks that are usually made out of sackcloth or hemp. Although mourning colors differ in different parts of China, white is the universal color of mourning for the Chinese. These mourning clothes are usually ragged, unbleached, unhemmed and white. 5 The corpse must go through a series of cleansings and blessings before it is allowed to be buried. A ritualized bathing of the corpse is required before it goes on to the next step in the rites. In south China the water is not gathered by the family themselves, but rather, bought from a deity of a sacred well. This particular rite is called mai-shui or roughly translated, â€Å"buying water†. There are 5. Jones, Constance R.I.P. The Complete Book Of Death And Dying New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997 (Pg. 163)  several ways the corpse is cleansed–from scrubbing with the water bought, or a  gentle dab on the forehead with the sacred water. Along with the cleaning is the  donning of new clothes on the corpse. The next step in the funerary rites would be the transfer of material goods to the dead. Things like paper clothes, cardboard houses, furniture and servants and other things the dead might need in the afterlife would be transferred into the world of the dead by burning them in a big pot. Food was presented as an offering to the deceased and afterwards, the mourners would partake in the food. 6 Food is an integral part of Chinese tradition and culture, especially with the ritualized steps of burial. Stuart E. Thompson says that, â€Å"To be Chinese is to perform Chinese ritual and vice-versa; to be Chinese is also to eat Chinese-style food with Chinese-style implements.† It is explained that the  food used in the rites are to transform a corpse into an ancestor. Food is a centerpiece in the ritual more than once. 1. Foods are presented as soon as the person dies and once again during the ceremonial coffining of the body. Rice is a crucial part of Chinese diet and rice balls and other food products (roast pork and such) are usually placed on top of his/her coffin to accompany the dead on their journey. Parts of the ceremony are used to separate the living from the dead, for instance, the breaking of bowls to break the ties between the dead and his/her descendants. After the breaking of the bowls, the 6. Watson, James L. â€Å"The Structure of Chinese Funerary Rites† from Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China. (12-13)  family members must insure that the deceased does not return upset, so  the belongings of the deceased must be symbolically distributed among his/her heirs using the food on top of the coffin. 2. After the coffining of the body, food is presented to the coffin at least twice a day by the daughter-in-law of the deceased. These offerings are made until the coffin is buried. Sometimes, the offerings continue even after burial. 3. A farewell feast is giving either the day before, or on the day of the burial. This tradition is to ensure that transformation from being deceased into an ancestor is complete. Prized offerings consist of either pig heads or whole pigs along with rice. Along with the farewell feast for the deceased, some offerings are given to hungry ghosts whom would usually steal from the deceased on his/her journey. 4. Wine, usually rice wine, is poured into three cups for the dead on the burial grounds. This is the last rite before the body passes on to become an ancestor. 5. Food is presented again after the burial when everyone returns to the home where the ceremony began. Ancestral tablets (explained further in this paper) are then set on specially built alters or mantles. (My own family has the ashes of the deceased on a mantle in which food is presented to them at every meal) 7 7. Thompson, Stuart E. â€Å"Death, Food, And Fertility† from Death Ritual in the Late Imperial and Modern China. (75-76) Soul tablets are made for the deceased (except for children and unknown people) as a symbol of a part of their soul. These soul tablets are made by ritual specialists and are placed either on an alter (of those who are married) or in temples, specified institutions or covenants for a fee (for unwed women). These tablets were very important to the rites of the dead. A written Chinese name was required for these tablet, hence the reason why unknown strangers could not receive one. The dead were not recognized by any materialistic idol or pictures, but only by their written Chinese name. Music was also an integral part of the burial sequence. There were two different kinds of sounds that were used to either ward off evil spirits or aid the passing of the soul. High-pitched piping and drumming were the two common sounds heard during burial rites. These sounds are usually played during transitions in the ritual, usually when physical movement of the corpse is taking place. Music is also played during the sealing of the corpse. The Chinese found that this is the most important feature of all the different acts. The coffins made of wood have been with the Chinese since the Neolithic. Again, paid specialists are the ones who make sure the corpse is stationary within the coffin. They secure the lid on with nails and caulking compounds to be sure that the coffin is airtight. The nailing of the coffin is the most important part of the whole ritual. The hammering is usually done by the main mourner or by an invited guest who holds a high social status. The final sequence is the removal of the coffin from the village. However, this  last rite does not need to be performed immediately. It is actually a sign of respect for the  coffin to be kept close to the family over a long period of time. But of course, there comes a time when the coffin must leave the hands of the living. 8 Those who are relatively wealthy will be able to carry out every burial rite with the assistance of a burial specialist. Watson explains that, â€Å"The ethnographic evidence suggests that, among the Cantonese, there is a hierarchy of specialists ranked according to the relative exposure to the pollution of death. This hierarchy also reflects the standards of skill, training, and literacy required to carry out ritual tasks† (Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China. 109) The highest ranking specialist is the Geomancer (a person who has the ability to foretell the future by using signs from the earth) whose work demands high levels of skill and literacy. Next in line are priests who receive their knowledge through years of apprenticeship. Priests are moderately literate in order to perform mortuary rites. Those who rank below priests are usually illiterate, mainly because their line of work usually does not require any reading or skill. These specialists range from pipers, nuns, musicians, and overall helpers. There are also helpers who rank even lower than those below priests and these are the corpse handlers. Corpse handlers’ tasks involve washing the corpse, dressing the corpse and arranging the corpse in the coffin, and finally carrying the coffin to its burial ground, digging the grave, and disposing items that are directly associated with the corpse 9. Corpse handlers are of the lowest ranking ritual specialists because they are deemed as highly polluted by death and are set apart from the other specialists. 8. Watson, James L. Death Rituals in Late Imperial and Modern China (12-15) 9. Watson, James L. â€Å"Funeral Specialists in Cantonese Society: Pollution, Performance, and Social Hierarchy† Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China (109-110) Along with the ritual sequence come the many names for death. As  explained before, the earliest concept of death was characterized as a person kneeling before his ancestor’s bones. The deaths of people of different ranks in society are characterized differently from one another. The death of sovereign is called beng ,which comes from the sound of a large building collapsing. The death of a prince is called hong (the sound of something breaking), a government minister’s death is called cu (â€Å"the end†), and that of an official is called bu lu (meaning: ending the enjoyment of emolument), however, the death of a common person is less extravagant–si simply means â€Å"to expire†. Just like the many characters there are for the people who pass away, there are many characters for the ways people can die, for example, death from old age is called shou zhong which translates to â€Å"the termination of longevity†, which death while young is ca lled yao which means â€Å"breaking in mid-journey†. 10 With the different ways they have to describe death in one or two words, it is hard not to notice that the Chinese are very much interested in the process of death. In China, the spring time is time for purification and regeneration. The Spring Festival is held every spring and it is very important to the comfort of the dead. During the festival, descendants will visit graves of their ancestors to honor  and care for the burial ground and body it incases. Prayers and sacrifices are made to the dead during that time and the act of â€Å"saluting the tomb† is practiced. 10. Text adapted from To the Yellow Springs: The Chinese View of Death by T.C. Lai. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Co. and Kelly & Walsh. (1983) (Text 18) â€Å"Saluting the tomb† is an act where red-colored rice and peeled eggs, which are symbolic of the saying â€Å"old gives way to the new†, are placed on top of the burial ground. November is the month that harbors Ghost Day celebrations. Ghost day is a special day where people burn paper money as  offerings to their ancestors. Another day of celebration is the Winter Dress Festival where paper clothes and such are burned for their ancestors, again this holiday is celebrated in October and November 11. These celebrations do not directly pertain to spirits who are in a state of unrest. In China a ghost, a male ghost is called kuei while the female is called yao, is a spirit whose death was either very unusual or very violent criminal act. The Chinese are extremely superstitious. It is said that ghosts linger relatively close to the location of their death. For example, Ghosts of thieves would sometimes be seen close to the area of their execution. Another common superstition (one that was also taught to me) was that if a pregnant woman were to walk past a spot where a person has died, that spirit would attempt to expel the child’s soul and replace it with its own to be reborn 12. Anniversary ghosts also exist in Chinese culture. Anniversary ghosts are essentially ghosts who appear on the anniversary of their death to re-enact the scene. The only way this can be stopped is if someone dies in its place on that same day, the same way, in the same spot so that the soul that is tr apped and doomed to repeat its painful death will be released. Unfortunately, the person who has died in their place will be doomed to repeat his 11. Jones, Constance The Complete Book of Death and Dying (135) 12. Jones, Constance The Complete Book of Death and Dying (129)  or her death, unless a specialist performs a ritual to set the spirit free. One can already tell that the Chinese have great respect for the dead and their ancestors. Chinese attitudes and beliefs about death are influenced by Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism 13. â€Å"If one does not know life,  how can he begin to know death.† Confucius (Fig. 1) The Chinese honors the dead regularly by presenting offerings and prayers since they believe that these practices push forth the sense that death occurs all the time and that it should be accepted into daily life. 13. Jones, Constance R.I.P. The Complete Book of Death and Dying (12) 14. Figure 1 is from T.C. Lai To The Yellow Springs (14) NOTE! Blank Spaces are for images taken from books. Be sure to add corresponding images to this essay.

