Aniconism and the Multivalence of Emblems Assignment

Aniconism and the Multivalence of Emblems - Assignment Example Huntington has her own view on this question. She believes that many of the images associated with Buddha's absence—such as an empty throne—are in fact intended to mean something else. The empty throne, for example, was intended to represent the â€Å"sacred nuclei of worship† at religious sites and not the fact of Buddha's absence on that throne (Huntington, 402). Her new research suggests that inscriptions on these images indicate that many of the so-called images are more quotidian representations of sacred sites. Vidya Dehejia has a different view of these questions. He believes that scholars have overlooked the double-meanings of many words in the ancient scripts. He thinks that someone like Huntington has been too literal. He admits that some scholars have gone too far in their interpretations, but that some images do indeed depict the absence of Buddha. He suggests that the emblems of many images â€Å"may carry different meanings in varying contexts† and that scholars should be sensitive to this (Dehejia, 64). The debate over the absence or presence of Buddha in early Buddhist art is a fascinating one. Both scholars present convincing arguments. Whether we will ever know the truth remains an open question.   

Reading Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reading Response - Essay Example only nighttime visit was permitted, but brief that it could not fill the parental bond effective for raising a child plagued by the torments of slavery. One day he sees the whipping of Aunt Hester by master Antony; a scene that eventually prompts him to move to Baltimore (Douglass 18). The move is a turning moment because it frees Douglass from becoming a slave forever. He starts participating in antislavery campaigns that champion the rights of those still held in the South. Three episodes are central to Douglass in his quest to gain freedom and help other fellow slaves escape the bondage. For instance, the first episode involves the acknowledgement of being slave. Douglass’s decision to take a decisive action emanated from his slavery predicament that exposed him to beatings by his masters such as Mr. Covey. Similarly, the humiliation and fatigue of being overworked in the field plantations features prominently in his life and this prompts his to seek ways of escaping the suffering. This is because Douglass wishes to have a life better than slavery that is only possible in the North. Alternatively, slave identity convinces the narrator on the need to address the matter amicably through freeing other slaves first before taking any action. The second episode is the urge to seek education for emancipation and empowerment in fighting for the thriving slave trade in the South. This transformation occurs after Douglass has moved to Baltimore, Maryland under the ownership of his new mistress called Mrs. Sophia Auld. Unfortunately, this noble venture comes with numerous challenges such as the strong disapproval by Mr. Auld. He rightly knows that an educated slave would become sad and worse, wild. This act, however, affirms Douglass’s zeal to learn how to read and write because it is sanctioned by his master. In other words, he learns that education is tied to liberation especially after comprehending the word ‘abolition.’ Going North and beginning the

Cover Note Essay Example for Free

Cover Note Essay The Relation of Science and Religion is a transcript of a talk given by Dr. Feynman at the Caltech YMCA Lunch Forum on May 2, 1956. In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization. But I have been interested in this problem for a long time and would like to discuss it. In view of my very evident lack of knowledge and understanding of religion (a lack which will grow more apparent as we proceed), I will organize the discussion in this way: I will suppose that not one man but a group of men are discussing the problem, that the group consists of specialists in many fields – the various sciences, the various religions and so on – and that we are going to discuss the problem from various sides, like a panel. Each is to give his point of view, which may be molded and modified by the later discussion. Further, I imagine that someone has been chosen by lot to be the first to present his views, and I am he so chosen. I would start by presenting the panel with a problem: A young man, brought up in a religious family, studies a science, and as a result he comes to doubt – and perhaps later to disbelieve in – his fathers God. Now, this is not an isolated example; it happens time and time again. Although I have no statistics on this, I believe that many scientists – in fact, I actually believe that more than half of the scientists – really disbelieve in their fathers God; that is, they dont believe in a God in a conventional sense. Now, since the belief in a God is a central feature of religion, this problem that I have selected points up most strongly the problem of the relation of science and religion. Why does this young man come to disbelieve? The first answer we might hear is very simple: You see, he is taught by scientists, and (as I have just pointed out) they are all atheists at heart, so the evil is spread from one to another. But if you can entertain this view, I think you know less of science than I know of religion. Another answer may be that a little knowledge is dangerous; this young man has learned a little bit and thinks he knows it all, but soon he will grow out of this sophomoric sophistication and come to realize that the world is more complicated, and he will begin again to understand that there must be a God. I dont think it is necessary that he come out of it. There are many scientists – men who hope to call themselves mature – who still dont believe in God. In fact, as I would like to explain later, the answer