Saturday, August 31, 2019

Lenin had a greater impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other Ruler. How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? Essay

Lenin had a greater impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other Ruler. How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? Over the period from 1855 to 1964, Russia saw various reforms and policies under the Tsars and the Communist leaders that had great impacts on its economy and society both positive and negative. Lenin definitely implanted polices that changed society and the economy for example with war communism. However whether his policies had the greatest impact is debatable and in this essay I will be assessing the view whether Lenin had the greatest impact on Russia’s economy and society than any other ruler between the period from 1855-1964. The Russia economy in terms of industry fluctuated over the period from 1855-1964. It is key to note that under all the leaders, industrialisation and modernisation was always seen as an essential economic aim. Under Alexander II, with Reutern as his Minister of finance who adopted an approach t hat revolved around continued railway construction, attraction of foreign expertise and foreign investment capital. As a result modernisation and expansion occurred within the staples as well as newer industries which show the impact that alexander II made on industry. Reutern achieved a sevenfold increase in the amount of railway and the capacity of railway to carry break bulk at speed increased which gave a major boost to industrial output Russia seemed to be finally moving towards industrialisation and keeping up with the West. This approach was similar under Nicolas II who also managed to have a great impact on Russia’s industrial economy. This was through the work of Sergei Witte whom at the time of his appointment the Russian economy still resolved predominantly around agricultural production further showing that under Alexander II impacts was limited. Witte continued the idea of foreign expertise as well as taking out foreign loans, raising taxes and interest rates to boost available capital for investment in industry. Another major development was the placement of the rouble on the gold standard in 1897. The impacts of Witte’s policies were great. Coal production doubled and that of iron and steel increased sevenfold while the total amount of railway track opened rose from 29,183 km to 52,612 km in 1901. Much of this stimulated the stupendous growth in capital abroad. There was an indication that income started to even catch up with other industrialised nations seen and income  earned from industry rose from 42 million to 161 roubles by 1897. This period of industrial success has even been named the ‘Great Spurt’ and the increase in industrial production of 7.5% far exceeded Russian achievement for any comparable period before 1914 which shows that Nicholas II had the greatest impact on the industrial economy than any other Tsar. This focus on heavy industry was continued under Stalin who implanted his five year plans; industrialisation was to be stimulated through the settin g production targets. The effects were great increase in industrial output which hard to state specifically as much of the production figures were falsified. Khrushchev mostly continued Stain’s centralisation with greater diversion as he wanted to produce more consumer goods. There was however a slowdown in growth under Khrushchev but it wasn’t a huge impact and illustrates a negative impact. This however didn’t compare to negative impacts seen under Lenin. By November 1917 Lenin stated implemented War Communism by introducing state capitalism. This involved the state taking complete control over the economy until it could ‘safely’ be handed over to the proletariat. Nationalisation by itself did nothing to increase production; military needs were given priority so that resources to those industries not considered essential were denied. The situation was made more serious by the factories being deprived of manpower as a result of conscription. The problem for industry was deepened by hyperinflation. The government’s policy on continuing to print currency notes effectively destroyed the value of money and by the end of 1920 the rouble had fallen to 1 per cent of its worthin1917. Although Lenin’s NEP started to impact industry positively and indeed industrial output increased rapidly it only ever reached the level of output in 1914. Overall, the greatest positive impact on industry arguably is under Nicholas II. Industrial output over doubled under him, railway construction expanded rapidly and his policies impacted the people as well people saw living standards increase unlike under Stalin that despite growth living standards actuall y deteriorated and Russia could have seen to be on its way to true industrialisation. Whilst under Lenin it is clear that he had the greatest negative impact on the industrial economy. There was no industrial growth and Lenin only benefited through tighter control of Russia through the economy. As well as impacts on industry it is also important to consider impacts on agriculture. The issue of land ownership can be seen to  be handled differently under each leader. Alexander II, Lenin and Stalin all pursued that effectively had negative impacts on agriculture. With the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 the peasants were ‘free’ and no longer tied to the land. The impacts however were reversal. Peasants were allocated poor quality land and received less on average than they had been farming before emancipation. Furthermore peasants were forced to pay redemption dues that were higher than what they could achieve. In the end, the impacts on the peasants were they were worse off and able peasants had no incentive to produce surpluses and were reluctant to improve the land as decisions about what was to be produces and how crops were to be cultivated were decided by the village Mir, which resulted in a slight fall in grain overall. These effects however were more severe under Lenin and Stalin as they sought to increase grain production by coercion. While Lenin under War communism used grain requisitioning to forcefully collect peasant surpluses from them Stalin used collectivisation to force peasants to collaborate to produce as much food as possible. Similarly in both cases the peasants refused to conform; knowing that any surplus would be confiscated the peasant produced the barest minimum to feed themselves and their family and even less food was available for Russia. One of the greatest imp acts were the famines that occurred in 1921 under Lenin where the grain harvest produced less than half the amount gathered in 1931 and Russia had international help from countries such as the USA. However these impacts were the greatest under Stalin. The amount of bread produced fell from 250.4 (kilograms per head) in 1928 to 214.6 in 1932. The impacts of collectivisation were at its worst in 1932-32 when occurred what many people describe as a self-made national famine. Stalin’s ‘’official silence’’ of the situation meant it wasn’t addressed and thus collectivisation killed between 10-15 million peasants and failed to increase agricultural output. Though a similar devastating famine occurred under Alexander III in which he adopted the Peasant land banks to try and alleviate the impacts and encourage farming again and in fact famines occurred over Russian history its severity was the worst under Stalin. Alexander II’s attempt to pacify the peasants to increase agricultural levels was similarly adopted under Nicholas II through the reforms of Stolypin and further under Khrushchev. Stolypin’s ‘wager on the strong’ saw that in that period peasants were paying increasingly higher taxes a sign  that their new farming was producing higher profits. The provision of land backs, abolition of redemption dues and being urged to replace inefficient strip system created a wealthier group of peasants later labelled the kulaks by communist leaders signifying that Nicholas II enjoyed higher agricultural profits. The schemes for larger-scale voluntary resettlement of peasants are a continuation under Khrushchev whos e Virgin Land Campaigns encouraged the increase in the amount of land being cultivated. In 1950, 96 million acres of land were given over to the production of wheat and by 1964 this increased to 165 million acres. His policies seem to have even impacted citizens as urban dwellers started to feel that their food requirements were at last being adequately met. Thus Khrushchev can be seen to have the greatest positive impact on agriculture as the Russian people had finally felt that the food was enough for them and the amount of land and grain cultivated increased. While the greatest negative impact was prominently under Stalin, his collectivisation was met by peasant unrest and grain and livestock destruction that lead to a damning national famine. Both the Tsars and the Communist leaders had their impacts on the Russian society. Religion and the idea that the Tsar was Gods own appointed continued under all three Tsars, so there was no real impact by any on the tsars on religion as they sought to keep this religious through the aid of the Russian Orthodox Church; the Russian people truly believed that the Tsar was appointed by God and referred to him as their ‘little father’. Despite Lenin coming into power and issuing the’ decree on the separation of the church and state’ which meant that the church was no longer to have central organisation with authority over local organisations, religious teachings in schools being forbidden and the attempt to eradicate religion Peasants continued to pray and worship as their forebears had but they could no longer risk doing it so publicly. Hence showing the Tsars had a greater impact in terms of religion than the communist leaders as all their efforts to eradicate religion and enforce atheism effectively failed. Both the Tsars and the communist attempted to expand the provision of education at all levels. Alexander II is seen to make attempts that increased the number of Russians in education. In 1864 Alexander II introduced a major education reform. This had an immediate impact in the number of available school places, especially in more isolate places and raised the quality and variety of provision which  improved. Such continuation can be seen under Khrushchev who scrapped school fees and the creation of specialist academies and the spread of correspondence courses sought to increase the quality of education in Russia. Nicholas II and Stalin’s educational policies can be seen as similar in that they both impacted society similarly by raising the number of students attending school. The number of primary schools rose from 79 thousand in 1896 to 81 thousand in 1914 under Nicholas II ( work of the fourth duma) while in 1929 only 8 million pupils were attending primary school and in 1930 this rose to 18 million pupils. Furthermore under Stalin emerged the cult of personality that aimed to control all aspects of Russian life. Censorship and propaganda increased drastically under Stalin; however whether Stalin truly had an impact on the culture and the way of thinking is debatable. The applause that greeted his every appearance in public is more likely to have been a matter of prudence than o f real affection. In comparison to the leaders already mention Alexander III sought to limit university autonomy. Under him elections to the university councils were scrapped and placed by an appointment system but nevertheless universities continued to flourish. Overall although Alexander II can be seen to have stimulated educational growth participation the greatest impacts were seen under Nicholas II and Stalin which participation increased immensely. Although the Communist leaders tried to eradicate the church from society many of the Russian population remained orthodox but secretly illustrating the strong impacts the Tars had over religion. In conclusion, it can be seen that different rulers had various impacts on many parts of the economy and society. Industrially Lenin did have the greatest negative impact as the Russia didn’t see any real economic growth and saw a great famine. However under Nicholas II Russia enjoyed the great Spurt which arguably could have seen to have a greater positive impact as it even filtered to the Russian citizens that enjoyed better standards of living and many historians express that Russia was well on its way to industrialisation. Lenin again had a great negative impact on agriculture but that of Stalin was more severe and was worse on agricultural produce. Overall, though Lenin had great impacts of different aspects of life other rulers can be seen to have had a greater impact whether positive or negative and Lenin never truly managed to have a true impact on Russian society and culture though attempted.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Relationship Between Entrepreneurship

