Discuss how attitude gender in Shakespeare's play Othello affect the Essay

Discuss how attitude gender in Shakespeare's play Othello affect the outcome of the play - Essay Example e bed is at the very heart of the tragedy of Othello; offstage but dramatically the center of attention in the first scene and again in the first scene of the second act, it is literally and symbolically at the center of the last scene and is explicitly hidden from sight at the conclusion. Whether the marriage is consummated, when it is consummated, and what the significance of this consummation is for Othello and Desdemona have all been an important source of debate about the play. Throughout its critical history, Othello, like the other problem plays, has generated passionate and radically conflicting responses--responses that are invariably tied to the critics emotional responses to the characters and to the gender relations in the play. Othello, Iago, and Desdemona have been loved and loathed, defended and attacked, judged and exonerated by critics just as they are by characters within the play. "Almost damned in a fair wife" is Leslie Fiedlers alternate title for his chapter on Othello in The Stranger in Shakespeare. In it he asserts of the women in the play: "Three out of four, then, [are] weak, or treacherous, or both." Thus he seconds Iagos misogyny and broadens the attack on what Leavis has called "The sentimentalists Othello," the traditional view of the play held by Coleridge, Bradley, Granville-Barker, Knight, Bayley, Gardner, and many others. These "Othello critics," as I shall call them, accept Othello at his own high estimate. They are enamored of his "heroic music," affirm his love, and, like him, are overwhelmed by Iagos diabolism, to which they devote much of their analysis. Like Othello, they do not always argue rationally or rigorously for their views and so are vulnerable to attacks on their romanticism or sentimentality. Reacting against these traditionalists, "Iago critics" (Eliot, Empson, Kirschbaum, Rossiter, and Mason, as well as Fiedler and Leavis) ta ke their cues from Iago. Like him, they are attracted to Othello, unmoved by his

Outdoor-lifestyle retailer Essay Example for Free

Outdoor-lifestyle retailer Essay Executive Summary BBQfun will be the leading outdoor-lifestyle retailer, catering to the growing need for furnishing new and renovated dwellings in the greater Brisbane area. The assortment offer of BBQs, outdoor furniture and BBQ accessories will position BBQfun as best inclass for outdoor-lifestyle retailing. BBQfun will reinvent the way people shop for outdoor-lifestyle products. BBQfun will build its reputation on offering the fullest assortment of products possible in our chosen fields, incorporating both local and imported goods with products sold on easy to manage long-term payment plans. Our after sales service and 3 year guarantees will find traction with a market dominated by low-quality. Situation Analysis BBQfun is close to entering its fifth year of operation. Te initial rollout of stores has been well received, and marketing is now critical to its continued success and future profitability. The store offers wide-ranging outdoor-lifestyle items on easy to manage payment terms and supplies a three year guarantee on every item sold. The basic market need is for quality, fashionable and unique outdoor-lifestyle items that caters to the house-proud needs of our market. Market Summary BBQfun possess good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of our most prized and loyal customers. BBQfun will leverage this information to better understand who is served, their specific needs, and how BBQfun can better communicate with them. Market Demographics †¢ Accessibility. The patron can gain easy access to the store with minimal wait. †¢ Customer service. The patron will be impressed with the after sales service and Guarantees. †¢ Competitive pricing. All products/services will be competitively priced relative to comparable high-end outdoor-lifestyle lines. Above all, BBQfun believes that easy to access stores with extensive choices in our chosen fields, that are sold on an easy to manage payment plan with a three year guarantee are the keys to our customer’s needs and wants. Market Trends The market trend for outdoor-lifestyle stores is headed toward a more sophisticated and informed customer. The outdoor-lifestyles patron today relative to yesterday is more sophisticated in a number of different ways. †¢ Item quality. The preference for high-quality items is increasing as customers are learning to appreciate the qualitative differences. †¢ Unique. Our patrons appreciate the opportunity to include outdoor-lifestyles in their home that stand out from the mass produced and sold low quality items. †¢ Selection. People are demanding a larger selection of choices, they are no  longer accepting a limited offer in outdoor-lifestyles. The reason for this trend is that within the last couple of years there has been an explosion of