is not that the young man thinks he knows it all – it is the exact opposite. A third answer you might get is that this young man really doesnt understand science correctly. I do not believe that science can disprove the existence of God; I think that is impossible. And if it is impossible, is not a belief in science and in a God – an ordinary God of religion — a consistent possibility? Yes, it is consistent. Despite the fact that I said that more than half of the scientists dont believe in God, many scientists do believe in both science and God, in a perfectly consistent way. But this consistency, although possible, is not easy to attain, and I would like to try to discuss two things: Why it is not easy to attain, and whether it is worth attempting to attain it. When I say believe in God, of course, it is always a puzzle – what is God? What I mean is the kind of personal God, characteristic of the western religions, to whom you pray and who has something to do with creating the universe and guiding you in morals. For the student, when he learns about science, there are two sources of difficulty in trying to weld science and religion together. The first source of difficulty is this – that it is imperative in science to doubt; it is absolutely necessary, for progress in science, to have uncertainty as a fundamental part of your inner nature. To make progress in understanding we must remain modest and allow that we do not know. Nothing is certain or proved beyond all doubt. You investigate for curiosity, because it is unknown, not because you know the answer. And as you develop more information in the sciences, it is not that you are finding out the truth, but that you are finding out that this or that is more or less likely. That is, if we investigate further, we find that the statements of science are not of what is true and what is not true, but statements of what is known to different degrees of certainty: It is very much more likely that so and so is true than that it is not true; or such and such is almost certain but there is still a little bit of doubt; or – at the other extreme – well, we really dont know. Every one of the concepts of science is on a scale graduated somewhere between, but at neither end of, absolute falsity or absolute truth. It is necessary, I believe, to accept this idea, not only for science, but also for other things; it is of great value to acknowledge ignorance. It is a fact that when we make decisions in our life we dont necessarily know that we are making them correctly; we only think that we are doing the best we can – and that is what we should do. Attitude of uncertainty I think that when we know that we actually do live in uncertainty, then we ought to admit it; it is of great value to realize that we do not know the answers to different questions. This attitude of mind – this attitude of uncertainty – is vital to the scientist, and it is this attitude of mind which the student must first acquire. It becomes a habit of thought. Once acquired, one cannot retreat from it any more. What happens, then, is that the young man begins to doubt everything because he cannot have it as absolute truth. So the question changes a little bit from Is there a God? to How sure is it that there is a God? This very subtle change is a great stroke and represents a parting of the ways between science and religion. I do not believe a real scientist can ever believe in the same way again. Although there are scientists who believe in God, I do not believe that they think of God in the same way as religious people do. If they are consistent with their science, I think that they say something like this to themselves: I am almost certain there is a God. The doubt is very small. That is quite different from saying, I know that there is a God. I do not believe that a scientist can ever obtain that view – that really religious understanding, that real knowledge that there is a God – that absolute certainty which religious people have. Of course this process of doubt does not always start by attacking the question of the existence of God. Usually special tenets, such as the question of an afterlife, or details of the religious doctrine, such as details of Christs life, come under scrutiny first. It is more interesting, however, to go right into the central problem in a frank way, and to discuss the more extreme view which doubts the existence of God. Once the question has been removed from the absolute, and gets to sliding on the scale of uncertainty, it may end up in very different positions. In many cases it comes out very close to being certain. But on the other hand, for some, the net result of close scrutiny of the theory his father held of God may be the claim that it is almost certainly wrong. Belief in God – and the facts of science That brings us to the second difficulty our student has in trying to weld science and religion: Why does it often end up that the belief in God – at least, the God of the religious type – is considered to be very unreasonable, very unlikely? I think that the answer has to do with the scientific things – the facts or partial facts – that the man learns. For instance, the size of the universe is very impressive, with us on a tiny particle whirling around the sun, among a hundred thousand million suns in this galaxy, itself among a billion galaxies. Again, there is the close relation of biological man to the animals, and of one form of life to another. Man is a latecomer in a vast evolving drama; can the rest be but a scaffolding for his creation? Yet again, there are the atoms of which all appears to be constructed, following immutable laws. Nothing can escape it; the stars are made of the same stuff, and the animals are made of the same stuff, but in such complexity as to mysteriously appear alive – like man himself. It is a great adventure to contemplate the universe beyond man, to think of what it means