In order to completely understand the relation, it is Important to define what Is meant by each of the terms before Identifying any links between them. Joseph Schumacher defined entrepreneurship as â€Å"whatever the type, everyone is entrepreneur only when he actually carries out a new combination and loses that character as soon as he has built up his business, when he settles to running it as other people run their 1934, p. 78) I agree with most of this definition as this basically means that a person is only an entrepreneur when something new Is created.After this point, they are not considered entrepreneurs as whatever they have created Is no longer new. Schumacher also said that Innovation Is the creation of a new product, new method of production, new markets or new ways of directing resources. It is also important to distinguish between incremental and radical Innovation. Incremental innovation refers to a small change whereas radical change means a revolutionary change, For example, the Invention of the first mobile phone was a radical innovation. The release of Apple's latest phone is an incremental innovation.Firstly, I will examine the correlation between Just entrepreneurship and innovation. In my opinion, it is impossible to be an entrepreneur without being innovative. Summerset's definition supports this belief. The person needs to create something incrementally or radically new in order to be an entrepreneur. A good example of this would be Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple. His Innovation towards portable music was radical In the sense that his product was compact. However, since then, he has made more products such as phones and computers.Schumacher also argued that innovation allows firms to generate abnormal profits which are required as they encourage research and development. However, I believe that this research and development often leads to incremental change rather than radical change. This can be seen by looking at Apple as we ll. Apple constantly makes incremental changes to FIFO However, incremental change is essential for economic development. Economic development is defined as the rise in the general standards of living and quality of life. It is measured by the Human Developmental Index (HID).The HID is a â€Å"way of measuring development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income† (UNDO, 2011). Economic development can only be achieved if there is economic growth. Economic growth is the rise in a nation's real gross domestic product (GAP). Considering that â€Å"Development requires the removal of major sources of unfounded: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance or overcapacity of oppressive states. (Mammary Seen, 1999, p. 3), I firmly believe that economic growth can lead to economic development. Entrepreneurship and innovation fuels economic gr owth as it makes demand rise. An entrepreneur innovates and creates something to meet a pre-existing yet unfulfilled demand. As a result, people buy that product, allowing the entrepreneur to earn profits. These profits can be invested back into the business. The process then starts again and causes the economy to grow. A growing economy results in increasing expenditure.This means that unemployment falls and incomes rise. This means that consumption of necessity goods increases. The provision and consumption of services such as health care and education can also increase. Governments can also generate more revenue from tax as incomes and expenditure rises. This means the provision of public goods such as clean drinking water, sanitation and law and order increases. A rise in the supply of public goods causes a reduction in inequality gap and improves income distribution.All of these constitute to economic development as the standard of living has now been improved and this can be p roven by calculating the values for the HID indicators. Furthermore, economic growth is also an incentive for more innovation as it signals to the potential entrepreneurs that the economic conditions are suitable for making profits. It is due to all these conditions that I believe that the ‘uninformed' mentioned in Ken's definition are removed and aptly addressed during a period of economic growth, thus, resulting in economic development.An example, from Kenya, of the process above supports my argument. According to an article published by The Guardian, a Kenya telecommunications company, Safari, started providing a mobile banking service called ‘M-Peas' in 2003. This service permitted its users to store money on their phones and pay for items or transfer money via SMS. This provided people with an alternative source of banking that was better than the traditional method because it was portable and did not impose heavy charges for transactions. As a result, demand for mo bile phones went up.A study done by the London Business School showed that for every 10 extra mobile phones per 100 people, GAP in a developing nation went up by 0. 5%. Mobile phones also aided in economic development because they â€Å"can also be used to spread vital information about farming and healthcare to isolated rural areas send symptoms of a disease to a doctor via text and receive a diagnosis. Farmers could find the market price of the crops to ensure that they are not cheated. Mobile banking is not a radical innovation however; incremental change can be more beneficial for less developed countries.This service helps improve the quality of life for people in remote, rural areas that are hard to get to due to poor infrastructure. Although, entrepreneurship and innovation can cause economic growth, it isn't the only way. Economic growth can also be found in situations from which entrepreneurship is completely absent. A prime example of this would be the Russia during the s ass. During this time, Russia was a centrally planned economy. By definition this means that all decisions were made by the state rather than individuals. â€Å"The decade of sass was thus the â€Å"golden period† of Soviet economic Roth.The patterns of Soviet growth of the sass in terms of growth accounting were very similar to the Japanese growth of the sass-ass and to Korean and Taiwanese growth in the 1960-ass – fast increases in labor productivity counterweighted the decline in capital productivity' (Vladimir Pop, 2010) These nations saw an increase in their GAP even during a lack of entrepreneurship due to increased labor productivity. However, the rise in GAP only lasted a decade. As it can be inferred by inspecting the current economic conditions in the former Soviet states, the growth was not sustainable.Sustainability looks at the level of self-sufficiency a product or notion has. It is related to entrepreneurship and innovation in the sense that if a produc t, idea or procedure is not sustainable, the likelihood of its existence is low. It's obvious to me that an entrepreneur is less likely to follow through with an idea that cannot continuously generate profits. Conversely, the concept of sustainable development has to be discussed while trying to understand the relationship between economic development and sustainability.Sustainable development is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the resent without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. † (NUANCED, 1987)This means that entrepreneurs have to be innovative in a manner that satisfies the current demand but does not harm the future generation's capacity to innovate and satisfy their demands. Sustainable entrepreneurship can help achieve economic development. For example, the invention of the catalytic converter by Eugene Hydro was a radical innovation that was meant to reduce the air pollution created by exhausts from chimneys a nd automobiles.This kind of radical innovation benefits the developed nations more as they have a higher rate of institution and more factories and automobiles that create emissions. In this case, sustainable entrepreneurship increases economic development because impact on health, one of the factors measured by the HID, is reduced. In conclusion, the relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development is a bilateral one. I think it is impossible to be an entrepreneur without causes economic growth which is required for economic development.However, economic growth does not equate to economic development, as shown by the report on Soviet growth rates. Even though there was economic growth, there was a very insignificant, if any, rise in the standards of living. For me, this highlights the importance of entrepreneurship in achieving economic development. Even though I think radical innovation is a better reflection of entrepreneurship, I think that incremental innovation is of greater importance for the purposes of promoting economic development in less developed countries.The incremental innovations done by entrepreneurs in less developed nations, such as Safari in Kenya, are vital for economic development due to the nature of the infrastructure in these countries. Radical innovations such as the creation of the catalytic converter and whiney scrubbers that reduce emissions are significant for improving the standards of living in developed nations due to the opulence and levels of consumption. Sustainability and sustainable development play a noteworthy role in this relationship.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Anthropology of Tattoos