media in the form of TV shows and magazines that have promoted exotic and different outdoor-lifestyles. Our patrons no longer need to accept a limited number of options. With more choices, patrons have become more sophisticated. This trend is intuitive as you can observe a more sophisticated patron in larger city markets such as Sydney or Melbourne where there has been more choices available. BBQfun strongly believes that customers are more interested in range of products, after sales service and easy to manage payments than any other issues. These are the reasons that they will shop with us and become loyal patrons. Technological developments with the broadband rollout across greater Brisbane and Australia is opening up significant opportunities for internet shopping and for providing information for our customers about our product range. Market Growth In 2008, the National outdoor-lifestyle market reached $300 million dollars. Outdoor lifestyle sales are estimated to grow by at least 6% for the next few years. This growth can be attributed to several different factors. The greater disposable household income from the two income families, the greater availability of affordable and interesting quality imports with the high value of the Australian dollar and the marketing by popular TV shows like ‘Homes Beautiful’ and ‘Better Outdoor-lifestyles’. Economy Based on economic forecasts, BBQfun assumes that interest rates are staying steady and so will have no affect on disposable income. The same assumption is made about employment levels, where BBQfun assumes that unemployment levels remain the same at 4.7%. Political From research carried out, BBQfun identified that the Government focus and emphasis in future legislative direction will be about ‘growing the economy’ and ‘population base which BBQfun sees as a positive for their business model. There is also a strong push for environmentally sound business practices in the legislative framework. BBQfun, as business operating in Australia, will abide by the law in all its dealings and comply with all legislation that impacts on its business activities. SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing BBQfun. Strengths †¢ Excellent staff who are highly skilled and knowledgeable about outdoor-lifestyles. †¢ Great retail space that is bright, functional and efficient for a commercial urban district. †¢ High customer loyalty among repeat customers. †¢ Assortment offerings that exceed competitors offerings in quality, range and accessibility. Weaknesses †¢ A limited marketing budget to develop brand awareness due to the lack of critical mass and store cover. †¢ The struggle to continually fund the growing long term repayment plans taken out by our customers. Opportunities †¢ A growing market in a high growth area with a significant percentage of the target market still not aware of BBQfun’s offer. †¢ Increasing sales opportunities outside of our target area – greater Brisbane. Threats †¢ Competition from local independents that can reduce prices as owner operators lower than our staff run stores. †¢ Competition from National chains moving into the Brisbane market. †¢ A slump in the economy reducing customers disposable income spent on outdoor-lifestyles. Competition National Competition †¢ The Yard: has a limited selection but significant depth. All Australian made. No significant marketing or promotion. The price point is high, but the quality of products are quite good. Not in Brisbane. Mostly in Sydney and Melbourne. †¢ BBQ’s R us: Broad range of outdoor-lifestyle products including trinkets and furnishings. Lots of cheap imports. Concentrating on established markets. Strong in the replacements segment. Not in Brisbane. Mostly in Melbourne and Adelaide. †¢ Outdoorz: Large operations of only a few stores per city. Mass markets outdoor lifestyles at good value prices. No imported goods. Extensive advertising. Low to medium quality. Not in Brisbane. Strong in the replacement segment rather than new and refurbished  dwellings. Strong in other capital cities. Local Competition †¢ All independents. These stores are owned by individual owner operators. Ranges vary according to owner preferences. Very little imports. Mostly retailing Australian manufactured goods. Collectively their average item sale price is $250, have a market share of 48%, and are growing at about 8% per year. BBQfun do not see the competitors changing their marketing strategy or product offer in the foreseeable future. Growth and Share Analysis New dwellings – growth in potential customers 10%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 95,000. Renovations – growth in potential customers 7%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 35,000. Replacement – growth in potential customers 5%. Estimated Brisbane customer numbers in 2010 is 120,000. Service Offering BBQfun has created a outdoor-lifestyles range of retail products that are differentiated and superior to competitors. Customers can see the quality of the product as it is displayed in the stores. The following are characteristics of the product: 1. BBQfun’s credit offer is backed by a top tier bank. 2. Imported products make up 33% of the assortment. 