without man – as it was for the great part of its long history, and as it is in the great majority of places. When this objective view is finally attained, and the mystery and majesty of matter are appreciated, to then turn the objective eye back on man viewed as matter, to see life as part of the universal mystery of greatest depth, is to sense an experience which is rarely described. It usually ends in laughter, delight in the futility of trying to understand. These scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged simply as a stage for God to watch mans struggle for good and evil seems to be inadequate. So let us suppose that this is the case of our particular student, and the conviction grows so that he believes that individual prayer, for example, is not heard. (I am not trying to disprove the reality of God; I am trying to give you some idea of – some sympathy for – the reasons why many come to think that prayer is meaningless. ) Of course, as a result of this doubt, the pattern of doubting is turned next to ethical problems, because, in the religion which he learned, moral problems were connected with the word of God, and if the God doesnt exist, what is his word? But rather surprisingly, I think, the moral problems ultimately come out relatively unscathed; at first perhaps the student may decide that a few little things were wrong, but he often reverses his opinion later, and ends with no fundamentally different moral view. There seems to be a kind of independence in these ideas. In the end, it is possible to doubt the divinity of Christ, and yet to believe firmly that it is a good thing to do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you. It is possible to have both these views at the same time; and I would say that I hope you will find that my atheistic scientific colleagues often carry themselves well in society. Communism and the scientific viewpoint I would like to remark, in passing, since the word atheism is so closely connected with communism, that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions – political questions as well as moral ones – without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out – observe things, check them, and so change them. The democratic government is much closer to this idea, because there is discussion and a chance of modification. One doesnt launch the ship in a definite direction. It is true that if you have a tyranny of ideas, so that you know exactly what has to be true, you act very decisively, and it looks good – for a while. But soon the ship is heading in the wrong direction, and no one can modify the direction any more. So the uncertainties of life in a democracy are, I think, much more consistent with science. Although science makes some impact on many religious ideas, it does not affect the moral content. Religion has many aspects; it answers all kinds of questions. First, for example, it answers questions about what things are, where they come from, what man is, what God is – the properties of God, and so on. Let me call this the metaphysical aspect of religion. It also tells us another thing – how to behave. Leave out of this the idea of how to behave in certain ceremonies, and what rites to perform; I mean it tells us how to behave in life in general, in a moral way. It gives answers to moral questions; it gives a moral and ethical code. Let me call this the ethical aspect of religion. Now, we know that, even with moral values granted, human beings are very weak; they must be reminded of the moral values in order that they may be able to follow their consciences. It is not simply a matter of having a right conscience; it is also a question of maintaining strength to do what you know is right. And it is necessary that religion give strength and comfort and the inspiration to follow these moral views. This is the inspirational aspect of religion. It gives inspiration not only for moral conduct – it gives inspiration for the arts and for all kinds of great thoughts and actions as well. Interconnections These three aspects of religion are interconnected, and it is generally felt, in view of this close integration of ideas, that to attack one feature of the system is to attack the whole structure. The three aspects are connected more or less as follows: The moral aspect, the moral code, is the word of God – which involves us in a metaphysical question. Then the inspiration comes because one is working the will of God; one is for God; partly one feels that one is with God. And this is a great inspiration because it brings ones actions in contact with the universe at large. So these three things are very well interconnected. The difficulty is this: that science occasionally conflicts with the first of the three categories – the metaphysical aspect of religion. For instance, in the past there was an argument about whether the earth was the center of the universe – whether the earth moved around the sun or stayed still. The result of all this was a terrible strife and difficulty, but it was finally resolved – with religion retreating in this particular case. More recently there was a conflict over the question of whether man has animal ancestry. The result in many of these situations is a retreat of the religious metaphysical view, but nevertheless, there is no collapse of the religion. And further, there seems to be no appreciable or fundamental change in the moral view. After all, the earth moves around the sun – isnt it best to torn the other cheek? Does it make any difference whether the earth is standing still or moving around the son? We can expect conflict again. Science is developing and new things will be found out which will he in disagreement with the presentday metaphysical theory of certain religions. In fact, even with all the past retreats of religion, there is still real conflict for particular individuals when they learn about the science and they