Emotive language Essay Example

Emotive language Essay Example Emotive language Paper Emotive language Paper The two texts look at the event from opposite viewpoints. Of the two I thought that the language used in the first article was more shocking and made the event sound devastating and more like a disaster compared to the way in which the event was described in the second article. One of the main reasons it sounded more realistic and shocking was because statistics were used to show the readers just how bad the disaster really was. Another reason I think that the first article was particularly effective because it uses words such as emergency, critical, salvage and disaster. Words like these are effective because they are examples of emotive language. They appeal to the readers emotions and make them think that the situation is urgent and that the animals are in great danger. This encourages the readers to help, which is the aim of the WWF (as they say in the last paragraph in bold). The overall effectiveness of this article is very good, though when I read the last paragraph it made me think differently because the WWF sound like they are using the disaster for advertising purposes. The second article was trying to convince the reader that the disaster was not so bad. This article did not succeed in convincing me of this though. The writer of this article tried to obviously turn it around and instead of making the disaster itself the subject of the article, they tried to make the beauty and power of mother nature the main subject of the article. Like the WWF fact sheet, this article also uses emotive language to persuade the reader, however the emotive language is used for the opposite reason. Instead of using it to show just how bad the disaster was, the writer uses it to say how the disaster wasnt that bad. Examples of the emotive language used are words such as, triumph, signs of hope and rebirth of beauty. These words didnt convince me though because the writer has an obviously biased view and to me it sounds as if this article is attempting to cover up the incident and make it sound as if it wasnt the fault of the oil tanker and the company behind it. I thought that the most effective and convincing article was the WWF fact sheet. The language in the text convinced me because the article was written very clearly with statistics and quotes to back up their points. Compared to the other article I thought this was better because instead of trying to cover up what happened the WWF article just gave the bare facts. The powerful emotive language also helped to convince me with words such as rapidly, critical and disaster.

Creating a Digital Scrapbook on Your Computer

Creating a Digital Scrapbook on Your Computer You probably use your computer to conduct a lot of your family history research, so why not use it to display the results? Digital scrapbooking, or computer scrapbooking, is simply scrapbooking with the aid of a computer. Going digital instead of the traditional scrapbook route means less money spent on supplies, and the ability to print out multiple copies of your beautiful scrapbook layouts. You can also display your work in the form of Web galleries to easily share with family and friends. In short, digital scrapbooking is a perfect medium for presenting and displaying your ancestors and their stories. Benefits of Digital Scrapbooking Most people first try digital scrapbooking by using their computer to create design elements they can then print, cut out, and use in their regular scrapbook pages. Computers are great for creating text for page headlines, photo captions, and journaling, for example. Computer clip art can be used to embellish traditional scrapbook pages. Most graphics software programs come with special effects to help you enhance your photos and pages with antique sepia tones, torn or burnt edges, and digital picture frames. When youre ready to go one step further, you can use your computer to create entire scrapbook pages. The page background, text, and other decorations are all arranged and formatted on the computer, and then printed out as a single page. Photographs can still be attached to the computer generated page in the traditional manner. Alternatively, digital photographs can be added to the scrapbook page on your computer, and the complete page, photographs and all, printed as a single unit. What You Need to Get Started If you already own a computer, youll only need a few basic supplies to get started with digital scrapbooking. Equipment/Software needed for Digital Scrapbooking: Digital Imaging Software, such as Jasc Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop ElementsPhotos in digital format, either scanned into your computer or imported from your cameraPhoto quality printer and photo paper to print out your scrapbook layouts or design elements (alternatively, you can have them printed at your local copy shop) Software for Digital Scrapbooking If youre new to digital photo editing and graphics, then it is often easiest to begin with a good computer scrapbooking program. These programs offer a wide variety of pre-made templates and elements that let you create beautiful scrapbook pages without a lot of graphics knowledge. Some of the most popular digital scrapbook software programs include Nova Scrapbook Factory Deluxe, LumaPix FotoFusion, and Ulead My Scrapbook 2. DIY Digital Scrapbooking For the more digitally creative, any good photo editor or graphics software program will allow you to create beautiful digital scrapbooks. This gives you the real hands-on experience from start to finish, as you can create your own background papers, design elements, etc. You can also use the same program to creatively crop and enhance your photos. Among the best graphics software programs for digital scrapbooking are Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro. For more on using your graphics software to create digital scrapbooks, see Beginners Reference to Digital Scrapbooking.

Definition and Meaning of Illiteracy

Definition and Meaning of Illiteracy Illiteracy is the quality or condition of being unable to read or write. Illiteracy is a major problem throughout the world. According to Anne-Marie Trammell, Worldwide, 880 million adults have been labeled as illiterate, and in the United States it is estimated that almost 90 million adults are functionally illiterate, that is to say that they do not have the minimal skills needed to function in society (Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, 2009). In England, says a report from the National Literacy Trust, Around 16 percent, or 5.2 million adults, can be described as functionally illiterate. They would not pass an English GCSE and have literacy levels at or below those expected of an 11-year-old (Literacy: State of the Nation, 2014).   Observations The subculture of illiteracy is larger than anyone on the outside would ever believe. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) conducted a study of illiteracy among adults in the United States in 2003, the results of which were released in December 2005. NAAL found that 43 percent of the total population aged 16 and older, or some 93 million people, ranked at the below-basic or basic level in their reading skills. Fourteen percent of the adult population had below-basic skills in reading and understanding prose texts, a percentage that was unchanged from 1992 when the first NAAL report was released.The gap between the 43 percent at below-basic and basic prose literacy and the 57 percent at intermediate and proficient raises the question: How can those at lower levels compete in a world that demands increasing literacy skills? Not surprisingly, the NAAL study found that among adults with below-basic prose literacy, 51 percent were not in the labor force.(John Corcoran, The Bri dge to Literacy. Kaplan, 2009) Illiteracy and the Internet As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading, diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.(Motoko Rich, Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? The New York Times, July 27, 2008) Literacy as  a Continuum of Skills Illiteracy has fallen from one in five people to almost nonexistent over a century and a bit. But illiteracy clearly isn’t a single on-or-off switch. It’s not just you can read and write or you can’t. Literacy is a continuum of skills. Basic education now reaches virtually all Americans. But many among the poorest have the weakest skills in formal English.That combines with another fact: more people are writing than ever before. Even most of the poor today have cell phones and internet. When they text or scribble on Facebook, they’re writing. We easily forget that this is something that farmhands and the urban poor almost never did in centuries past. They lacked the time and means even if they had the education.(Robert Lane Greene, Schotts Vocab Guest Post: Robert Lane Greene on Language Sticklers. The New York Times, March 8, 2011)