3. The 3 year guarantee is unique in the market place. 4. Broadest possible range in chosen fields. BBQfun’s prides itself on providing service that is on par if not better than any of the local independent stores and far in excess of the national chains. BBQfun will ensure that all aspects that are involved in the delivery of satisfaction to the customer will work using an integrated approach. At a GlanceThe Prototype BBQfun Store: †¢ Location: a commercial, suburban neighbourhood, or urban retail district. †¢ Design: bright and functional. †¢ Size: 1,000 to 1,500 m2. †¢ Employees: 15 to 20 full time plus casuals †¢ Types of transactions: 60% cash, 40% on long term repayment plan. Keys to Success Location. BBQfun’s site selection criteria are critical to success. Scott Bremmer, former partner of an international chain, helped us identify the following site selection criteria: †¢ New dwelling populations. †¢ Shopping patterns requiring easy access. †¢ Customer car parking counts. Critical Issues BBQfun is still in the speculative stage as a possible franchise concept or joint venture. Its critical issues are: †¢ Committed to sales growth which allows for greater options in import assortments and in reduced price with volume buys. This will promote our uniqueness and contribute to improved profit margins. †¢ Continue to finance the easy manage long term repayment plan for customers. †¢ Locate in easy access sites close to the growing markets in new dwelling development. Marketing Strategy BBQfun’s advertising budget is set at $250,000 for the year. The advertising program will target local letter-box drops, radio and magazines. BBQfun’s will do direct mail and local advertising, with coupon inserts in the BrisNews magazine likely to be the most successful of the campaigns. BBQfun will try to get articles about BBQfun into the BrisNews magazine. Previous features in the BrisNews magazine has seen a dramatic increase of sales immediately after the article was published. Mission BBQfun’s mission is to provide customers with the most extensive assortment of quality outdoor-lifestyle products available in the market. Our after sales service is second to none supported by our easy to manage long term repayment plans which make unique, imported and high quality outdoor-lifestyle affordable to all. BBQfun exist to attract and maintain outdoor-lifestyle customers wishing to purchase products that give our customers pride in their homes. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. Marketing Objectives 1. Increase sales from $15million per year to $20million per year in the next  three years 2. Increase our loyalty customers list from 10,000 to 16,000. 3. Establish brand recognition in Brisbane so that at least 2 in 3 people recognise our brand in a random survey taken in 18 months time. 3.3 Financial Objectives 1. A double-digit growth rate for each future year. 2. Reduce the overhead per store through disciplined management of expenses. 3. Continue increase our gross profit margins. Target Marketing The market can be segmented into three target populations: †¢ New dwellings – generally want to purchase entire suites. Typically shopped as couples. Price sensitive to a point but co-ordination is the highest priority. †¢ Renovations – demand for high quality and different items. Unique and exotic over rides price concerns. †¢ Replacement – basic functional products that replace and broken or worn item. Single shopper. Cheap price required. The BBQfun customers are mostly aged between 20 and 50, making up 50% of the new and renovated dwelling market. Outdoor-lifestyle stores have been very successful in stand alone, extensive car park access, close to new housing estates being established. These areas have families who have household disposable incomes of over $40,000 per year. Combining several key demographic factors, BBQfun arrives at a profile of the primary customer as follows: †¢ Sophisticated people who are house proud. †¢ Shoppers who will drive to an easy to access store. †¢ A customers who requires payment plans to spread their commitment over an extended period. †¢ Renovators and new home builders †¢ 20-50 year olds Positioning BBQfun will position itself as a broad assortment, quality, unique outdoor-lifestyle retailer. Brisbane consumers who appreciate high-quality and uniqueness will recognize the value and unique offerings of BBQfun. Patrons will be single as well as families, ages 20-50. BBQfun’s positioning will leverage their competitive edge: †¢ Product. The product will be wide ranging, quality and unique. It offers the house proud customer a different  option from the cheap mass produced offer prevalent in the market †¢ Service. BBQfun offer the only 3 years guarantee in the market. Our easy play payment scheme is just what our mortgage