have heard about the religion. The thing has not been integrated very well; there are real conflicts here – and yet morals are not affected. As a matter of fact, the conflict is doubly difficult in this metaphysical region. Firstly, the facts may be in conflict, but even if the facts were not in conflict, the attitude is different. The spirit of uncertainty in science is an attitude toward the metaphysical questions that is quite different from the certainty and faith that is demanded in religion. There is definitely a conflict, I believe – both in fact and in spirit – over the metaphysical aspects of religion. In my opinion, it is not possible for religion to find a set of metaphysical ideas which will be guaranteed not to get into conflicts with an everadvancing and alwayschanging science which is going into an unknown. We dont know how to answer the questions; it is impossible to find an answer which someday will not be found to be wrong. The difficulty arises because science and religion are both trying to answer questions in the same realm here. Science and moral questions On the other hand, I dont believe that a real conflict with science will arise in the ethical aspect, because I believe that moral questions are outside of the scientific realm. Let me give three or four arguments to show why I believe this. In the first place, there have been conflicts in the past between the scientific and the religious view about the metaphysical aspect and, nevertheless, the older moral views did not collapse, did not change. Second, there are good men who practice Christian ethics and who do not believe in the divinity of Christ. They find themselves in no inconsistency here. Thirdly, although I believe that from time to time scientific evidence is found which may be partially interpreted as giving some evidence of some particular aspect of the life of Christ, for example, or of other religious metaphysical ideas, it seems to me that there is no scientific evidence bearing on the golden rule. It seems to me that that is somehow different. Now, lets see if I can make a little philosophical explanation as to why it is different – how science cannot affect the fundamental basis of morals. The typical human problem, and one whose answer religion aims to supply, is always of the following form: Should I do this? Should we do this? Should the government do this? To answer this question we can resolve it into two parts: First — If I do this, what will happen? – and second – Do I want that to happen? What would come of it of value – of good? Now a question of the form: If I do this, what will happen?is strictly scientific. As a matter of fact, science can be defined as a method for, and a body of information obtained by, trying to answer only questions which can be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen? The technique of it, fundamentally, is: Try it and see. Then you put together a large amount of information from such experiences. All scientists will agree that a question – any question, philosophical or other – which cannot be put into the form that can be tested by experiment (or, in simple terms, that cannot be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen?) is not a scientific question; it is outside the realm of science. I claim that whether you want something to happen or not – what value there is in the result, and how you judge the value of the result (which is the other end of the question: Should I do this? ) – must lie outside of science because it is not a question that you can answer only by knowing what happens; you still have to judge what happens – in a moral way. So, for this theoretical reason I think that there is a complete consistency between the moral view – or the ethical aspect of religion – and scientific information. Turning to the third aspect of religion – the inspirational aspect – brings me to the central question that I would like to present to this imaginary panel. The source of inspiration today – for strength and for comfort – in any religion is very closely knit with the metaphysical aspect; that is, the inspiration comes from working for God, for obeying his will, feeling one with God. Emotional ties to the moral code – based in this manner – begin to be severely weakened when doubt, even a small amount of doubt, is expressed as to the existence of God; so when the belief in God becomes uncertain, this particular method of obtaining inspiration fails. I dont know the answer to this central problem – the problem of maintaining the real value of religion, as a source of strength and of courage to most men, while, at the same time, not requiring an absolute faith in the metaphysical aspects. The heritages of Western civilization Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure – the adventure into the unknown, an unknown which must be recognized as being unknown in order to be explored; the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered; the attitude that all is uncertain; to summarize it – the humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics – the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual – the humility of the spirit. These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent. But logic is not all; one needs ones heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion, what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who doubts Godmore, one who disbelieves in God? Is the modern church a place to give comfort and encouragement to the value of such doubts? So far, have we not drawn strength and comfort to maintain the one or the other of these consistent heritages in a way which attacks the values of the other? Is this unavoidable? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars of western civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid? Is this not the central problem of our time? I put it up to the panel for discussion.