ECO202 CA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ECO202 CA - Essay Example It is during periods of recession, however, that terms fiscal and monetary policies can best be appreciated. Fiscal policy is the policy advocated by John Maynard Keynes while monetary policy, on the other hand, is advocated by Milton Friedman. According to basic economics, the obvious traceable cause of a recession is a poor level in aggregate demand. When we say aggregate demand, it is the total demand for all goods and services produced in a particular period. Of course needless to say, when no one is buying anything, who would want to produce more? What reason there is for an employer to hire working men to manufacture his product when no one after all is demanding for it? It will only bring him a loss instead of income. According to Keynes, during periods of recession, the government must enter the game and play a very critical role --- to stimulate overall aggregate demand (which is a deemed solution to the problem). The government must cut taxes and spend more on worthy projec ts to support the public needs and the business sector. When taxes are low and more government projects are in harmony with business’ goals and visions, more investors are being lured to invest, thereby solving unemployment problem. Now assuming the opposite is happening as in the case of an overheated expansion, the government still has a role to play. It has to tighten taxes and spend less to counter balance the effects of economic boom. Whether the government cut or tighten taxes, spend more or less, these actions simply refer to the government’s fiscal policy. Monetary policy on the other hand is another perceived solution to the problem of recession. As the word suggests, monetary policy has to do with interest rates and money --- production, supply and circulation of money. According to Milton Friedman, the proponent of monetary policy, the supply and circulation of money in the market has a greater impact on the economy more than anything else. During a period o f high unemployment the government must reduce the interest rate and increase the money supply. Likewise, when unemployment is low, the government has to raise interest rates and decrease the money in circulation. As compared to fiscal policy which is more of a function of the legislative branch of the government, take note that the implementation of monetary policies is vested in the hands of the Central Bank. They are independently implemented apart from fiscal policies of the government. 2. Compare and contrast the way Keynes and Friedman approach the economy. What are their key differences and similarities? John Maynard Keynes is a British economist who believes that the key to achieving a balanced economy, especially during a period of recession and economic downturn, is an effective government intervention that will cut on taxes and implement an expansionary fiscal policy (meaning, more government spending on worthy projects) or contractionary fiscal policy (increase in taxes and lesser government spending) as the case may be. Keynes’ economic framework focuses more on demand and spending. Absurd as it may sound but Keynes believed that spending, and not hoarding, helps the economy at large. The reason is that the spending of one person forms part of the income of another person, and when that person further spends his income, it forms part of the

Homework Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Homework - Term Paper Example Nevertheless world is going to need alternative energy sources sooner or later because of this reason the America has started a war against Iraq in the name of uprooting global terrorism. But in reality America wanted to get its hands of Iraqi oil fields. On the other hand US have indulged itself with a useless military confrontation in Afghanistan so that it can get near to the hot waters of Pakistan. The American nation is getting ready to fight a future war that will be fought on the water disputes. The western nations are increasingly concerned about the futuristic outlook of the world regarding energy production while under developed nations are not bothered by the griming condition of world’s most significant oil producing nations such as Saudi Arabia. Furthermore an interesting note has been shared by a research which conveyed that humanity is wasting two barrels of oil in order to extract a new one. The above mentioned statement pointed out to the fact that oil extract ion and refinement systems are not efficient because they are presently consuming more oil than their production, this is causing the net availability of oil products to decrease on a worldwide basis. Moreover oil producing companies are reportedly believed to have been involved in hindering the development of alternative energy sources because these projects can cut down oil producers’ margin for good. The supporters of alternative energy are considering battery power as a bailout for energy crisis of the world. Some of the pranks say that wind energy can save the world from acute lack of energy sources. But the problem is that all of the ideas are innovative but impractical at this time because they need financial muscle to prove their applicability on the vast scale. Yet the world’s oil supplies are going down this is a given and in the few years world will turn to renewable energy sources. Meanwhile the countries should enhance the efficiency of oil extracting and refinement processes in order to minimize the wastage of oil while it is being produced. In addition The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ ability to form an oligopoly should be minimized with the help of implementing stricter trade and commerce laws on oil business. The global oil regularity authorities are suggested to conduct an impartial assessment of current level of oil left in the earth. The oil producing corporations are also known to expedite oil extraction projects without the consent of surrounding population which causes a huge population displacement. These oil extraction processes are also notorious for causing immeasurable pollution and weakening the structural integrity of the ground that makes it prone towards experiencing seismic activities such as earthquakes of higher magnitude. The global political scenario is also playing a significant role in terms of not letting the alternative energy projects to propagate freely. But, they are advised to support these alternative energy ventures because they may represent humanity’s only chance against serious power shortage in the future. Finally if humanity fails to fight the threat of oil shortage then humans have to revert towards simpler existence that may include the use of horses as transportation mean and wood would be used to generate heat and cook food. Literature Review In the view of Dresselhaus & Thomson, (2001) world needs the alternative

Implications of Money Transfer Companies on the Global Economy Essay

Implications of Money Transfer Companies on the Global Economy - Essay Example It is in line to this argument that there has been needing to increase the access to international markets, all with the aim of ensuring that the business environments have been strengthened; thus, an increase in the access to international markets through an improvement in the access to funds. This has, in turn, opened up trade and investment in various areas of the globe (Geiersbach, 2010). This has been boosted by the developing international money transfer services that play a huge role in the present day business market. It is through these services that a lot of individuals have managed to send money faster and with a lot of ease despite their distance. With this in mind, it is evident that the money transfer business has contributed greatly to the global economy. This essay will attempt to assess the implications of the money transfer business on the economy of the globe in general. The essay shall focus on aspects such as Globalization, post-colonial theory, European Union, p rotectionism, corporate social responsibility and cross-cultural management in an attempt to understand the underlying issues on the same theme. 2.0. Money transfer companies and the global economy 2.1. ... Economic growth, on the other hand, can only be attested with an increase in the income of individuals, which alternatively helps in a reduction of the poverty levels in a country. In the developing countries, there is clear evidence that these countries can barely support their economies; thus, stagnant economic growth (Department for International Development  &  HM Treasury, 2013). Good examples of the challenges in these countries include the absence of institutions that support economic growth, poor infrastructure, lack of access to financial services amongst others (Department for International Development  &  HM Treasury, 2013). In such a scenario, individuals are less likely to borrow funds as well as invest. The Department for International Development  &  HM Treasury (2013) therefore recommends that the governments in these developing countries strengthen their business ties by enabling their members to join the international markets; thus, access to financial s ervices by its members. Opening up its trade links would alternatively ensure that such countries have access to international money transfer programs that sustain their trade links with other economic opportunities. International money transfers are more convenient and allow people to send money throughout the world in a faster way. These services enjoy an enrolment of numerous agents around the globe that require their services, including the third world countries that are able to access the funds they need to survive in the tough economic times.