Scarred across her back are raised bumps forming intricate designs of lines and angles, a reminder of who she is and where she is from. She thinks back on the ceremony in which she was marked with the painful scarification. She remembered feeling a sense of calm as the village artist pierced her back with a small arrowhead, stretching the skin away from the body and swiftly but skillfully cutting a slit in her back. He repeated this several times as a ceremonial pot was filled with gathering soot from the burning fire. After the artist finished his tedious design, he rubbed soot from the pot bottom deep into the slits, planting the bacteria that would infect the skin, raising the scars into their meaningful design. She felt accomplished that she withstood the agonizing pain while other members of her clan could not. Her newly inherited body art signified the birth of her first son, and left her with a renewed sense of beauty. This is the way of life common to people indigenous to the motherland of Africa. Scarification, however, is not the only form of body art that is used. Body painting, tattooing, and branding are all similar forms of body art, which can be found in Africa and other cultures throughout the world. The word â€Å"tattoo† comes from the Tahitian word â€Å"tattau†, which means â€Å"to mark†. Tattoos have evolved from being symbols of punishment that were given to identify criminals and slaves in the early ninth-century Chinese culture, into a pop-culture trend of using he skin as â€Å"a way of describing the exotic uncivilized other† within ourselves (Schildkrout 2004:324). For centuries, the body has been used as a â€Å"visible way of defining individual identity and cultural difference† (Schildkrout 2004:319). This cultural difference becomes apparent when studying the evolution of body art over time, especially when focusing on the differences between the Western and Non-Western cultures. People have been adorning their body with tattoos and piercing for centuries, but until recently, the thought of tattoos in ancient Egypt had been pushed aside. It has now been discovered that, without a doubt, tattoos did exist in that time period. Although miniscule, a group of enormously important tattooed mummies serve to help prove this point (Bianchi 1988:21). The first mummy to be discovered was one f a woman named Amunet, whose mummy was found in an excellent state of preservation, â€Å"most likely due to the fact that she served as a priestess of the goddess Harthor at Thebes during Dynasty XI†(Bianchi 1988:22). The tattoos on her body were comprised of a pattern of dots and dashes in an elliptical shape on her lower abdomen. The thighs and arms adorned the identical parallel lines of the aforementioned pattern. Two more women mummies, who were discovered and believed to be from the same time period, also had similar tattoos on their lower abdomen (Bianchi 1988:22). This group of woman represents an exclusive group of Egyptians who received tattoos in that time period, because there is no other evidence that shows tattoos to be a part of the Egyptian culture until the time of the Middle Kingdom. These abstract patterns associated with ritualistic tattooing survived into the New Kingdom. The Egyptians, more then likely, borrowed a form of tattooing from the Nubian civilization. Unlike the Nubians, whose purpose for tattooing is unknown, â€Å"the Egyptians appear to have regarded the tattoo as one of several vehicles by which the procreative powers of the deceased could be revived† (Bianchi 1988:27). Substantiation proposes that only women were associated with the decorating of their bodies and the ritualistic activities that went along with it. The art of tattooing began with the grouping of bluish or black dots and/or dashes forming abstract geometric patterns; that system of body art lasted for over two thousand years in ancient Egypt. Just like other ideas and goods, the idea of tattooing began to travel to several different societies, and has evolved into extremely different forms of art all over the world. In northeastern Zambia, the Tabwa â€Å"once covered themselves from head to foot with scarification† (Roberts 1988:41). The women of the Tabwa began receiving elaborate marks on their face, chest, and backs when they were young girls; it sometimes was continued at other points in a woman’s life (Roberts 1988:43) such as courting rituals and for woman wishing to bear a child. Male sculptors would trace designs and make incisions on the lesser intimate parts of the body; they left the rest for the women to do. ‘Tabwa women used razors to slit skin [that had been] plucked up with a fishhook or arrowhead. These incisions were then rubbed with soot from a pot bottom, an irritant that produced the desired raised cicatrices† (Roberts 1988:44). There were several reasons that this tradition was done, different to every age and gender in the tribe. Young women went through this process in order to achieve a state of perfection, which was required for those wanting to marry and have children (Roberts 1988:45). Scarification is a form of body art that was used in several tribes because according to their customs â€Å"beauty is not physically innate, but rather a function of the girl’s inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:45). Not only the Tabwa, scarification was used in such tribes as the Ga’anda and the Tiv; all the tribes have distinctly different purposes for doing this, but the process and effect of the body are the same. Another form of body art is body painting, which the people of the Southeast Nuba begin at a young age; but the meanings, and time frame from when they begin decorating the body are very different between males and females. The males paint themselves from the ages of 12 to 27 (Faris 1988:31). Typically, they only paint during the down time after the harvest season and before the next years planting begins. This is the time that the males are less involved in mandatory and productive activities; they spend their supplementary time with festive activities such as dance and sport participation. The restrictions placed on the men by their age, most importantly deal with the color that they use on their body—for example â€Å" only the older age groups are eligible to use the greatest elaboration in color, including the deep black and yellow [colors, that are] prohibited to younger grades†(Faris 1988:32). The change in elaboration allowed on the body does not coincide with any physiological changes, rather, it corresponds with changes â€Å"in productive status or sport† (Faris 1988:32). As they move up in grades from young laborers that answer to the elders, to mature men that own their own property, farm and family, their elaborate painting ability increases. The elders though, do not decorate their bodies; rather, they delegate and lead rituals for the younger men and enforce the rules of allowed color use. Therefore, the male body painting shows their progression thru ones life stages. The women of Southeast Nuba, â€Å"from the age of six years, until consummation of marriage, oil and ochre [their bodies] daily, in colors [that are] appropriate to their patri-clan section† (Faris 1988:34). After childbirth, they may continue to wear some oil and ochre on their shoulders. The personal body art of women is strictly related to the physiological changes that occur as a women goes through life, and are fixed around body scarification as a way of showing her changes. A woman’s scarification is so important, that â€Å"if a husband refuses to pay for a scarring specialist, a woman may seek a lover who will do so, and her first marriage will end† (Faris 1988:35). Unlike the males elaborate body art, a woman’s body art is simple, but it accumulates over her life-span and is very standardized, while a male’s body art is constantly changing. Body painting, tattooing and scarification thus far had been tools used by individuals to beautify their body and elevate their status within their tribe; this is not the case with all societies. In several other cultures, tattoos have been used in a form of branding, which is quite the opposite. Though tattooing and branding are â€Å"similar in that both involve the insertion of pigments under the skin to create permanent marks†, branding is implemented in order to lower an individuals status, to punish for crimes committed, to identify slaves, but most importantly, to eliminate personal identity (Schildkrout 2004:323). â€Å"The immutable alteration of human skin by branding needs to be considered in relation to, but ought not be confused with, tattooing† (Bianchi 1988:27). Two recent studies originating in South Africa elaborate on this subject, reporting on the political influence of tattooing â€Å"as a means of social control† (Schildkrout 2004:330). They site examples from Zambia in which a medical practitioner travels around to villages â€Å"in which witch craft accusations have been common†¦to inoculate people against people against witch craft† (Schildkrout 2004:331). The villagers would â€Å"submit to bodily inspections†, they were then treated â€Å"by getting numbers tattooed on their arms† (Schildkrout 2004:331). This is disturbingly reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps when an unfathomable number of Jewish people lost their personal identities and became known as only a number in the system to be disposed of. This â€Å"symbolic denial of personhood† served as a system â€Å"of control and surveillance† (Schildkrout 2004:323). This system of control was also imposed by â€Å"authoritarian regimes† in Southeast Asia (Schildkrout 2004:323). The Zhou and Ming Dynasties branded criminals as a form of punishment with â€Å"extensive, often full-body tattoos, with elaborate pictorial imagery as well as written inscriptions† (Schildkrout 2004:324) portraying their crime. This form of tattooing is definitely contrary to traditional methods. Similarly in Brazil, branding was used to mark convicts by the penal authorities. Penal tattoos derived their power from subjugation of the marked convicts. The humiliation of being visibly branded was a significant component of the convict’s punishment. In an act of resistance, those that had been branded â€Å"were known to reclaim their bodies by writing over the inscriptions or by displaying them in new social situations† (Schildkrout 2004:324). The branded, therefore, became the empowered, restoring the function of the tattoo to being personally-motivated. This personal motivation is perhaps most notable in Western cultures, specifically North America. In America, the Native Americans used body painting in many ways, usually connected with ethnic identity, social roles or marital status (Rubin 1988:179). The Natives also used the body as a canvas in ritualistic ceremonies, on warriors going into battle and for the beautification of their women. When the Europeans discovered America, they brought with them slaves from Africa and they introduced branding of the slaves into the American culture. After the civil war, when the slaves had been freed, branding was still embedded in American culture through groups of people including gang members and convicts. Though â€Å"branding is often associated with involuntary marking and the denial of personhood†, it has also â€Å"been adopted in contemporary Western body culture as an assertion of group identity, for example in college fraternities† (Schildkrout 2004:323). Tattoos were also prevalent in other parts of America, including Alaska. Among the Eskimos â€Å"[t]he function of these art forms [was] – essentially manifesting one’s place or role within the hierarchy of hunting life† (Gritton 1988:190). With the introduction and adaptation of the western civilization in Alaskan culture, â€Å"the marks of a hunter or hunter’s wife served no purpose in their new lives and were understandably abandoned† (Gritton 1988:190). The function of body art and tattooing has been Americanized, evolving from its native origins to incorporate self expression. This self expression has mushroomed from a manor of identifying oneself to a way of gaining attention through shock value. Though ever-changing, all forms of body art mentioned play enormous roles in the lives of people. Certain non-Western cultures are based around the ability to use skin as a visible way of defining status or bettering their self-image, in order to attract companions. So the artists who are allowed to perform the act of adorning bodies with different designs are regarded as having a very important place in the society. They are â€Å"scarring specialist† (Faris 1988:35), â€Å"body artists† (Drewal 1988:84), but most importantly, they are known as â€Å"[the] one-who-creates- art† (Drewal 1988:84). In the non-Native American culture, however, the general attitude towards tattoo artist in present-day American culture is less than appreciative. Extreme critics even characterize tattooist as opportunist, exclusively seeking monetary gain (Sanders 1988:229). â€Å"The tattooist interest in artistry and control is often in conflict with his profit orientation†, revealing the major flaw within the American society (Sanders 1988:229). This is the major difference in western and non-western cultures. Body tattoos in western society are an object to be purchased. Americans obtain tattoos in the same manner that they acquire a new Louis Vuitton handbag. They purchase them as accessories, which is in stark contrast to the non-western cultures, who acquire tattoos as an essential ritual in their society. With this is mind, the process in which American’s purchases body art seems slightly ridiculous. Tattoo artists often complain of the unwillingness of customers to spend the quoted amount of money for â€Å"a tattoo [they] are going to wear for the rest of [their] life† (Sanders 1988:229). It is more acceptable in American culture to invest in short term materialistic purchases, therefore the legitimate tattoo artists are constantly being monitored and regimented under strict laws imposed by the government. Despite the absurdity of the purchasing process, the reasoning that propels the American society to obtain tattoos is just as flawed. Some reasons people give to explain permanently marking their skin include, â€Å"they were drunk, it’s a macho thing, to fit in with a crowd or even worse, for no reason at all† (DeMello 1995:42). Western society seems to have a complete disregard for the spiritual origins of body art. Tattoo artist are even witness to clients’ apathy, avoiding â€Å"working on people who are obviously under the influence of alcohol† (Sanders 1988:225). Where once there was a ceremonious celebration deeply rooted in spiritualism, in American society the only ritualistic ceremony is the receiving of a piece of paper on how to care for the recently acquired body art. This apathetic attitude of Americans is perhaps derived from the renouncing majority of the population. This bias stems from â€Å"very early ‘regulations’ [including] Moses’ remarks in Leviticus 19:28 forbidding any cuttings in the flesh or the printing of any marks† (Armstrong 2005:39). Since tattoos â€Å"were not sanctioned by the church† the profile for the tattooed archetype became unconventional (Schildkrout 2004:325). Christian belief has been adapted to the masses, forcing those who are tattooed into rebellion. The majority of people adopting body art include â€Å"bikers, convicts, and other ‘low lives’† (DeMello 1995:40). In Western society â€Å"the idea that the unmarked body as a sign of God’s work was linked to the Protestant reformation† and â€Å"the idea that body markings were a sign of savagery goes back even earlier† ( Schildkrout 2004:324). This is ironic considering tattoos in earlier cultures signified positions of high status. Perhaps the only entity that ties these drastic cultures together is the desire to increase their inherited beauty. â€Å"If the body is – metaphorically – a site of inscription to various degrees for various theorist, then cosmetic surgery can be seen, at one level, as an example of the literal and explicit enactment of this process of inscription† ( Schildkrout 2004:320), which is also seen in the aforementioned tribes with the rituals of scarification. DeMello also agrees that along with tattooing and piericing, that cosmetic surgery is seen as a form of â€Å"body modification† (DeMello 1995:37). â€Å"Not only does the tattooed skin negotiate between the individual and society and between different social groups, but also mediates relations between persons and spirits, the human and the divine† (Schildkrout 2004:321). Body art is a tradition that extends throughout the barriers of the world and although the forms in which they are found may be different, the idea of using your body as a canvas is universal. Although recently, several anthropologists agreed and have begun to examine body art more closely, looking at it â€Å"as a microcosm of society† (Schildkrout 2004:328), Roberts still believes that â€Å"there can be no ultimate explanation of symbolism† (Roberts 1988:51). He claims that â€Å"the blazes on trees in the Ndembu forest will remain many years after their purpose and meaning are forgotten. So it is with other inscriptions† (Roberts 1988:51). This is exemplified in the woman who endured the agonizing pain of her scarification to instigate a new chapter in her life. Nevertheless, soon after her body is placed into the ground, her skin will no longer be a visible indication of who she once was. She will become a memory and her body will no longer be used as a canvas.

Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buddhism - Essay Example Buddhism is a philosophy, which originated in India and was developed by Siddhartha Gautama (Buddah). He was an Indian prince who left his wealth and power in order to search for enlightenment. Buddah returned after he had spent many days in deep meditation in order to preach and help his followers reach enlightenment and thus break the cycle of death and rebirth (reincarnation). Essential to the philosophy of Buddhism is what Buddah named the Four Noble Truths. This was his foundation in which he based Buddhism so that a person could go on to achieve nirvana. The first was that life leads to suffering in some form or another. He termed this suffering dukka. The second was craving is what causes this suffering. The craving we feel is that we are clinging to a materialistic or some important construct in our physical world in which we derive pleasure from. Third, once a state of enlightenment is achieved, the cravings stop so causally the suffering ceases. Lastly, the fourth noble truth is that in order to achieve enlightenment, one must follow the path that Buddah has laid out. In a sense, Gautama gives his followers a set of instructions and conditions in which a person can achieve nirvana (Matthews, 103-144).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

World War 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World War 1 - Essay Example However, there are outright reasons, which have been acknowledged across the board as the major contributing factors. These are for example the existence of alliances among like minded nations. Before the start of the war, it had emerged that nations across Europe were organizing them selves into formidable groupings, which were primarily for the purpose of protecting each other in case one of them was attacked by an enemy. Such defense agreements existed between countries such as Russia and Serbia, Britain and Japan, France and Russia, Germany and Austria Hungary as well as between Britain, France and Belgium (Gilbert 41). This means for example that if Germany attacked Russia, then this would have forced Serbia and France to come in and assist Russia, forcing Austria Hungary to join forces with Russia thereby triggering a major conflict. These countries had also joined hands with other countries to form the triple alliance and the triple entente. The triple alliance consisted of Ge rmany, Italy and Austria Hungary while the triple entente had Britain, France, and Russia who were the major participants though Japan, Spain and the US later joined the entente. However, these forces applied diplomacy in most of the conflicts arising before 1914 but in the real sense, there was the lack of trust and a lot of suspicion such that there only required a triggering force for a war to explode (Gilbert 63). This is to imply that if these defensive groups had not been established before 1914, probably the First World War would never have occurred. Nevertheless, it is important to note that apart from the alliances, these countries had been scrambling for territories in Africa and Asia, in search of raw materials for their industries as well as procurement of slaves to provide labor to these industries. As such, the diplomatic relation among the European countries had been soured owing to the fact that some, such as Britain and France, had already encroached vast territorie s in these areas and Germany and other European powers wanted a share of the economic advantages. On the other hand, Britain and France had to maintain their territories and if possible, expand them even if it meant invading the few territories that Germany had (Gilbert 101). However, these provocations did not warrant a world war but in the long run, they created a circumstance whereby each and every country was searching for a reason to go into war with each other. In addition, the arms race had been going on for a long time with the superpowers trying to outdo each other either on the land or at sea. This increased military activity in Europe and as a result, it enhanced the level of threat by facilitating motivation to build weapons and equipment capable of sustaining heavy fighting. In deed, the arms race helped much to deteriorate the level of trust between the would be super powers as each felt threatened by the existence of a rival with a much more military power and technol ogy capable of suppressing opposition and gaining uncontrollable influence in the region. Britain for example invested heavily on the navy as the country is well surrounded by water and as a result, Germany went ahead to spend a lot of money to procure the Dreadnought war ships for fear of being overpowered in case Britain decided to attack from the ocean (Hough 36). Despite these factors, the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Hungary by a Serbian nationalist i.e. Gavrilo Princip, acted as the major direct triggering factor towards the WW1. Apparently, it has been observed that the murder was supposed to act as a sign to show Germany and Austria Hungary that the Slavic people were willing to go to any extent

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Marketing - Saturn Corporation in 1998 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing - Saturn Corporation in 1998 - Essay Example When Saturn looks for parts suppliers for future vehicles, the Marketing and Product Planning team looks for companies that have not only the technology for today, but also have the depth in resources that will enable them to grow in technology and support. Saturn needs these suppliers to be a contributing part of the project development team. To help ensure effective involvement, Saturn enters into long-term, sometimes even lifetime contracts with selected suppliers. (Lenz, 1999, p. 53) The Saturn Corporation had to be in complete contact with the GM, since the GM planned to launch the big cars and decided to have a shift from small to mid size cars, Saturn Corporation should have planned the similar and should have quit the idea of manufacturing the same old small cars. The reason that the strategy was not hard to implement is that the Saturn Corporation had previously been spotted number one in manufacturing small cars and because of that it had made some reputation and capital to cope well with the GM and this is exactly what GM had thought about the company. But it was not the part of the company’s mission statement and therefore the immediate job of the Saturn Corporation was to convince the GM that further launching of any such cars can make the market more competitive and already there are big leaders like Toyota and Honda performing well in the market, the scheme can be a flop. Whereas if the GM keeps on manufacturing such small sized cars which are having lesser costs and are already competing Toyota and Honda, the GM and Saturn could both be in greater profitability. Further, the Saturn Corporation could have stated to GM that the target audience should be the younger generation who is not capable of buying expensive cars and therefore would buy smaller cars already being manufactured, further more the traffic is increasing day by day and therefore the demand of small cars would be even higher in the future and thus the company should keep

Monday, August 26, 2019

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Political Science - Essay Example They are applied equally to all humans without discrimination and hence they are universal in nature and represent a common standard of achievement for all people and nations. When we talk of someone ‘having a right’ or ‘it is their right’, reference is made to human rights. Rights therefore entail entitlement to something and an obligation for someone else to provide it. Governments are obligated with the duty of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. If the right is endangered or denied, a person can make special claim on moral, political and social ground. Rights are thus a field of rule governed interactions centered on and under control of right holder (Donnelly, 8). Right holders are therefore not passive beneficiaries of their rights but are actively in control of them. Some rights apply to particular groups of people in order to achieve full humanity such the rights of women, children, disabled and the marginalized but should not contradict with other human rights. Human rights are based on an agreed convention such as universal declaration of human rights which governs claims of human rights and has been ratified by nations to guide their laws and international law. Human rights have become an important feature of contemporary international politics in recent years. Before the Second World War, human rights were a domestic affair. Each nation exercised these rights as it deemed necessary and states were sovereign. No states or international community was allowed to interfere with internal affairs of another nation. During the war, many atrocities were committed against people which made the protection of human rights an international priority (Viotti & Kauppi, 286). Women, children, Jews and homosexuals were murdered by Nazi government. The international community intervened and those responsible were charged for crimes against humanity. Human rights issues were discussed at UN meetings and

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The Violation of Joe Public's Procedural and Substantive Due Process Essay

The Violation of Joe Public's Procedural and Substantive Due Process - Essay Example In addition, it is mainly decided upon through the assessment of deliberation of error and analysis of interests. The substantive due process explains how the justice is depicted in the law and its link to the perception of legality. It offers a source of fairness and justice beyond the Constitution, which is determined through basic rights and persuasive requirement tests. However, an individual, fundamental rights and equal protection may be violated in the course of justice. Selective incorporation involves the explicit protection of essential and fundamental rights of an individual. This is similar to equal protection; however, equal protection clause is not present in the Fifth Amendment. Equal protection concerns discrimination allegations, therefore, from a selective incorporation viewpoint; the case can be filed as a discrimination claim under the Fifth Amendment. Joe Public can file his case in the federal courts. The case is involving the Fifth Amendment and Fourteen Amendm ent of the United States Constitution, and the federal courts handle most cases that may concern or challenge the Constitution. Moreover, the case can challenge and argue that there were some outlawed procedures that were violated, and the entire procedure substantively desecrated the doctrines of essential and fundamental justice. This will prompt a shift in the load of evidence to the State to demonstrate the compelling need. The case can be filed within the jurisdiction of the state courts and specifically in the state in which the health institution is location. The state courts can also handle cases involving the U.S Constitution, the state law and the state constitution. According to the Fourteenth Amendment, as a United State citizen, Public has a right to access all the privileges that belong to the citizens of United States. There is no law in the State in which Public resides, and went to seek medical treatment that was enforced which prevents Public from accessing the nee ded requirement. Therefore, he was denied his right as a United State citizen to quality and efficient medical care without any discrimination. This violated his procedural due process. Under the Fifth Amendment, Public has the right to quality life, which is possible through access to medical care that also provides relevant information regarding the social, health and cultural needs. The medical facility deprived him of this information, thus violating his fundamental rights and substantive due process (Stephens and Scheb, 2007). According to Holt (2010), the Fifth Amendment was only to apply to the federal government initially, thus the federal courts. However, the Fourteenth Amendment makes the Fifth Amendment binding to the states and their jurisdiction, hence the state courts. The violations of Public rights as a patient and a citizen are extensively covered with the Fourteenth Amendment. The case can be filed in both federal and state courts. However, Public is best suited fi ling the case in the State Courts since it is still in its jurisdiction and authority. The equal protection of Public’s rights was also violated. The right to access to emergency services was denied to John Public. This led to deterioration of the symptoms that Public was experiencing at the time. In addition, the hospital did not provide information that was relevant to the disease. This would have provided insight into the management of the disease. Mckenzie et al (2011) argue that without this information, understanding