The Challenges Faced By Environmental Management Systems Business Essay

The Challenges Faced By Environmental Management Systems Business Essay This research is about the Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) and does the packaging companies adopted (ISO 14001) because as we know packaging industry is one of the industry that generate massive amount of waste. Thus this waste must be managed carefully to reduce the impact to the environment. Further investigation will be carry out into the role that the packaging companies played towards the current environmental issues. Basically an Environmental Management System is a management system that can helps an organization to manage its environmental impacts and also a way which can minimize such impacts effectively in the long run. The packaging industry is an industry that responsible to enclosing or protecting certain products for distribution, longer duration of storage and also for marketing purposes to attract consumers. The environmental issue has been always the world agenda since early of 1992 when a group of international organisations for examples the United Nations Conference in Environmental and Development, World Health Organization and also the Non- Governmental Organization setting standards to maintain sustainable environment. The term sustainable environment was used by the well known Brundtland Commission which is now widely been quoted as development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) is one of the standards in the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) family tree and the British Standard BS 7750 was the first standard to be created at that time. According to Krut and Gleckman (1998): This international association of national standard- setting bodies was set up to facilitate international commerce by standardizing technical specifications. It works closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). In many areas, from ATM cards to telecommunication bandwidths to plumping supplies, business and the public experience significant advantages from ISO and IEC activity. (Kurt and Gleckman, 1998, pp.2). Although the issues of environmental being a great debate from different group of people especially the environmentalist but there is still lack of awareness among the public itself. This is also due to the lack of commitment from the local government to convey this important message to the public. This topic was chosen because the researcher took the subject of Environmental Issues in Business before and found that in order to sustain in a business first we have to understand well about what is the Sustainable Environment and how does it affect a business in the long run. Research Aims Objectives The aim of this research is to examine the Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) practices in packaging companies located in North East of England. This followed by 3 objectives to fit with the aim above and there are: to identify the reasons of the adoption of the Environmental Management System, to identify the problems companies faced when getting certified to ISO 14001, and lastly to examine the companys performance before and after adopting the Environmental Management System. Literature Review In this section will discuss about the previous research has been done to this topic and also demonstrate to the reader how well does the researcher knows about this particular topic of Environmental Management System (ISO 14001). Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007, p.57) commented that reviewing the literature critically will provide the foundation on which your research is built and also the main purpose is to help the researcher to develop a good understanding and insight into relevant previous research and the trend that have emerged. There are plenty of books, journals and articles discussing about the environmental issues, how does the industrial sector can minimize their waste by adopting the Environmental Management System and also why businesses needs to play an important role towards the sustainability of the environment. No doubt all human being living in this world today does created much of their own waste (motor cars and the consumptions of CFCs in air conditioners or refrigerators) to the environment itself but the waste and pollutions created from the industrial sector are much more severe. According to Whitelaw (1997): If we look back to the to the Industrial Revolution, we might see this as the period when the inventiveness and innovation of human beings, and the resultant mechanization of manufacturing processes began to have negative impacts upon the environment. Prior to this period, any negative environmental impacts tended to be localized for example, forest were cut down without any future regard. (Whitelaw, 1997, pp. 2). Another author does agree with the same argument above and stated that: Businesses are the core of the environmental debate and are central both to the pollution problem and to the solutionthe activities of industry provide employment, and investments drive economic growth. However, in doing so, be it because of the resources that they consumer, the processes they apply or the products that they manufacture, business activities are a major contributor to environmental destruction. (Welford, 1994, pp. 3). One of the solutions for businesses to minimize their wastage is to implement the Environmental Management System (EMS) and getting certification of ISO 14001. Jorgensen (2000) defined the EMS: An EMS is part of the enterprises overall management system. It includes the organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for implementing and maintaining environmental management. It includes those aspects of management that plan, develop, implement, achieve, review, maintain and improve the enterprises environmental policy, objectives and targets. (Jorgensen, 2000, pp.75). Implementing the EMS does not only helps businesses to reduce their wastage but also will improve the environmental performance and this can lead to a better corporate image of the businesses itself. According to Jorgensen (2000): EMS offers a structured and systematic method to incorporate environmental care in all aspects of business. The aim is not only to comply with environmental regulations and minimize the (financial) risks of liabilities and costs but to improve the environmental performance