Online Consumer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Online Consumer Behavior - Essay Example In the physical commercial world, the IT used for operations remains mostly in the background, invisible to the consumer. In e-commerce, however, the technology has been moved to the foreground and has become the store itself as a Web site. Such Web-based stores that use "networks and Internet technology for communications and transactions between various groups of stakeholders like businesses and consumers" have recently also been called Net-enabled organizations (NEOs). A key difference between online and offline consumer behavior is that the online consumer is generally more powerful, demanding, and utilitarian in her shopping expeditions. As a result, customer loyalty on the Web is low overall; although, as in the physical world, it is influenced by the availability of good, relevant content in an enjoyable context. Now that nearly all marketers have accepted that tapping a promotion's full potential requires strategically integrating the online and offline components, considering the differences between online and offline consumer behavior becomes important. Some professionals contend that these differences are enormous; a common refrain, for example, is that where consumer behavior offline is passive, the Web is all about engagement. But what those observers really are comparing is consumer behavior relative to advertising media; they're comparing how consumers interact with ads on television as compared with ads on the Internet. Where online and offline promotions are concerned, the differences are far less pronounced. In many cases, a Web site is really just a digitized retail store. Still, the simple insight that the exact same triggers motivate transactions both on- and offline has tended to become obscured amid the excitement accompanying the rise of online marketing. Promotions that focus on connecting the dots between in-store and online merchandising have, in fact, proved highly successful. Pepsi enjoyed runaway success with its E-Stuff promotion, which drove traffic from the store to the Web and back again. Simon Brand Ventures similarly fielded an online promotion that drove online shoppers to the company's malls, and mall shoppers to the Web. That's not to say that anyone who knows everything about offline promotions can consider himself armed and dangerous when it comes to online promotions. Some interesting, and sometimes surprising, trends and patterns have emerged with regard to online consumer behavior. One such interesting development concerns the profile of the online population: According to a recent newspaper report, the fastest-growing consumer segment on the Web is blue-collar workers---up 52% since spring 2001. A separate and somewhat contradictory report has it that seniors actually are the fastest-growing segment, even though 87% of people over age 65 don't yet have Web access. Meanwhile, a third survey found that online games, in particular, hold surprising appeal among older consumers. This survey discovered that 42% of frequent online garnets are over age 35, while just 30% are 18-to-35 years old. These groups have nowhere to go but up in terms of their online use; still, their growing ranks among the wired population point to as-yet uncharted opportunities for promotion marketers, and their online behavior bears watching. Plenty of opportunity remains among the younger set, to

Trucks Load Indicator also known by Electronic load indicator or Axle Research Paper

Trucks Load Indicator also known by Electronic load indicator or Axle load Indicator - Research Paper Example In addition, it is for this reason that several truck companies like Volvo, have embraced the use of axle load indicators in the trucks manufactured by their companies. Those who have been exposed to trucks will attest to the fact that they have axles. The number of the axles, however, varies depending on the truck with some of them having two axles whereas some have close to twelve axles. Overtime various stakeholders realized that there were several instances where the axles installed within the trucks were overloaded, and this always acted as a disadvantage for the truck (Butcher, 2005). To control the problem of weights, the stakeholders, came up with the axle load indicator and since then the original version has been altered with the aim of improving it. It is to this effect that several companies that produce axle load indicators like Airtec Corporation produce axle load indicators with optic switches. Some of the companies also produce axle load indicators, which contain rheostats instead of the normal electric switches. History, however, does not mention the exact individual who came up with the axle load indicator. Therefore, there is the need to appreciate the person because his invention has made handling the trailers much simple. For the axle load indicator to be operational, it has to be installed. It is far reaching to recognize the fact that the production companies have designed the axle load indicators in such a way that any able operator can do the installation (ARO, 2011). For surety reasons, however, there are dealers who deal specifically with the installation of the axle load indicators. The companies that do the production can as well avail their engineers to do the installation though at a cost. The installation, however, can be done through connecting the axle load indicator to the light circuit of the truck. Operationally, the truckload indicator registers some calibrations

Online Consumer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Online Consumer Behavior - Essay Example In the physical commercial world, the IT used for operations remains mostly in the background, invisible to the consumer. In e-commerce, however, the technology has been moved to the foreground and has become the store itself as a Web site. Such Web-based stores that use "networks and Internet technology for communications and transactions between various groups of stakeholders like businesses and consumers" have recently also been called Net-enabled organizations (NEOs). A key difference between online and offline consumer behavior is that the online consumer is generally more powerful, demanding, and utilitarian in her shopping expeditions. As a result, customer loyalty on the Web is low overall; although, as in the physical world, it is influenced by the availability of good, relevant content in an enjoyable context. Now that nearly all marketers have accepted that tapping a promotion's full potential requires strategically integrating the online and offline components, considering the differences between online and offline consumer behavior becomes important. Some professionals contend that these differences are enormous; a common refrain, for example, is that where consumer behavior offline is passive, the Web is all about engagement. But what those observers really are comparing is consumer behavior relative to advertising media; they're comparing how consumers interact with ads on television as compared with ads on the Internet. Where online and offline promotions are concerned, the differences are far less pronounced. In many cases, a Web site is really just a digitized retail store. Still, the simple insight that the exact same triggers motivate transactions both on- and offline has tended to become obscured amid the excitement accompanying the rise of online marketing. Promotions that focus on connecting the dots between in-store and online merchandising have, in fact, proved highly successful. Pepsi enjoyed runaway success with its E-Stuff promotion, which drove traffic from the store to the Web and back again. Simon Brand Ventures similarly fielded an online promotion that drove online shoppers to the company's malls, and mall shoppers to the Web. That's not to say that anyone who knows everything about offline promotions can consider himself armed and dangerous when it comes to online promotions. Some interesting, and sometimes surprising, trends and patterns have emerged with regard to online consumer behavior. One such interesting development concerns the profile of the online population: According to a recent newspaper report, the fastest-growing consumer segment on the Web is blue-collar workers---up 52% since spring 2001. A separate and somewhat contradictory report has it that seniors actually are the fastest-growing segment, even though 87% of people over age 65 don't yet have Web access. Meanwhile, a third survey found that online games, in particular, hold surprising appeal among older consumers. This survey discovered that 42% of frequent online garnets are over age 35, while just 30% are 18-to-35 years old. These groups have nowhere to go but up in terms of their online use; still, their growing ranks among the wired population point to as-yet uncharted opportunities for promotion marketers, and their online behavior bears watching. Plenty of opportunity remains among the younger set, to

WHY WE ABUSE OUR CHILDREN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WHY WE ABUSE OUR CHILDREN - Essay Example In many instances, public outrage draws attention to the social system's lack of power to prevent and protect children, and the knock on effect that carries into adulthood. There are numberless domestic and international, institutional and social organizations that work toward the prevention of child abuse. Child abuse occurs as a result of broken homes, irresponsible parenting and stress due to financial circumstances. (thesis) Broken home is a social phenomenon which directly can lead to child abuse. This usually occurs, because the couple separates and the signle parent has to take all the responsibility for upbrining the kids. When parents split, this results in decreasing of the income and the single parent is forced to work longer hours, has two jobs and do not spend enough time with his offspring. The lack of parent's presence, control, love and care makes the children to feel unwanted. Thus, they seek reassurance from external sources - such as gangs or street fights. When the single parent faces the fact that she /he can not handle the behavior of his kid in his emotional distress he uses aggression. In most of the cases the aggression has a physical form, transformed into child abuse. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2004) reported that parents dependent on or abusing alcohol a

Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Electric Vehicles Essay Skyrocketing fuel pricing along with depleting oil resources and increased environmental concerns have pushed mankind to consider alternative sources of fuel to power automobiles. Among all the alternate fuel ideas that include everything from excreta to biodiesel, electricity has also been considered as a best alternative to conventional fuels. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are a promising technology for drastically reducing the environmental burden of road transport. Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been around since mid 1800s. During early years, electric vehicles had many advantages over cars powered by internal combustion engines. Such as vehicles with internal combustion engines were started using a hand crank, whereas EVs could be started like regular cars today. EVs did not have gearboxes or the noise and vibration levels of a petrol-powered car. However, their expensive price tag and limited range led petrol powered car to prosper. However later, rising fuel prices, limited oil resources and environmental concerns brought the electric car back into mainstream production line for automobiles. Today, almost all mainstream car makers have been building electric concept cars as well as production version of electric and hybrid cars. Introduction: An automobile that is powered entirely or partially by electricity are electric vehicles. Electric cars are the cleanest, most efficient, and most cost-effective form of transportation around. Seriously, electric cars are high-performance vehicles that will continue to meet new challenges in the future. There are generally of three types: Battery Electric Vehicle: A battery electric vehicle runs entirely on an electric motor, powered by a battery. The battery is charged through an electrical outlet. One of it is Nissan Leaf . Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle: A plug-in hybrid vehicle has both an electric motor and a gasoline engine onboard. These vehicles generally run on the electric motor until the battery is depleted, at which point the gas engine can kick in, extending the car’s range. The main battery in a plug-in hybrid is charged through an electrical outlet. An example of a plug-in hybrid is the Chevrolet Volt. Hybrid Electric Vehicle: A typical hybrid electric vehicle is fuelled by gasoline and uses a battery-powered motor to improve efficiency, thus is not considered a plug-in electric vehicle. The battery in a gasoline hybrid is never plugged into an electrical outlet, but instead is powered by a combination of the gasoline engine and regenerative braking. The most well known hybrid electric vehicle is the Toyota Prius. WORKING OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A. Battery Electric Vehicles(BEV’s) Electric cars are zero-emission cars at the point of their usage. There are two types of charger plugs in BEV’s. One is quick charger plug which charges the battery at faster rate compared to the household charger plugs. On board chargers are used to convert AC power to DC power. The controller controls the amount of power to be transmitted to the motor, which in turn, converts the electrical power to the motive power. Nickel-Metal Hydride and Lithium-ion cells are the latest battery modes used nowadays. B. Hybrid Electric Vehicles Hybrid electric vehicles combines the best features of conventional as well as electrical cars. The underlying principle of hybrid cars comprises of the usage of temporary power storage which later on enables the major engine to be functioned at the close to its supreme efficiency. There are two types of hybrid drive generated series hybrids and parallel hybrids. In ‘series hybrid’, the combustion engine sends the power to the electrical generator. Electrical generator converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy which is converted into DC by the inverter to be stored in the battery. Power from the battery can be inverted back to AC so that the electric motor converts it into motive power. In parallel hybrid the car wheels are either powered by engine or from the battery powered electric drive-train. Planetary gear system is used to transmit the power into axle. Electric motors and planetary gear system work as a Continuously Variable Transmission(CVT). In both the hybrids, whenever the engine ignites slowly, the excess energy is stored for the later usage. In this way, these cars provide less emission and improved fuel economy. Conventional Cars Vs Electric Vehicles A. Fuel Efficiency In a conventional car: . * 87. 4 % of fuel energy is wasted * Only 12. 6 % of fuel energy is transferred to the wheels * 5. 8 % is turned to kinetic energy, consumed in the brake * 17. 2 % idling losses, engine on with no torque How Hybrids save fuel? 1. Engine is turned off at: -Stops -Lower speed (say less that 15 km/h), an electric motor drives the car until speed reaches a certain limit, then engine kicks in -When vehicle is stopping or going downhill, engine is turned off, and regenerative braking is applied. 2. When engine operates in an inefficient mode(e. g. at very high or very low engine speeds), the electric motor kicks in and assists engine. Engine is driven to its optimum operating zone 3. Engine can be made smaller, due to electric motor assistance B. Emissions: 1. In combustion engine, emissions occur during driving 2. In E-cars, emission occurs only during electricity production. C. Operating Cost 1. In combustion cars, take petrol at Rs. 73/lt, and a car that achieves 25kms/lt. Energy cost is Rs3/km. 2. Now take electricity at Rs. 6/kW-h, and a car that consumes 125 W-h/km. Energy cost is Rs. 0. 75/km D. Efficiency ratio: 1 Combustion engine: 25-30 percent 2. Electric motor: close to 90 percent TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The main problem with the electric car is battery. Such as:- Time of battery charging is long. -Batteries are heavy. -Batteries are expensive. -Low performance in hot or cold temperatures also may damage the battery -Very sensitive to overcharge/undercharge(Battery life reduces dramatically) -Contain toxic heavy metals, disposal issue. All these provide scope for the further research and development in the field of electric vehicles. The RD are supported by the government and industries. POSSIBLE FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES: Over population and limited energy resources have pushed the need and the demand of the electric vehicles. In the future, we will have hybrids and battery electric vehicles everywhere in the markets, industries and highways. Some of the possible future technologies in this field are: 1. A photovoltaics-carport (solar service station) which is considered as a charging station of electric cars for the future. 2. Battery recharging which will employ a special chemical process, occurring on all energy-storage particles at once; in contrast to the traditional batteries, where only a fraction of the energy storage can be replenished at once . 3. Electrical outlet and electric cable will not be required in future anymore, because the electric car of the future refuels its power fully automatically and without contacting by induction while driving or parking. CONCLUSION: Electric vehicles (EVs) hold the potential of transforming the way the world moves. EVs can increase energy security by diversifying the fuel mix and decreasing dependence on petroleum, while also reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Just as important, EVs can unlock innovation and create new advanced industries that spur job growth and enhance economic prosperity. However, the mass deployment of EVs will require transportation systems capable of integrating and fostering this new technology. To accelerate this transitition, cities and metropolitan regions around the world are creating EV-friendly ecosystems and building the foundation for widespread adoption.