Saturday, August 24, 2019

To what extent can agricultural biotechnology can hold the key to Essay

To what extent can agricultural biotechnology can hold the key to sustainable food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - Essay Example This essay as well shows the prospective of public†private joint ventures and gives recommendations of policy courses along with ventures that can centre more research in biotechnology on the issues of the poor and lessen some of the alarms concerning the biotechnology influences. The Biological Diversity conference describes biotechnology as: "use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use". With this explanation, the definition of biotechnology covers various methods and tools that are common in production of food and agriculture. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety2 describes â€Å"modern biotechnology† more narrowly as the appliance of: b. Cells fusion further than the taxonomic family, which surmount recombination barricades or natural physiological reproductive and which are not methods used in assortment and conventional breeding. A narrow interpretation which simply considers the innovative DNA methods, molecular biology along with application of reproductive technology, the description entails several diverse technologies like manipulation along with transfer of genes, cloning and typing and cloning the DNA of animals and plants. Even though the media has covered technology extensively in the last few years, this technology that has an extensive history that dates as far back as 6000 B.C. Progress in technology and science have altered conventional biotechnology methods, like hybridization, mutagenesis and selective breeding, into current ones, like tissue culture and recombinant DNA methods. This makeover has presented an opportunity extra applications in many areas like health care, forestry, industrial processes, the environment, and many others. The existing

Friday, August 23, 2019

Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Contract Law - Essay Example In the case of Bell,3 the court ascertained that in the event of an occurrence of common mistakes that undermines the subject of the agreement it renders that contract void. The law recognizes three types of common mistakes namely, res extincta, res sua and mistake on the basis of quality and personality of the subject matter of the contract. Res axtincta is a common mistake where the parties enter into a contract to acquire something that does that both parties are unaware of its non-existence.4 res sua is a common mistake where one party forms an agreement with the other to acquire the interest in something already that party has, but without the knowledge of either party. Finally, a common mistake on the basis of quality is where the parties form an agreement to perform something different from what they thought it was.5 A common mistake can limit the parties to the contract from reaching an agreement because the parties are incapable of establishing corresponding offer and acceptance on an essential issue of the agreement.6 Also, even when parties have reached an agreement, there is a shared mistake in relation to the associated circumstance. Under the English Common law, the common mistakes might undermine the contract by rendering it completely void.7 However, unless the issues are serious it might not be necessary for the parties to seek legal intervention, even though, the parties could not have entered into the agreement had they known the true position at the time they were forming the contract.8 Equitable jurisdiction refers to a structure of integrity considered to enhance the common law by taking action in an equitable and rational manner that results in just outcome.9 Under equitable jurisdiction, the parties to the contract are prohibited from enforcing their legal rights in case it was unacceptable for them to do so. The essence of equitable jurisdiction is to ensure no party takes

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Education Improvements Essay Example for Free

Education Improvements Essay With a vast array of educational sources available online or by using technology which is involved with multimedia, it is only inevitable that a great deal of teaching will be used this way. Advantages may include improved efficiency, interested learning and a sense of enjoyment for younger learners. Traditional classroom based teaching will need to work together with the advances of computer based learning to fulfil and expand the learners knowledge. Bibliography www. computerweekly. com www. mit. com www. nhs. com www. bbc. co. uk. As technology has evolved rapidly in and around our environment, public services are now steadily introducing multimedia and other forms of computer based applications. The Territorial Army (TA) and the National Health Service (NHS) are two that have evolved dramatically within the last ten years in relation to technology. The TA has several high-tech intelligence and weaponry applications and the NHS has such vital modern equipment all implementing some form of multimedia. With this it should only make sense that multimedia be included in another very important sector, Education. Within the last five years multimedia and education have bonded well to produce some very informative information. This has become readily available for children as young as two up to adults participating in education via adult learning schemes. The most significant and straightforward way to view these types of information is from the World Wide Web (WWW). The similarity between primary and university study is that they need to be online indefinitely. Although they need internet access it must not be a limited package. The connection they apply must be quick and effective otherwise users will establish a lackadaisical attitude towards the idea. Inside the last twelve months there has been a surge in primary and secondary schools in particular enquiring about wireless connections. Many schools are looking at this form of connection due to its low cost and flexibility. Laptops can be transferred from one classroom to another, rather than having a fixed station. An example of multimedia used within education is a project aimed towards disaffected children to encourage them back into learning. Interactive mathematics, composing digital music and building virtual 3D art exhibitions are some of the applications which are used and created. The main idea behind the project is to establish a stable bond between pupil and teacher with the use of I. T. Other outcomes which are hopefully achieved is the better retention of the technology they are using (both pupil and teacher). If the time for this technology is used wisely and productively with the school environment it could play and integral part in the pupils advances post education, however if the pupil is not receptive to new forms of teaching then the answer must lie elsewhere. Ian Peacock chairman of Hackney Councils Education Committee said We need to ensure that the childrens use of computers in the classroom provides some of the buzz they get from playing media-intensive games in their leisure time. (ComputerWeekly, 2001). As education and multimedia within the ages of two to sixteen is of great importance, the education of the older age group should also be considered vital for those willing to expand their skills and acquire the relevant knowledge. This next form of learning via means of multimedia shows how far the technology has developed to cater for this age group. MIT Open Courseware is designed to: ?Provide free, searchable, access to MITs course materials for educators, students, and self-learners around the world. ?Extend the reach and impact of MIT OCW and the open courseware concept. There is a wide variety of courses to opt for, from history to nuclear engineering. The site is aimed at self-learners who can log on anywhere in the world and start accessing information on their chosen subject. Lecture notes and assignments are all included just as if they were studying in University. This form of studying is very familiar at present with more than 2000 courses available on the internet reported by 1996. That number has grown progressively and there are courses available today to suit the majority of users whatever their subject. These online courses prove to be significant to those who maybe cannot afford fees towards university or who reside to far from any teaching institute. We live in a very rural area. Access to quality educational materials is a 225-mile drive to the nearest library of any significance. (Self Learner MIT, 2005).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Teenage Pregnacy Essay Example for Free