continuously and through this improve corporate image and gain competitive advantage. (Jorgensen, 2000, pp. 75). There are many large organizations for example BT Group in UK which takes the environmental management very seriously into their business. According to BT Group: In 1990 the BT Board made a commitment to optimise environmental management across the company. Since then, we have made real strides towards our goal of world class environmental management. Climate change is higher than ever on the agenda for government and business. BTs response to this is a new plan which takes some ambitious steps to cut our emissions of carbon dioxide. Having already reduced our carbon footprint by 58% in the UK, we have now set a target to achieve an 80% reduction in our carbon intensity worldwide by 2020. BT consumes 0.7% of the UKs entire electricity, so we think we can make an important difference. We have pledged to reduce the amount of carbon we emit as a business and help others to do the same. We are encouraging our suppliers, customers and employees to take action. We also believe that communications technology can be harnessed to help address climate change. (http://www.btplc.com/Societyandenvironment/Environmentandclimatechange/Environmentandclimatec hange.htm, no date). Further discussion of the objectives and more detailed literature review will be covered in the later part of this research project. Methodology Research Approach Strategy The research approach that will be use to apply in this topic is the Inductive Approach. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007, p. 118) commented that the purpose (Inductive Approach) here would be to get a feel of what was going on, so as to understand better the nature of the problem. This approach is best to be combining with the qualitative data and is being suggested to use different kind of methods to collect the data in order to get different point of view. (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007, p.119). Since the environmental issues can be categorized under the real life context, the Case Study Strategy is more suitable to use in this research as the case study strategy is based on a real life context investigation. Types of information required Information that is required for this research is to find out how the environmental issues affect the business sector especially the packaging companies in the north east of England (regulations that needs to be follow, government, investor and also the public pressure), did the business owners take any initiative to protect the environment, some useful data from the Environment Agency in UK, why those companies choose to adopt the EMS or get certified for ISO 14001 (corporate image, attract more investors and consumers, able to help the companies in certain way or just for the seek for adopting it) and lastly to compare the performance before and after adopting the EMS and also to create awareness to the companies that the importance of sustainable environment/business. Data collection The main data collection for this research project will be from conducting an interview with around 8 packaging companies that are located in the North East of England. The length of each interview will be approximately 15-25 minutes. Voice recording, video recording and notes taking will be acquire to form a transcript at the later part for this research. Semi- structured interviews is the type of interview to be use in this research as questions from interview can be omit or vary according to the background of the company and also the background of the interviewee. Secondary Data The secondary data collection is also one of the ways to collect data for the research project. Secondary data consists of 3 types and there are Documentary Secondary Data, Multiple Source- Secondary Data and the Survey Secondary Data. In order to meet the objectives in this research project, reports and database from the potential companies are very valuable and in addition the journals, articles, newspaper and also books publication could also be sources for this research. Documentary Secondary Data and the Multiple Source- Secondary Data will be used in the research. Methods/Strategy linked to project objectives

Thank God its Friday :: essays papers

Thank God its Friday The movie Friday is a comedy, but it also depicts many important social issues. The story is set in the city of Los Angeles, California, in what could be called a high-class ghetto. The main theme of the movie is about a young black man who loses his job and is influenced by his best friend to smoke marijuana. The movie also shows the relationships of his family and other members of his neighborhood. With a zany cast of characters and a hilarious script, the movie touches on everything from gang violence to the use of drugs, crime, guns, relationships, sex and life in the ghetto. Because of all these issues, I found this an interesting movie with a wide variety of topics to address. Marijuana has been around for a long time. Its use is once again becoming popular. Although it's not legal, many people use it socially and for medicinal purposes. The Hollywood elite smokes it. Musicians such as Dr. Dre and the Black Crows celebrate its use. Television shows like Saturday Night Live and Kids in the Hall depict it as harmless fun. In the movie Friday, rap star Ice Cube plays the character Craig. Craig has never smoked marijuana. However, his best friend "Smokey" smokes marijuana everyday. Craig looses his job, leaving him home all day with nothing to do to occupy his time. He just hangs out in the neighborhood with his friends. Smokey tries to convince Craig to try some marijuana. At first Craig doesn't want to. Smokey is persistent. He points out to Craig that he doesn't have to work and he doesn't have anything better to. Craig and Smokey eventually sit on the front porch and get stoned. Peer pressure is obviously the only reason Craig gives in. Actually he had other options, but he chose not to use them. Common sense and a simple explanation would have worked for Craig just fine. Everyday we are faced with choices. It is up to us to decide what's right and wrong. Craig decides to try it and things start to happen that he really doesn't like. Craig and Smokey get into some trouble with the neighborhood dealer, Big Worm. Smokey sells pot for him, but can't pay him the money he owes because he and Craig smoked the pot.