Typologies Of Tourist Behaviour Tourism Essay

Typologies Of Tourist Behaviour Tourism Essay It is important to have knowledge of peoples travel motivations and its association with destination selection plays a critical role in predicting future travel patterns. Tourist motivation can be defined as the global integrating network of biological and cultural forces which gives value and direction to travel choices, behaviour and experience. (Pearce, Morrison Rutledge, 1998) Some of the motives which determines a tourists travel choices are recreation, pleasure, new experiences, cultural interest, shopping. The adjectives and categorizations of tourists based upon motivations may differ in number, but recurrent themes emerge. For example the need to escape from everyday surroundings for the purpose of relaxation, and discovering new things, places and people are often alluded to. Many have viewed motivation as a major determinant of the tourists behaviour. Theories of motivation is the concept of needs and they are seen as the forces that arouses motivated behaviour and in order to understand human motivation, it is necessary to discover what needs people have and how they can be fulfilled and Maslows hierarchy of needs theory is the best known motivation theories. The push and pull concept is another line of travel motivation, while Plogs allocentrism/psychocentrism model will help explain phenomenal rise and fall of travel destinations. Cohen (1972) in his early studies, draws attention to the fact that all tourists are seeking some element of novelty and strangeness while, at the same time, most also need to retain something familiar. How tourists combine the demands for novelty with familiarity can in turn be used to derive a typology. According to Johns Gyimothy (2002) Cohen distinguished tourist using sociological principles into organised mass tourist, individual mass tourists, explorer and drifter. In this essay, we shall discuss different authors approach for travel motivation and typologies of tourists behaviour and shall critically review and compare these theories and typologies. Travel Motivation According to Crompton (1979), as cited in Bello Etzel (1985), the need for relaxation, exploration, social interaction and enhancement of kinship relationships act as dominant push motives in the vacation decision. Reversely, pull motives are aroused by the destination and include factors like scenic attractions, historical sites. Push factors are thought to establish the desire for travel and pull factors are thought to explain actual destination choice. Seaton (1997) suggests that the push factors include avoidance of work, cultural/social pressures at home. The pull factors include seeking leisure /play, freedom and escape. According to Maslow, there are five needs forming a hierarchy, progressing from the lower to the higher needs. Maslow argued that if the lower needs [physiological {hunger, thirst, rest}, safety {security}, belonging and love {affection, giving and receiving love}] are fulfilled the individual would be motivated by needs of the next level of the hierarchy [esteem {self-esteem and esteem for others}, self-actualisation {personal self-fulfilment}]. Cooper et al (2005) criticises Maslows theory saying that why and how Maslow selected the basic five needs remain unclear, although Page (2003) feels that it has relevance in understanding how human action is understandable and predictable compared to research which argues that human behaviour is essentially irrational and unpredictable. Cooper et al (2005) also questions the arrangement of the needs. Though Cooper et al (2005) criticises much about Maslows theory, he feels that tourism industry has borrowed a lot from Maslow because he provides a convenient set of containers that can be relatively labelled. Hudman (1980) as cited in Davidson and Maitland (1997) argue that Maslows (1943) hierarchy of needs provides a useful framework for understanding psychological motivational factors in tourism. Thus, for example, although the apparent purpose of a trip may be to visit friends and relatives, the underlying psychological motivation may be a need for belonging and the desire to reunite and reinforce family links. Iso-Ahola (1982) says that tourists will switch roles while on holiday, and that over time different needs will arise. Single motivation may not always act as the determining factor for travel. If within the holiday, the initial needs are satisfied, other motivations might emerge. Indeed, it is congruent with Maslows theories of needs to argue that if initially  there is a primary need for relaxation while on a holiday, the satisfaction of that need will create awareness of other needs such as exploration of place as a means of acquiring a sense of belonging or to enable processes of self-actualisation to take place. Beard and Ragheb (1983) stated four motivational needs as derived from the work of Maslow (1970).These are intellectual component which assesses the extent to which individuals are motivated to engage in leisure activities which involve activities such as learning, exploring, discovering, thought or imagining; the social component which assesses the extent to which individuals engage in leisure activities for social reasons. This component includes two basic needs the need for friendship and interpersonal relationships, while the second is the need for the esteem of others; the competence-mastery component which assesses the extent to which individuals engage in leisure activities in order to achieve, master, challenge and compete. The activities are usually physical in nature; the stimulus-avoidance component of leisure motivation which assesses the drive to escape and get away from over-stimulating life situations. It is the need for some individuals to avoid social contacts, to seek solitude and calm conditions; and for others it is to seek to rest and to unwind themselves. These four motivations form the foundation of their Leisure Motivation Scale which has been replicated in other studies, for example by Sefton and Burton (1987) and Loundsbury and Franz (1990).The original Ragheb and Beard Scale contained high-loaded items such as to use my physical skills and to develop physical skills and abilities. In the scale these are associated with competition and keeping fit. According to Ryan (1997) competency and mastery can also be demonstrated in other ways, including intellectual pursuits. Macintosh(1978) also identified four basic groups of motivations, which owe something to Maslows ideas: physical motivators(health, tension reduction); cultural motivators(art, religions); interpersonal motivators(visit with or to friends and relatives); status or prestige motivators(esteem, personal development). Hudman and Hawkins (1989) listed 10 main ones: health, curiosity, sport (participation), sport (watching), pleasure   believe destinations with a combination of natural resources( such as beaches, mountains, forests, rivers) and man-made facilities (ski-lifts, swimming pools, hiking paths), attract visitors whose principal holiday purpose is physical activity in any form, from simple walking or fishing to bungee-jumping, or even physical inactivity, such as sunbathing and relaxation], visual flight rules, professional and business, self-esteem, and religion. Schmoll (1977) grouped motivations into six combinations: educational and cultural (according to Davidson and Maitland (1997) general sightseeing-appreciating the natural and built environment, particularly when the latter is of historic interest-may be the motivating factor. It is certainly the been there-done that factor which is popular with many overseas visitors who undertake the London-Oxford-Stratford-Chester Lake District-Edinburgh-York-London circuit at the pace which astounds many of the British themselves); relaxation, adventure and pleasure; health and recreation; ethnic and family; social and competitive (including status and prestige). Iso- Aholas theory asserts that personal escape, personal seeking, interpersonal escape and interpersonal seeking motivate tourism. According to Snepenger et al (2006), personal escape meant to overcome bad mood, to have a change in pace from everyday life; interpersonal escape meant to get away from stressful environment, to avoid interaction with others; personal seeking meant to tell others about my experience, to feel good about myself; interpersonal seeking meant to be with people of similar interests, to meet new people. Dann (1981) has identified seven elements of tourist motivations: travel as a response to what is lacking yet desired; destination pull in response to motivational push; motivation as fantasy (engage in behaviour and activities that are culturally unacceptable in their home environment like prostitution and gambling); motivation as classified purpose(VFRs); motivational typologies; motivation and tourist experiences; motivation as auto-definition and meaning (the way in which tourist define their situations and respond to them). P.Pearce (1988) lists five travel motivations which he calls travel career ladder where tourists develop varying motivations of relaxation, stimulation, relationship, self-esteem and development, fulfillment. Page and Connell (2003) feels that it is in essence that tourist motivation is an ever changing process and we move up the ladder as we progress through the various life-cycle changes. In Pearces model, the motivations listed can be divided into two categories. The needs may be self-centered or directed at others. Thus, for example, relaxation may be a solo exercise where the holiday-maker seeks a quiet restful time alone for bodily reconstitution, or it can be relaxation in the company of others, springing from the need for external excitement and desire for novelty. Stimulation can be self-directed which springs from the concern for own safety, or it can be directed toward others arising out of the concern for others safety. Relationship can be self-directed which means giving love and affection and maintaining relationships, or it can be directed at others which means receiving affection, to be with group membership. Self-esteem and development maybe self-directed like development of skills, special interests, competence and mastery, or it may be directed at others like prestige, glamour of traveling. Fulfillment is totally self-directed as it fulfils individual dreams, understands oneself more and experience inner peace and harmony. There are some criticisms against Pearces travel motivations by Seaton (1997). For example, Pearce argues that stimulation may be understood along a dimension of risk and safety of self or others. However, it might be argued that there is a real and distinctive difference between these two motivations. To actualize a concern about the safety of others might mean placing oneself at physical  risk  in an attempt to help those who are in danger. The willingness to do this, it can be argued, is a characteristic of those who are certain in their own psychological maturity. Pearce Lee (2005) opines that in the Travel Career Ladder framework, the term career suggests that many people systematically move through a series of stage or have predictable travel motivational patterns. Some may predominantly ascend the TCL whereas others may remain at a particular level, depending upon contingency and other limitations like health and financial considerations. Typologies of Tourist Behaviour Cohen (1972), in his early studies, draws attention to the fact that all tourists are seeking some element of novelty and strangeness while, at the same time, most also need to retain something familiar. How tourists combine the demands for novelty with familiarity can in turn be used to derive a typology. Cohen (1972) the sociologist, identified four types of tourists: The organizational Mass tourist who buys tourists packages or all inclusive tours in order to visit classical mass tourism destinations, where everything is predetermined before hand and has a low degree of participation and involvement in the travel search for information. There is no sense of adventure or exploration. He/she belongs to an institutionalized type of tourism where the contact with the organizers of tourism industry is a constant. The individual mass tourist is similar to the organizational mass tourist, however this one is flexibility on his/her decisions and want to participate more in the process. The tourist strongly depends on the tourism industry but want to try some new things out of the closed and predetermined packages. The explorer is more adventurous, he wants to find his/her own experience participating actively in this decision choice. He arrange most of the elements of the travel by himself/herself, however sometimes he/she has to turn to a travel agency or tourism professionals to get some comfort or security amenities. The drifter looks for intensive experiences and he want to feel immerse in local communities. He/she completely abandon his relations with the institutions of tourism systems planning everything by him. He practiced a non institutionalized type of tourism. With this classification of tourists Cohen established an interesting link between the need of living unique experiences and the need of the perception of security. The more secure a tourist wants to feel, the more he will trust on tourism specialist and thus he will live less unique experiences (more standardized). Stanley Plog (1974 cited Plog 1991) developed a similar psychociological model designed to explain what type of people prefer what type of destination according to its psychographics characteristics. To the author, tourist population could be divided into a continuum of personalities distributed along the Gauss curve; from psychocentrics, individual travelers whom look for the unexplored, in one extreme to allocentrics, mass tourism tourists, in the other. After Cohen and Plog, researchers such us Dalen (1989), Smith (1989) or Urry (2002) for instances; they have attempted to create new categories of tourists based on their subject of research. It has to be pointed out that all the models proposed until now they are just descriptive and not relevant to the general tourism demand. They are just focused in one area of study and not in the bigger dimension where the tourist is immerse. In addition, they also fail in the same thing: they do not take into account the factors which determine the different types of tourists (Sharpley, 1999). These factors might be grouped into demographic and socioeconomic factors such us age, life cycle, gender and income; and structural social factors such as the existence of non tourists and capitalist tourism (Sharpley, 1999). Every person goes trough different stages in life, and depending on the age, familiar circumstances or income tourist will change from one typology to another. Moreover, in these classifications it is not always the tourist who can decide what tourist is going to be, but it is the society who is going to classify you (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2007).