Teenage Pregnacy Essay Every single country in the world that the people live in is important and each country has its own nature and significance. The United States of America is known as the most powerful country and many other countries support America. These countries become America’s alliances. The Philippines is one of its alliances. The Philippines have certain factors that make it known. Some of this is the so-called â€Å"wonders of the Philippines.† An example of which is the Banaue Rice Terreces that were created by the Ifugaos The presence of the Chocolate Hills is also a wonder in this country. The beaches are also famous in the Philippines. The Philippines have great beaches wherein foreigners tend to sit often. Even if there are many things that could be praised in the Philippines, it has also issues that are known to the world. Its corruption is one of those issues that is known bout the Philippines. Another issue is its population. The population is an important factor in a certain country or place. Population could give a positive or a negative outcome depending on how it is utilized. Some countries make certain measures to make sure that the population would not be causing a problem On the other hand; others do not give much empha Even if the government is planning to adopt such this kind of law, many people are against it especially the Church. If the population were not provided with the right amount of food, they would be malnourished. There is also a positive effect regarding the increase in the population. Future researchers should focus more on the methods and implementations that will help on lessening the Philippine current population rather that concentrating on other topics. The environment has different aspects. 6 deaths for every 1000 population (http:www. It is much colder here compared to the lower land areas. Around 40 percent of those people who are poor have been able to study in elementary, while only 10 percent of the families were able to send their children to study in high school (www. Overpopulation could also lead to congestion. Some topics in this essay: Census Statistics, Philippines Philippines, According Jose, Commission Population, Filipinos Church, Metro Manila, United America, , increase population, rapid increase, Chocolate Hills, rapid increase population, Rice Terreces, philippine population, death rate, country population, positive negative, people living, continuous increase,negative effects, family planning, negative effects increasing, effects increasing population, increase population lead,increase philippine population, Population Growth Overpopulation has become an enormous crisis facing society today. Overpopulation is distinguished by the numbers of people in an area relative to its resources and the capacity of the environment to sustain human activities; that is, to the areas carrying capacity. When is an area overpopulated? When its population cant be maintained without rapidly depleting nonrenewable resources, or converting renewable resources into nonrenewable ones, and without degrading the capacity of the environment to support the population. In short, if its current human occupants are clearly degrading the long-term carrying capacity of an area, that area is overpopulated. By this standard, the entire planet and virtually every nation is already vastly overpopulated. Africa is overpopulated now because, among other indications, its soils and forests are rapidly being depleted—and that implies that its carrying capacity for human beings will be lower in the future than it is now. The United States is overpopulated because it is depleting its soil and water resources and contributing to the destruction of global environmental systems. Europe, Japan, the Soviet Union, and other rich nations are overpopulated because of their Dolan believes that an increase in population will not lead to an ultimate decline in the standard of living of humans. Also, scientists further this notion by bringing up the fact that humans, in much the same way as cancer, produce toxic metabolites. Simon believes that there is no population crisis and no environmental crisis that is due to the rapid growth of humans. We must learn to take care of the natural resources and be aware of the fact that we, as humans, will continue to reproduce and our population will continue to grow. Such a massive and still increasing population, combined with the environmentally detrimental repercussions of industrialization, as a result of the need to sustain such a large population, namely pollution from fossil fuels, has begun to take a serious toll on our planettms ecosystem. In conclusion, I believe that we must all work together to be able to live in a better environment and have a better quality of life. This meant that at some point human beings would experience a scarcity of land, food and jobs, leading to human misery and catastrophe (Southwick 159). (Dolan, 69) In short, Dolan believes that humans can decrease overall pollution while still growing in overall population. Some scientists have likened the effects that human population growthhas had on the earth to the effects of cancer on human beings (Southwick 161). Similarly, poor living conditions and sanitation, especially the lack of clean water, leads to serious outbreaks of disease. In addition, advances in agricultural and industrial technology have effectively increased the size of the globe over the last two centuries, in terms of the maximum population which it will support. For many families in poverty conditions, children are essential for the overall familys survival; more income is needed that comes with more children working. These effects in turn lead to increases in hunger and malnutrition. Some topics in this essay: Dolan Dolan, Soviet Union, Human Perspective, Paper Overpopulation, Warren Hern, Principle Population, Simon Simon, Agricultural Revolution, Edwin Dolan, population growth, Malthus Anglican, standard living, carrying capacity, reasonable standard living, reasonable standard, health care, human population, disease famine,southwick 161 scientists, poverty disease, food jobs, rich nations overpopulated, growth human, especially third world, human population growth, Population growth rate: 1.903% (2011 est.) Definition: The average annual percent change in the population, resulting from a surplus (or deficit) of births over deaths and the balance of migrants entering and leaving a country. The rate may be positive or negative. The growth rate is a factor in determining how great a burden would be imposed on a country by the changing needs of its people for infrastructure (e.g., schools, hospitals, housing, roads), resources (e.g., food, water, electricity), and jobs. Rapid population growth can be seen as threatening by neighboring countries. Source: CIA World Factbook Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of July 12, 2011 http://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/population_growth_rate.html Indeed the population of the Philippines is expected to increase at a rate faster than that even of India. Implications for the Philippines Will The Philippines be one of a handful of countries to achieve â€Å"least-developed† status by the year 2050? There are no doubt some who will argue that the continued unchecked population growth being experienced by the Philippines is actually a blessing. Certainly it is one of the few countries that has failed to sustain any form of population policy – a consequence both of the extreme poverty experienced in much of the countryside as well as the political influence of certain religious groups who remain adamantly opposed to any form of birth control. Indeed with a number of regions – Japan and Europe most notably, facing declining populations and the United States continuing to grow largely through immigration, there are some who may see advantage in the Philippines being the baby factory of the world. But is that really what the country wants? Taking the range of projections provided by the latest data, the population of the Philippines in the year 2050 will (according to the United Nations) probably lie in the range between 154 million (high estimate) to 103 million (low estimate and based on a declining birth rate). The median predicted value is a population of 154 million. But do these figures tell the whole story? Probably not. Certainly with regard to the Philippines, the latest population data from the world body may have under-estimated the problem facing this country. Each of the scenarios modeled in the latest survey data assume that the Philippines will follow the rest of the world in implementing population policies that will lead to a declining rate of birth – the only questions then being when will it occur and how fast will that decline be? According to the data published by the United Nations, at the end of 2000 the population of the Philippine stood at 75.7 million. The population growth rate stood at 1.79 percent (annual), fertility rate (children per woman on average) at 3.18 and the crude birth rate at 2.53 percent In absolute terms, the population number given by the United Nations certainly accords with the official figure published by the (Philippines) National Statistical Coordination Board, which gives the population as of mid 2000 at 76.498 million. However the rate of population growth as determined from the National Census over the past thirty years is at variance with the UN data and in recent years the disparity is quite marked population at 82.7 million. Indeed it would appear that by end 2003, the population had already reached the level predicted by the international survey for 2005. That is not an insignificant margin of error. The population increase expected over a fiveyear period – actually occurred within three years! Against this information, the projections cited above almost certainly underestimated the future growth trend of the Philippines. Without a significant – and long-term – reduction in the birth rate, the Philippines will face a population that by the middle of the century exceeds 210 million people. Unfortunately this is not an item that appears on the national agenda. A population that is increasing more rapidly than expected also impacts on the broader demographic data not least of which is the median age of the population. While under the more modest growth scenarios the Philippines population ages from a median of around 21 years at the present time to around 35 years, under the high growth scenario the median age of the population hardly moves – only to 25 years. This means the Philippines is not only stuck with a rapidly growing population but it will remain a young population. The implications in terms of education and the demand for other social services including water and sanitation are equally alarming. Yet with such a young population, the broader tax base that comes with a rising median age will not be there to finance these demands. The population density currently stands at around 275 persons per square kilometer but could rise to as many as 700 if the worst-case scenario is realized. This possibility has immediate implications for agricultural policy and the need for rational land use and higher value-added cropping. Without such policies the poverty level – and political unrest– will be far worse than it is at present. Already the Philippines is starting late in the day. Other Asian countries, including most of the Philippines’ Asean neighbors have already adopted prudent population and industry policies to control their populations and to implement growth strategies that will make a meaningful difference to the lives of their people. Thailand for one is now reaping the benefit of policies started back in the sixties. The Philippines stands out as the exception to the rule in this regard and it is a policy stance that the country’s present political and economic elite can only ignore at the risk of jeopardizing the future of the country. http://www.philippinesforum.com/resources/research/files/PBLSR040216_population.pdf As shown at the outset of Chapter 1, the population of the Philippines is growing at the very high rate of 2.36% per year. At this rate, more than 5,000 people are born every day in a country where the number of poor people has increased by more than four million since 1985 [M92]. The population is projected to reach 111 million by 2015. Population growth in and of itself is not a problem if resources are available to cope with the additional people requiring public services, employment, housing, and so on. But in a country where the budget is already stretched and where poverty is high to begin with, population growth becomes a major issue. The links between rapid population growth and persistent poverty have been well established. Rapid population growth hinders development for two 96 Poverty in the Philippines: Income, Assets and Access interrelated reasons. First, because it reduces growth in per capita incomes and thus savings, it reduces the funds available for investment in productive capacity. This underinvestment in turn reduces overall economic growth and prospects for poverty reduction. Second, as population growth outpaces the capacity of industry to absorb new labor, urban unemployment and rural underemployment are compounded. In 2003, the Philippine economy generated 566,000 new jobs, of which 60% were in the services sector. Despite this job creation, unemployment levels rose because the job market was inundated with 624,000 new entrants (ADB Asian Development Outlook 2004). The larger the family, the more likely it is to be poor. Table 34 shows poverty incidence by family size for 1997 and 2000, and the two are very strongly correlated. Orbeta (2002) reviews the empirical evidence to show that high fertility is associated with decreasing investments in human capital (health and education). Children in large families perform less well in school, have poorer health, lower survival probabilities, and are less developed physically. The problem is one of resource dilution, where each additional child means a smaller share of family resources including income, time, and maternal nutrition. Orbeta (2002) further shows that larger family sizes in the Philippines are not the result of rational choice among the poor. Surveys including the APIS66 have shown that the poor have more limited access to family planning services, lower contraceptive prevalence rates, higher unwanted fertility, and higher unmet needs for family planning. The author’s conclusion is that subsidized family planning services for the poor must be an integral component of any poverty reduction strategy. Balisacan and Tubianosa (2004) undertook cross-country research to quantify the direct effects of population on economic growth, social services, and labor force participation in the Philippines. The Philippines and Thailand were similar in terms of both population and GDP per capita in 1975, but by 2000, there were 13 million more Filipinos than Thais. Total fertility rate (TFR) in Thailand had dropped to 1.9, while it remained at 3.6 in the Philippines. At the same time, by 2000 GDP per capita in Thailand had grown to 8 times its 1975 rate, while the Philippines’ GDP per capita was only 2.6 times higher. The empirical analysis shows that population is not the only cause of the poor performance of the economy, but it is the most significant one, ahead of corruption, for example. In an interesting exercise, the authors assess what the monetary savings in education and health would have been, had the Philippine population growth pattern followed that of Thailand. The authors find that P128 billion would have been saved in the education sector from 1991 to 2000, while P52 billion could have been saved in the health sector from 1996 to 2000. The Government’s new MTPDP 2004–2010 has been criticized for not articulating a clear population policy. Instead, it presents only a target: that population growth will slow to 1.98% per year by 2010. The NEDA response to this critique states that the population policy of the plan is based on responsible parenthood, respect for life, informed choice, and birth spacing (NEDA, 2004). This is insufficient. The Government, with strong donor support, should scale up family planning education and services. Innovative mechanisms and clear messages promoting contraceptive use are needed, because access does not automatically result in use, as reported in the 1999 APIS. The data shows that nearly 90% of married women aged 15–49 had access but less than 40% were actually practicing family planning. Population policy should not concentrate too narrowly on contraception alone: women’s rights, reproductive health, and education are also critical elements of the population-development equation. Rather than a singular focus on married couples, heightened emphasis should be placed on informing, educating, and providing access to adolescents and youth. The 1998 and 1999 APIS questionnaires included a series of family planning and maternal care questions–but only for married women. These were removed from the 2002 APIS for an unknown reason. http://www.adb.org/documents/books/poverty-in-the-philippines/chap6.pdf