The Newport Coast Structure :: Architecture Architects Building Essays

The Newport Coast Structure The Newport Coast structure that sits on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Newport Coast Dr. is one of many examples of Mediterranean-inspired architecture in Southern California. The building is clearly influenced by Roman architecture and stands out among the standard Spanish-looking villas and mission-type buildings. The structure lies near one of California's wealthiest neighborhoods, Newport Beach and acts as sort of a grand entrance to Newport Coast Dr. There are two of these structures which sit on opposite sides of Newport Coast Dr., framed by only a few palm trees and evergreens. Drivers passing along Southern California's coastline can catch a quick glimpse of these impressive buildings. The Newport Coast structure is constructed of concrete and painted a light beige. Eight thick columns support the extremely large entablature-like face of the structure. As architecture in a typically conservative Orange County, the Newport Coast structure dominates its surroundings. The Newport Coast structure is clearly a representation of Roman architecture in general, but more specifically, the sturdy columns and enlarged entablatures are reminiscent of the Tuscan order. Although the simplified columns may at first glance appear to be rather doric in their style, upon closer inspection they prove to be more similar to the less renowned Tuscan order. This in fact, does not diminish the influence the doric temples of Greek architecture had on the Etruscan invention of the Tuscan temple, but rather demonstrates yet again how one culture can inspire another artistically. The Tuscan order refers to "the variation that resembles the doric order, with an unfluted shaft and a simplified base, capital, and entablature" (Stokstad, 227). Like architecture of the Tuscan order, the Newport Coast structure's entablature is very plain and geometric in its form. The Tuscan order was originally used by the Etruscans around the time of 700-509 BCE and was later adopted by the Romans. Even though the Newport Coast structure and the Tuscan temple function differently in terms of public use, for the Tuscan temple was used by the Etruscans for religious purposes, their appearances prove to be strikingly similar. Not only does the Newport Coast structure resemble architecture of the Tuscan order, it makes use of the Roman round arch as well. The round arch in the Newport Coast structure has elements that are very similar to the Roman round arch. Outlined by wedge-shaped voussoirs, it looks like a simpler, more modern version of the Arch of Constantine.

Internet: Sociology and People Essay

Internet Internet has become a big part of our life these days because of the many things that we can get from it from the latest news and research findings to self- expression. We also get to learn about the latest trends in our profession and instantly become fashion chic. It also updates us of our favorite basketball tea, and thespians. Truly, it becomes a great help in the workplace, education, entertainment, health care, and communication. However, the Internet has also served as a venue for the infringement of copyright. Everyone has the access to information which makes it almost impossible to protect copyright. This for of piracy is really widespread on the web. Aside from this, the proliferation of pornographic materials is undeniably one of the alarming things that has brought about by the Internet. It does not only corrupt the minds of the young people that are exposed to them but also it paves the way for the degradation of human dignity. It also strains the moral make up of society. The Internet also alienates the person from his social self. While most think that talking to loved ones through the computer screens allows or offers the same satisfaction of social needs just like engaging in conversations personally, there really is a big difference between the virtual self and the social self. This could further lead to addiction which could hamper a person’s way of living and those who are directly in contact with him. The Internet was intended to be used for military purposes. However, due to its versatility and applicability, we have it as how it is used today. It exists as our friend when used properly and our foe when misused. THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNET ON PEOPLE’S SOCIAL AND PSYCHOL Uploaded by nikolovska1 (149) on Jul 8, 2007 THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNET ON PEOPLE’S SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REALITIES The influence of the Internet has caused a change in the way we communicate, learn and shop. The Internet is probably most famous for the ability to spread information, fact or fiction. We were once limited to news editors of a local paper, then to national cable news. Now anyone can search the globe, visit local papers in foreign countries, and see the views of all sides. This ease of information has also brought with it a large amount of hoaxes, money schemes, and fallacies. There is no question that easy access to the Internet, like the introduction of mail service and the invention of the telephone, has changed the nature of people’s connection to others in their social world. Mail made possible connections among people without physical proximity, and the telephone facilitated communication among distant people, making rapid connections possible across long distancies. But has this communication revolution changed the pure nature of interpersonal and group processes? On the one hand, since the primary use of the Internet is communication, some people might speculate that the Internet will have positive social consequences in people’s everyday lives because it increases the frequency and quality of interpersonal communications among people. People with easy access to others would feel better connected and more strongly supported by others, leading to happiness and engagement in families, organizations, communities, and society more generally. But, on the other hand, the ease of electronic communication may lead to weaker social ties, because people have less reason to leave their homes and actually interact face to face with other people. The Internet allows people to more easily work from their home, to form and sustain friendships and even romantic attacments from their home, to bank from their home, to vote and engage in political and soci al