Fall of Communism From Different Perspectives Essay -- History Analysi

When a major event takes place in history it is not surprising that many interpretations of these events will arise. As humans we tend to have different feelings and therefore different interpretations, especially on events that impact our lives and society. The fact that our judgments are different does not entail that either of our interpretations are wrong. Rather, it means that our different judgments can be combined in order to gain a new form of knowledge that envelops various points of view. This is the case with the interpretations of the groundbreaking fall of Communism that took place in eastern European countries in the late 20th century. The book The Magic Lantern is Timothy Garton Ash’s interpretation of the Revolutions of 1989 that took place in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. Bonnie G. Smith offers a similar but distinct contemporary interpretation of the Revolutions of 1989 in her book Europe in the Contemporary World. Lastly, John K. Glenn’s †Å"Competing Challengers and Contested Outcomes to State Breakdown† offers his opinion about the events that led to a democratic Czechoslovakia. In Ash’s account of the fall of communism in Warsaw, Poland he focuses on the behind the scenes propositions and decisions that were pondered by organizations such as Poland’s Solidarity group. Ash had close relationships with the leaders of the Solidarity group. In describing their actions, he calls them his â€Å"friends† on numerous occasions and even describes instances when he spent times with individuals such as Jacek Kuron, who was the co-founder of the Worker’s Defense Committee. Ash reports that he â€Å"†¦had a drink with Jacek Kuron, who passed the time before his results came in by giving a hilarious account on his first trip t... ...at are not influenced by personal beliefs or feelings. Above all the combination of their work allows us to absorb information that envelops all their points of view which makes for a better understanding of the Revolutions of 1989. I dare say that ultimately that was the main goal of Timothy Garton Ash, Bonnie G. Smith and John K.Glenn. Works Cited †¢ Garton, Ash Timothy. The Magic Lantern: the Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague. New York: Random House, 1990. Print. †¢ Smith, Bonnie G. Europe in the Contemporary World, 1900 to the Present: a Narrative History with Documents. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2007. Print. †¢ Glenn, John K. "Competing Challengers and Contested Outcomes to State Breakdown: The Velvet Revolution." Social Forces 78.1 (1999): 187-211. JSTOR. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. .