Fayols 4 Functions of Management

Fayols 4 Functions of Management Henri Fayol (1841-1925), praised as father of modern administrative management, focused on general and attitudes theories of managers practice. Fayol was the first to discover the specific managerial functions of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling (Davidson et al, 2009 p.42). However, it has comprised of only four functions nowadays (planning, coordinating, leading and controlling). These functions have become the solid foundation and core management process, playing important roles in diverse organisations. Accordingly, this essay will further elaborates the Fayols functions and convince of its great influence within the contemporary management practices. However, errors and biases decision making such as overconfidence and sink costs might cause corporate crisis and scandal (Robbins et al, 2009 p.232). Port Klang Free Zone project (PKFZ) in Malaysia, has bring on a failure planning. Advisory firm Pricewaterhousecoopers (2009 p.11) has revealed PKFZ project actual cost had rose up from RM1,957 billion, predict to reach RM12,453 billion cumulative deficits in over time. Report further indicated that failure planning included weak governance and project management, lands purchased exceed market value, low project actual occupancy and so on. It is apparent that the management team are holding unrealistically positive view, tend to obtain reward and to avoid immediate costs. PKFZ project also failure to adjust adequately for subsequent information. Thereby, decision-makers ought to not be heuristics thus simplify. Fayols coordinating function still emphasises in current management practice. Coordinating linking and allocating the organisational activities and resources to ensure efforts are effectively (Davidson et al, 2009 p.280). Coordinating approaches consist of job specialisation, departmentalisation, allocating authority and also organising activities. These purposes are to maximising performance practices, and establish sustainable competitive advantages. For this example, Malaysia former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has a great effort on coordinated civil servants. He initiated civil service reform in his governance time, suggested paradigm shift needed from the civil servants in their attitude and approach towards their duties. Hereby in Mahathir theory, stated that civil service should more customers focused, responsive, results and performance oriented, accountable and innovative, with the capacity and capability of providing quality services (Ho and Chin, 2001 p.22). As a result, reform has increased the efficiency and effectiveness in the civil service administration and management. Besides, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was another example to demonstrate the important of coordinating. Reformation MAS adopt to join global airline alliance to cut short their deficit flight lines and feed to alliance airline (Sia, 2007). Simultaneously, collaborate airlines would also allocate the regional flights to MAS. Therefore, both have equal advantages, despite MAS flights reduced but made more money. Leading is another element of Fayols function. Organisational manager should have leadership skills to lead employee. Robbins (2009 p.577) stated that a good leader should have clear goals, relevant skills, mutual trust and support, negotiating skills and unified commitment. Furthermore, effective communication increase productivity and avoid distrust between employees. As Mahathir (2004 p.118) outlined that explanations is one of the important jobs of a leader, because leader (manager) have to sell the idea to people (subordinates). Thereby, good communication should a leader have. However, Milne and Mauzy (1999 p.3) argued that the most important leadership traits are not discernible by looking at the leader alone but by looking at interactive leader-follower relations. It makes clear that leader should also be sensitive to what followers think. For instance, Asia leading low-cost carrier, Air Asia, has an extraordinary leading style. The management prefers casual and team-work approach, with less authority symbolises and allows employees to share opinion (AFP, 2004). The crew members clean the plane without regard for rank, and the top manager frequent get down operations with subordinates. CEO Tony Fernandes has further explained this is a way to motivate his staff (Kang, 2003). The forth Fayols functions are controlling. Controlling means restricting organizational activities to same targeted element of performance remain within acceptable limits (Davidson et al, 2009 p.318). Controlling is an indicator and it helps to ensure the process of implementing goal was in right direction, with comparing and evaluating its performance. In reality, due to goal perform is an ongoing process, contingency are often surround and occur during process, therefore, controlling provide the critical link back to planning. Well controlling will make productivity efficiency and achieve effectiveness goal. Air Asia as a low-cost airline has to constant looking of their cost and expenses. For example, Air Asia decides buying single type aircraft, which is Airbus A320. CEO Tony Fernandes (2007) make clear that Airbus A320 is cost economics than others aircraft, superior reliability and fuel efficient. Due to this, keeping single aircraft type reduces maintenance fees and staff training expenses. It is apparent that Air Asia has made effective control through cost-efficient. On the other hand, organisation without control managing ignoring of the target and what future happens to take, lastly cause failure management. Port Klang Free Zone project (PKFZ) as stated above, was also result in weak finance controlling. The report (2009 p.40) has illustrated PKFZ purchased land with exceeds market value, and twice to accept higher interest rates loan than originally contracted without reason, despite management team discovered financial statement facing deficit. In sum, overwhelming evidences make clear that Fayols functions involve great influence to contemporary organisational management practice. Planning, coordinating, leading and controlling are incurred reciprocal condition, interdependent and interaction. Managers have to engage in different activities and different management process well simultaneously. Without Fayols functions nowadays, Malaysia Airlines might be termination, dissolution or take over by others. Also, entirely low-cost airlines organisations even many low-cost industries cannot survive. PKFZ project is not without planning, but a weakness planning and controlling. If plans and controls in satisfactory, it might be a flourish regional trade, distribution and procurement centres. Hence, it could therefore be concluded with practice well of Fayols functions, although goal cannot assure be success but can minimise the challenges and drawbacks among the approach.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The drug control policy of the United States Essay -- Criminology, Dru

The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts. The current situation of drug control in the United States is imperfect and inadequate. Millions of men and women, both young and old, are affected by illicit drug use. It costs the United States about $6,123 every second because of drug use and its consequences (Office). Moreover, 90 percent of all adults with a substance use disorder started using under the age of 18 and half under the age of 15. Children who first smoke marijuana under the age of 14 are five times more likely to abuse drugs as adults than those who first use marijuana at age 18. Finally, the children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol (Prevent). Current legislation that has to do with the United States’ drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances (Shannon). In 1966, Congress passed the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act also known as the NARA. This legislati ... ...ww.csdp.org/cms/>. Gandey, Allison. â€Å"New National Drug Control Policy Includes More Prescription Monitoring.† Medscape Today. Web MD, 7 May 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. . Manchikanti, Laxmaiah. â€Å"National Drug Control Policy and Prescription Drug Abuse: Facts and Fallacies.† Pain Physician Journal 10 (May 2011): 399-424. Print. â€Å"Office of National Drug Control Policy.† The White House. USA, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"Prevent.† The Partnership at Drugfree.org. The Partnership at Drugfree.org, 2011. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. . Shannon, Elaine. â€Å"The War on Drugs: A Losing Battle.† Time.com. Time Magazine, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. . Wyler, Liana. â€Å"International Drug Control Policy.† CRS Report for Congress (June 2008): 2-46. Print.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Success and Failure in Two Kinds by Amy Tan Essay -- Two Kinds by Amy

Amy Tan, a child of Chinese immigrants, wrote the story â€Å"Two Kinds†, telling the tale of a Jing-Mei’s rebellion against her mother’s desire to change her into a prodigy. As Jing-Mei’s mother continually tells her she does not try hard enough to succeed, the conflict between Jing-Mei and her mother escalates. Jing-Mei grows more stubborn, making every effort to resist her mother, and the relationship devolves into a standoff where mother and daughter both refuse to budge from their position. â€Å"Two Kinds† shows the irony in Jing-Mei’s relationship with her mother; while her mother believes Jing-Mei does not try hard enough to succeed, Jing-Mei succeeds in her struggle for identity by refusing to become the person her mother wants. The story opens with a brief synopsis of Jing-Mei’s mother’s past. As a Chinese immigrant fleeing from war, her mother leaves behind everything: â€Å"her mother and father, her family home, her first husband, and two daughters, twin baby girls.† (Tan 206) As a resident in America, Jing-Mei’s mother does not wallow in misery but instead looks forward to a life with limitless boundaries, honestly believing that â€Å"[y]ou could become instantly famous.† (Tan 206) Brent tells us that Chinese immigrants view America as a true land of opportunity and that tradition demands a daughter’s obedience to her mother (1). With a history steeped in traditional Chinese culture and a spirit of adventure, her mother decides Jing-Mei will fulfill this dream and become a child prodigy. At first, the anticipation of riches and fame propel Jing-Mei into cooperating with her mother, persuading Jing-Mei in the belief she can attain perfection. She imagines herself in several wonderful images, each colorful and immensely sati... ...elf. In a broader context, Tan says our tendencies to mold our children into our ideal image of success often works against the universal struggle to find one’s identity. Television, powerful advertising, clever marketing, and the myriad opinions of everyone we know swirl around us in a cacophony of conflicting messages, often drowning our pleas for time and space to get to know ourselves and find contentment in being what we are and not what someone else wants us to be. Works Cited Tan, Amy. â€Å"Two Kinds†. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Longman. Boston. 10th ed. Brent, Liz. "Overview of 'Two Kinds'." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 9. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420031606&v=2.1&u=tel_a_tbr&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Gender Equity in Math and Science Essay -- Essays Papers

Gender Equity in Math and Science From the research I have read while there is a disagreement on when and how much of a gender gap exists in math and science, there is definitely an equity issue that needs addressing. There seems to be an abundance of information about equity issues and as a future teacher I feel that it is important to examine these issues. If gender equity issues exist in today's’ classrooms why do they and what can be done to help correct it. Everything I've read so far states that a gender gap exists in science, while opinions about math vary. I found a paper on the Internet from the National Center for Education Statistics called â€Å"Trends In Educational Equity of Girls & Women.† Using information from NAEP this source states that between 1973 and 1994 academic achievement of females in math was about equal to males (NCES, 2000). The NCES report states that females and males take similarly challenging academic courses (2000). Baker (2001) however writes that research shows that there is a slight female superiority in elementary school and middle school and a moderate male superiority in high school in math and science. Baker (2001) researched gender equity in gifted elementary students in grades 4 and 6. After his study he concluded that â€Å"gender had a significant effect on the performance of high performing students in grades 4 and 6† (Baker, p.134). Baker reported a slight female super iority in relation to performance in the area of math computation which is consistent with other studies he has read, but Baker found that males were superior in the understanding of math concepts and applications which is inconsistent with previous findings (2001). From reading our textbook the... .... Science Education, 84, 180-192. Kahle, J., and Lakes, M. (1983). The Myth of Equality in Science Classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, 131-140. National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women. Retrieved March 16, 2001 on the World Wide Web: http://nces.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pud=2000030. Sadker, M., Sadker, D., and Stulberg, M. (1993, March). Fair and Square? Creating a Nonsexist Classroom. Instructor, 44-46, 67-68. Sanders, J. (1997). Teacher Education and Gender Equity. (Eric Document No. ED408277). World Wide Web: http://ericir.syr.edu/plweb-cgi/obtain.pl. Retrieved March 16, 2001. Reys, R., Lindquist, M. Lambdin, D., Smith, N., and Suydam, M. (2001). Helping Children Learn Mathematics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Love is Pain Essay