issue based discussions with others (from home). In this variety of ways, Internet communications can potentially displace face-to-face communications. I think this point is important because psychologists in many researches have described and proved such face to face and telephone connections as being of higher quality, when viewed in terms of their contribution to satisfaction and well-being. Reading a seriees of longitudinal and experimental studies (e.x. McKenna, Green, and Gleason), who test a theory of relationship formation on the Internet, these researchers directly adress the argument that the psychological quality of Internet social interaction is lower than is the psychological quality of traditional face-to-face interaction. Consider my own use. I’ve received several e-mail messages in the past hour. My boyfriend confirms the dinner for tonight. Even though it is weekend, my coleagues send me questions about the pending exam expects a quick answer. So does some graduate student from Europe, that I recently met on â€Å"MySpace† with an urgent request for a letter of recommendation. My friend Ksenija sends me an IM to tell me the latest news about her new love. And so on and so on†¦ I assume that I am also living a virtual life, and what’s the most interesting of all, all of my friends online, are also my friends in real life. And if they weren’t that in the past, I somehow managed to bring my cyber friends into my real life, so I could here in my real life enable real communication, real face-to-face â€Å"talks†, real exchange of emotions, feeligs of happiness, satisfaction and well-being. I’d say for me, the Internet is a great new way for doing old things. So, what else conclusion can I bring except the one that Internet life cannot stand on itself without real-life communication. It is simple: If we understand the qualities of face-to-face communication that influence the impact of su ch communication on people and their social interaction, we would be able to predict the probable influence of any new communication technology. However, researchers show that people sooner or later convert their cyber contacts into more traditional face-to-face, the same as I do. People use the Internet, in other words to help them achieve their real-life goals. And rather than technology’s changing people’s social and psychological reality, in other words, people change their use of technology to facilitate their creation of a desired social reality. Internet users should closely examine their behavior, to ensure that excessive time online will not negatively impact their personal well-being. We shouldn’t throw our computers out the window, but neither should we charge on blindly into complete dependence on the Internet. As with many things in life, it seems that moderation and balance are key to maximizing the Internet’s positive effect.| The Internet has provided a new medium with which children and teens can bully their peers. While no direct physical harm can actually be done, the rise of Cyber Bullying can be much more dangerous than the bullying that takes place on school grounds. The Internet provides a false sense of safety and anonymity, which means that more and more children are likely to engage in ridiculing their peers and spreading vicious rumors. Children that would never dream of belittling one of their classmates face to face won’t think twice about doing so in a chat room, on their MySpace page or in a blog. How does the expression go? â€Å"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me†? As we all know, this simply isn’t true. Hurtful words and false accusations can do a world of hurt and can sometimes even lead to physical harm, especially among people who are young and impressionable. The Internet allows users of all ages, not just young people, the opportu nity to reinvent themselves and their image. If they don’t feel accepted at school they may go looking for acceptance on the net, and as we all know, for young people acceptance often comes at the expense of others. What makes Cyber Bullying all the more problematic is the fact that it can be difficult to regulate. Teachers and other staff are present at school to observe students’ behavior and hopefully put an end to bullying when they witness it. However, more and more young people are being given unlimited and unsupervised access to the Internet, which is more vast a place that we can imagine. Parents who aren’t watching what their children are doing on the Internet, whether its because they are technologically challenged, incredibly naive, or just negligent, have no idea what sorts of behavior their children are engaging in. When most parents finally wise up, they are shocked and appalled at what sites little Ryan has been visiting or who precious little Jamie has been conversing with. Possibly the most dangerous aspect of the Internet is the way that it encourages dangerous and hurtful behavior. Young girls are praised for posting inappropriate and revealing photographs of themselves and ridicule and rumors among classmates are answered and supported with even more hurtful behavior. It is up to society as a whole to help bring this problem of children and the Internet under control. The Internet is a wonderful tool, don’t get me wrong, but it is very hard to regulate and it is very easy for children too obtain a myriad of images and information that should not be seen by their impressionable eyes. Unfortunately, many parents are naive to this problem and refuse to believe that their children would get involved in anything dangerous or inappropriate on the Internet. Programs and other tools are available to help parents monitor their children’s Internet usage, but these alone are not enough. Young people today are more likely to know more about these devices than their parents, and often can find ways to bypass them. Therefore, you also need to be limiting the total amount of time that your children spend on the Internet each day and know what sort of access and supervision is taking place when they are visiting friends. Never, ever, allow children to have a computer in their room or their own laptop. The computer that your children use should always be in a main and heavily trafficked room of the house, where you can keep a watchful eye on their activity. It is up to you to help make this world a safer place for your children and you cannot underestimate the danger that is lurking in your very own home every time they sit down in front of the computer.