Deontology and the Categorical Imperative

First, let us examine what it means to act in a deontological manner. Demonology is â€Å"the normative ethical position that Judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules† (â€Å"Ethics-virtue†, Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy). For someone to act in a deontological manner, he must follow a course of action not because it causes the greatest amount of good to either themselves or others, but because it is the â€Å"right† thing to do. A deontological believes that it is their â€Å"duty† to follow these moral imperatives, and it is these values which are the basis which Emmanuel Kant bases his Categorical Imperative on.In Kantian, a theory of demonology developed by Emmanuel Kant based on his Categorical Imperative, we should make decisions based on our duty to others and that it is not the action's consequences which make it right or wrong, but the motives of the individual who is carrying them out (Kant, Emmanue l. 1780. â€Å"Preface†). For example, if I say, I do not murder other human beings because I would not wish others to murder, I am behaving deontological because as a society we would not wish murder to become a universal rule.Similarly, I would not wish someone to secretly defraud Investors and embezzle company money, but more on that soon. If a person is to act in this decidedly UN;deontological manner, they might have justified it in one of two likely other manners. The first non-deontological theory we someone could operate with is utilitarianism. In this moral theory, â€Å"the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, specifically defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering† (Utilitarianism. N. D. ) In Wisped. Retrieved January 20, 2013, from http:// ordering others, we still do not wish this to occur but this time it is because the act of murder does not maximize happiness as a society. The loss of an individual in this manner would detract from the whole be it either from a production stand-point, or because of the emotion detriment it brings others. Misuse of a corporation's funds could be Justified in a certain scenario, so we will add this to our toolbox of motives for now.A second non-deontological moral theory we must examine is the idea of egotism. With egotism, a person's primary drive is to enhance their own interests – be they intellectual, physical, societal, or otherwise – over the interests of others (Egotism. (n. D. ) In Wisped). Within the context of our example about murder, an egotist does not wish for murder to exist simply because he or she would not wish to be murdered. Within the scope of business operations, this ideology would seem to form the basis of most practices.While the advancement of a corporation would be paramount in the eyes of those with the most vested interest, this moral guideline can be disastrous in a society that does not share this belief as the rule of th e land. Let us now look at two of the ethical problems raised by the Delphic Communications case. The first problem we will examine is the fact that Delphic was using two different sets of accounting books, one with doctored numbers that was given to investors, and one which showed the true finances and what was being manipulated for the fraudulent figures.This, according to testimony produced by James R. Brown, Dahlia's former vice president of finance (Grant, 2004, p. CLC). Members of the Riggs family were ultimately indicted for looting the company of more the $100 million and aiding $2 billion in debt. Regardless of an argument of either this being a cover-up in order to hide the Riggs family's personal use of company funds, or merely a tactic to delay investor outrage in order to settle outstanding debts incurred by Delphic operations, this cannot be considered a deontological based maneuver.Adherence to ones duty to the company and its core operations is contrary to these kind s of behavior. Also, under no circumstance would lying biblically about a company's well- being in a capitalistic society be considered as being desirable as a normative rule. At best, if this were done as to buy the company time to right its finances, this action could be eschewed as utilitarian if the underlying goal was to prevent panic on Wall SST. And to maximize society's net worth.Likelier, this was an egotistic based motive in order for the Riggs family to continue their practices of using the company as their personal â€Å"piggy-bank† as it were. There is evidence of this being the case based upon the next ethical issue we will address. During the course of investigations carried out in the course of this case, it was covered that members of the Riggs family had also used corporate money to finance a golf-course on private family property of theirs (The SEC, 2002).Much like the previously mentioned ethical problem, it is difficult to determine in what, if any, way t his action could be eschewed as either a deontological or categorically imperative decision. If it were the norm for members of any company with access to corporate funding to use them on private projects without prior approval, there would be few corporations which would be able to operate in much of any capacity. Dominant having misappropriated funds that were allocated for actual business operations.Even when viewed in light of a utilitarian stand-point, the Jobs which would have been created through the construction and operation of said golf-course would not have warranted an unauthorized expenditure of this magnitude outside of the company's normal business operations. The member of the Riggs family who authorized the use of these funds should have instead chosen to use his own capital in order to finance this endeavor if it was truly that necessary. Utilizing Dahlia's none in order to build this project falls categorically within the scope of an egotist method of reasoning.Th ese couple examples were but a few highlights that were uncovered during the course of the Delphic indictment. Members of the Riggs family might not have seen an end to their empire had they taken a step back and evaluated not only the consequences of their actions, but the rationale behind what they were doing. Demonology and categorical imperatives, like most morale methodologies, are difficult to apply in every scenario. Doing what is right for the sake of its rightness, or because t is your duty to perform in a specific way can fail in an instance of grave social importance.As instanced in the threaded discussion this week, if a programmer of nuclear missile technologies learns of an attack by his employer against another nation does his or her duty lie with the attacker or those who would be attacked? Of the moral decision making tools discussed in this paper, Egotism, Utilitarianism, Demonology, and Categorical Imperatives all provide a different answer to the question in hand . The members of the Riggs family might still feel they are in the eight if their ill gains were greater than the pain of imprisonment from a strictly Egotistic model.

John Lock’Es View on Innate Knowledge Essay

John Locke, a renowned English philosopher in the seventeenth century, argued against the pre-existing prevalent belief of innate knowledge, such as those led by Descartes. Many of Locke’s arguments begin with criticisms on philosophers’ opinion on innate knowledge, notably Descartes. Therefore, many of Locke’s arguments are direct rebuttals of Descartes and other philosophers’ beliefs about the existence of innate knowledge. To arrive at the conclusion that innate knowledge is impossible, Locke comes with various premises and rebuttals that add weight to his arguments. First, Locke emphasizes that knowledge and ideas are learned through experience, not innately. He argues that people’s minds at birth are ‘blank slate’ that is later filled through experience. Here, the ‘senses’ play an important role because ‘the knowledge of some truths, as Locke confesses, is very in the mind; but in a way that shows them not to be innate’. By this, Locke argues that some ideas are actually in the mind from an early age but these ideas are furnished by the senses starting in the womb. For example, the color blue and the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœblueness’ of something is not that which is learned innately but is some is learned through exposures to a blue object or thing. So if we do have a universal understanding of ‘blueness’, it is because we are exposed to blue objects ever since we were young. The blue sky is what many would acquaint with blue easily and at a young age. Second, Locke argues that people have no innate principles. Locke contended that innate principles rely upon innate ideas within people but such innate ideas do not exist. He says this on the basis that there is no ‘universal consent’ that everyone agrees upon. Locke quotes that ‘There is nothing more commonly taken for granted that there are certain principles universally agreed upon by all mankind, but there are none to which all mankind give a universal assent’. This argues against the very foundation of the idea of innate knowledge because principles that garner universal assent are thought to be known innately, simply because it is the best explanation available. However, it cannot even be an explanation for such belief because no ‘universal consent’ exists. Rationalists argue that there are in fact some principles that are universally agreed upon, such as the principle of identity. But it is far-fetched to claim that everyone knows this principle of identity because for the least, children and idiots, the less-intelligent ones are not acquainted with it. There are several objections to these premises and arguments that are outlined above. The argument by Locke that there are some ideas that are in the mind at an early age gives credence to argument for the innate ideas. For ideas to be furnished by the senses later on there has to be ideas that are laid as foundations. If such ideas are innate, as acknowledged by Locke, no matter how trivial or less significant these ideas may be as one may argue, such claim could give weight to the idea of innate knowledge. Innate knowledge or ideas, after all, doesn’t imply that all ideas are innate because as one can see, there are things that we learn through our experiences and encounters in life as well. So as long as there is even the basic principle that is innate early in life, then innate knowledge can be known to exist. The validity behind the claim that there is no ‘universal consent’ is also questionable. Locke argues that no principle that all mankind agrees upon exists because there are those who are not acquainted with such principle, notably children and idiots. However, the terms children and idiots are somewhat misguided. How are children and especially the idiots categorized? Is there a specific criteria used for those who are classified as idiots? It is hard to generalize that idiots or those who are deemed less intelligent are not acquainted with certain principles because at times, intelligence is not the best indicator of someone’s knowledge or ideas. There are many intelligent people out there who take their status for granted and do not think, contemplate or make an effort to their best extent. The objections that are made against the initial arguments can be defended in certain ways. Regarding the objection that since there are innate ideas in the mind at an early age, innate knowledge exists, the term ‘innate’ should be thought of again in greater detail. Innate knowledge has to be significant enough for us to recount to be considered such. Thus, there comes a risk with considering the ideas within our minds early on as innate. For example, the knowledge of our hands and feet maybe imbedded to us at a very early stage. The knowledge of using our hands and feet are not so significant. The knowledge that we gain through our use of hands and feet could be vital knowledge that we may recount throughout. Throwing a baseball properly under a coach’s instructions is an example. Also, there is the claim that intelligence cannot be the sole indicator of one’s acquisition of ‘universal consent’ and that there isn’t a clear distinction of those who can understand universal principles to those who cannot. However, the important focus here should not be on defining ‘idiots’ and intelligence but on that universal consent is hard to be assembled by every single mankind. Therefore, more should be considered than just innate knowledge that could garner universal consent. Empirical principles that are derived from experience could garner universal assent too. For example, the fear of ‘dying’ or ‘getting seriously injured’ could mean that people would not jump out the roof from tall buildings. And this belief could be universal among all.