â€Å"Then almighty Juno, pitying her long agony and painful dying, sent Iris down from heaven to release her struggling soul from the prison of her flesh.† – The Aeneid, Book 4, line 693   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Book four of the Aeneid, the selection narrates the tragic story between the protagonist of the story, Aeneas and Dido, the queen of Carthage. Although Aeneas and Dido’s relationship only spans a small chapter in the entirety of the Aeneid, it still represent striking themes on love, betrayal, and omnipotent interference of the gods in the affairs of human beings. The story of Aeneas and Dido is a classic symbolism of love; the man, compelled by duty, sheds love that he could never have while the woman scorns for her downcast state yet finds retribution with death as she escapes her mortal prison full of pain and anguish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the death of her husband, Dido swears that she will not marry again. However, the interference of Venus and her son Cupid causes the love of Dido for Aeneas to grow as she listens to his tragic tales. Dido’s sister Anna consoles the queen and reassures her that by marrying Aeneas, Carthage’s military power will increase since Trojan warriors loyal to Aeneas will follow him. Juno, the wife of Jupiter and the goddess of marriage, sees that Dido’s love for Aeneas has consumed her and plots to prevent Aeneas from going to Italy. Juno convinces Venus to aid her into getting Dido and Aeneas together so that they could be alone together. Juno promises a storm so that they could take shelter in a cave. In doing so, the Trojans and Tyrians would forge a truce and the two goddesses will end their squabble. The following day, the queen of Carthage and the Trojan warrior leave the city to go hunting. In the middle of the forest, Juno brings down the promised storm and the couple takes refuge under a cake. The two enjoy a moment together and openly declare their love for each other as they returned to Carthage. Dido considers their experience together as a married couple yet to be consecrated in ceremony. Meanwhile, rumors spread around the mismanaged city that couple submitted themselves to lust and began to neglect their duties as rulers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jupiter learns of the situation of Dido and Aeneas and sends Mercury to convey a message to Aeneas to remind him of his duty and must immediately leave for Italy. Aeneas is shocked but obeys the command. Yet he is in dilemma; compelled by his divine responsibilities, he is left to think by himself on how would explain his leave to Dido. Aeneas commands his men to secretly prepare the ship for departure but Dido catches him in the act. Dido’s anger is unexplainable as she began to insult Aeneas and accusing him for stealing her honor. Aeneas is torn by regret, yet he pushes aside his emotional burden for his greater responsibility with fate. Dido sends her sister Anna to persuade Aeneas to stay, but the Trojan warrior has made up his mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amid a period of distress, love, and anger, the queen appears one day calm and replete and quietly orders her sister to start a fire the courtyard. By starting a fire, she can get rid of Aeneas memory by burning all his clothes and things that he left. Dido’s grief causes her a sleepless night while Aeneas dreams of Mercury again and sends him another message that he has lingered too long and must leave soon. With this, Aeneas leaves the city of Carthage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The queen sees Aeneas fleet depart and falls into emotional disrepair. Running to the roaring flames burning all their memories together, she turns it into her own funeral pyre. In her grief, she takes a sword and stabs herself while cursing the departing Aeneas. Her sister and their servants run up to the dying Dido and Juno takes pity and sends Iris to redeem Dido’s struggling soul from her mortal prison.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dido and Aeneas’ story of love is only for a brief moment as Aeneas leaves for Italy, leaving Dido behind. As implied by the introductory passages, Dido is already torn between her emotions and better judgment as early as her relationship with Aeneas begins to grow. â€Å"But the queen, long since smitten with a grievous love-pang, feeds the wound with her lifeblood and is wasted with fire unseen† (IV, 1). Her character is put to the test between the coming of Aeneas and the recent death of his husband. The use of lifeblood in the sentence implies that Dido already hides her emotional scars and attempts to restart a new life. Dido mentions, â€Å"He who first linked me to himself has taken away my hear; may he keep it with him, and guard it in the grave!† (IV, 6). Dido engulfs herself in her own grief, denying her change in rekindling love and an opportunity for happiness. It can be deduced from the passage that she has suffered a number of painful experiences with love and has lost the will to love again. Consequently, the goddess Juno sees Dido’s love for Juno grows to a point that it could kill her: â€Å"Soon as the loved wife of Jove saw that Dido was held in a passion so fatal, and that her good name was now bar to her frenzy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (IV, 90). This means that her love for Aeneas was true and real, so true that if ever she has her heart broken again, it would cause her a tragic death. Dido already gave all her love to a man who she knew in herself that she would love forever. Dido’s tragedy is reflected her own love; she was unable to see past the consequences of the choice she was making because of her already miserable state.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With help of Juno and Venus, Dido’s love grows and plans to set the couple alone during the hunt. The goddesses’ plan may be mistaken as pity in the case of Dido but she is only a distraction for Aeneas to not embark on his journey. Dido and Aeneas are unaware of this ploy and enjoy happiness for a short period of time. As the couple goes hunting, Dido and Aeneas finally have the time to be alone together as they shelter themselves in a cave against a violent storm. The two make love and Dido is satisfied and happy â€Å"†¦for no more is Dido swayed by fair show or fair fame, no more does she dream of a secret love: she calls it marriage and with that name veils her sin† (IV, 160). Dido at last experiences true happiness and Aeneas feels the same for her. Their love was no longer a subject of suspicion and their acts in the cave made Dido feel that they were already married and only to be ‘officialized’ by a formal ceremony. For a brief moment of time, Dido and Aeneas find happiness with each other, finally separating themselves from their tragic lives even though only quantified with physical pleasure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, Aeneas receives a message from Jupiter to remind him of his duty to Italy. He is torn with regret. â€Å"He burns to fell away and quit that pleasant land, awed by that warning and divine commandment. Ah, what to do? With what speech now dare he approach the frenzied queen?† (IV, 279). Aeneas tragic trait falls under his burden of fate but not of choice. Aeneas immediately considers his divine responsibility without any choice of disregarding his duty. He is bound to his fate without means of escape. Based from his initial reaction, he immediate thinks on how to address his fate to Dido, who is hopelessly in love with him. Dido, upon hearing of the news, flies into a maddening rage and confronts Aeneas: â€Å"False one! Did you really hope to cloak so foul a crime and to steal my land in silence? Does neither our love restrain you, nor the pledge once given, nor the doom of a cruel death for Dido?† (IV, 305). Her love causes her madness, torn between the idea of her kingdom’s fate without a strong army and her blinded love for Aeneas. It can be observed in the passage that she cannot contain her emotion anymore and says what she truly feels. Aeneas, in turn, replies: â€Å"Now, too, the messenger of the gods sent from Jove himself – I swear by both our lives – has borne his command down through the swift breezes; my own eyes saw the god in the clear light of day come within our walls and these ears drank in his words. Cease to inflame yourself and me with your complaints. It is not by my wish that I make for Italy† (IV, 331). Aeneas is compelled by his duty and tries to explain his situation to Dido, making her understand. Dido, enraged by her loved and fear, retorts: â€Å"Truly, this is work for the gods, this is care to vex their peace! I detain you not†¦Yet I trust, if the righteous gods have any power, that on the rocks midway you will drain the cup of vengeance and often call on Dido’s name. Though far away, I will chase you with murky brands and, when chill death has severed soul and body, everywhere my shade shall haunt you† (IV, 362). Dido’s love causes her uncontrollable rage and he imparts Aeneas a haunting thought for him before leaving. Clearly, she is angered over this development and curses Aeneas from being adamant in his quest. She even favors her sister to persuade the Trojan hero from leaving as a last resort.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the end, Dido prays for her death. She instructs her sister to construct a fire that would burn all her memories of Aeneas: clothes, weapons, armor, etc. â€Å"I want to destroy all memorials of the abhorred wretch, and the priestess to directs† (IV, 474). Driven by madness of love, regret, and bitterness, she throws herself into the pyre and stabs herself with Aeneas’ sword.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Aeneas’ has the greatest tragedy as a character. He spurns the love of Dido, compelled by his duty to Jupiter and his quest to Italy. After a night thinking about Dido, he falls asleep and in his dream, he sees the messenger of the gods hastening him with his journey. Without any other thought, he calls his men and leaves the ports of Carthage that same night. He feels no remorse or regret as shown in this passage: â€Å"Thus indeed Aeneas, scared by the sudden vision, tears himself from sleep and bestirs his comrades. ‘Make haste, my men, awake and man the benches! Unfurl the sails with speed! A god sent from high heaven again spurs us to hasten our flight and cut the twisted cables†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The same zeal catches all at once; with hurry and scurry they have quitted the shore; the sea is hidden under their fleets; lustily the churn the foam and sweep the blue waters† (IV, 571). Aeneas cares nothing about his feeling or his emotions once the divine gods imperiously command his return. He is more fearful of his life and fate rather than his love for Dido.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For Dido, her most tragic trait was her selfless love for Aeneas. She did not once waver in her love, yet she was driven by madness. After a fruitful experience with Dido, she viewed their relationship beyond physical pleasure. Aeneas also felt exactly the same way, but he considered his duty before love. Consequently, Dido’s painful and bitter remark represented her regret, anger, and sorrow at the same time: â€Å"At least, if before your flight a child of yours had been born to me, if in my hall a baby Aeneas were playing whose face, in spite of all, would bring back yours, I should not think myself utterly vanquished and forlorn† (IV, 305). This is probably her ultimate sacrifice and the cause of her eventual downfall. Dido was ready to establish a new life with Aeneas. Yet, after all her love and sacrifices, she feels betrayed by Aeneas sudden departure. She feels a mixture of fear, anger, sorrow and hopelessness in her part. The passage implies her most tragic trait – torn by love yet a memory of him survives in form of his child is alive to remind her of a tragic and painful love from the past. Works Cited Virgil. â€Å"Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid.† trans. Fairclough, H. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 63 & 64. Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1916. Â