repaying customers welcome. Our experienced staff can assist with product knowledge second to none in the industry. By offering a superior service in range and uniqueness, BBQfun will excel relative to the competition and achieve our objectives. Strategy Pyramids The single objective is to position BBQfun as the premier outdoor-lifestyles store in the greater Brisbane area, commanding a majority of the market share within five years. The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding their services offered, develop that customer base, and work toward building customer loyalty and referrals. The message that BBQfun will seek to communicate is that BBQfun offers the widest, most exotic, easy access outdoor-lifestyle products in Brisbane. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first will be direct mail. The direct mail campaign will be a way to communicate directly with the consumer. BBQfun will also use ads and inserts in Brizzy magazine.The last method for communicating BBQfun’s message is through a grassroots PR campaign. This campaign will invite people from Brizzy for lunch to get articles written about BBQfun into the news. Because of this level of effectiveness and low/zero cost, BBQfun will work hard to get press in the Brizzy. BBQfun also believe that the local patrons far prefer to receive information from the store via flyers in the letterbox. Marketing Mix BBQfun’s marketing mix is comprised of these following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. †¢ Pricing. While BBQfun will price at comparable prices for comparable quality, it will not be cheap. We push value over cheap and back this up with a 3 year guarantee. †¢ Distribution. BBQfun products will be distributed through a chain of retail stores which customers can access easily via the large car parking arrangements. †¢ Advertising and Promotion. The most successful advertising will be ads and inserts in the Brizzy as well as a PR campaign of informational articles and reviews also within the Brizzy. Promotions will take the form of in store entertainment and competitions with prizes to exotic overseas destinations. †¢ Customer Service. BBQfun’s philosophy is  that whatever needs to be done to make the customer happy must occur, this investment will pay off with a fiercely loyal customer base who is extremely vocal to their friends with referrals. Product development It is envisaged that new products will be developed on a regular basis in line with changes in customer taste which is targeted at every 12 months. The plan for product testing is to engage market research firms. By getting feedback from these firms, changes can be made or products ‘canned’ so that only tested and proven products make it onto the store assortment list. Marketing Research During the initial phases of the marketing plan development, several focus groups were held to gain insight into a variety of patrons of outdoor-lifestyle stores. These focus groups provided useful insight into the decisions, and decision making processes, of consumers. An additional source of market research that is dynamic is a feedback mechanism based on a suggestion card system in store. The last source of market research is competitive analysis/appreciation. BBQfun management will continually visit local outdoor-lifestyle stores for two reasons. The first is for competitive analysis, providing BBQfun with timely information regarding other store’s service offering. The second reason is that local business owners, are often part of an informal fraternal organization where they support each others business. Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts This section will offer a financial overview of BBQfun as it relates to the marketing activities. BBQfun will address Break-even Analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how those link to the marketing strategy. Break-even Analysis The Break-even Analysis indicates that $1.1 million in sales per year will be needed to reach the break-even point. Fixed costs are estimated at $150,000. Variable costs are 40% of sales, therefore sales of $1.0 million will be sufficient to pay for the fixed and variable cost. Sales Forecast The first year of the plan will be used to get the cafe up and running. By year two things will get busier. Sales will gradually increase with profitability being reached by the beginning of year two. Gross profit is  anticipated at 50%. Ongoing sales forecasting will be to use the services of Cannon’s Consultants who will advise on all aspects of the marketing function that BBQfun will be engaged with. Cannons will also be given access to the marketing cost data so that they can periodically examine and validate marketing costs in line with industry benchmarks. They have always been the preferred consultants because they are locally based unlike the national group of consultants, Brown Holingsworth, based in Melbourne.

The Bus :: essays research papers

The Bus I have this friend named Ted. Ted has an old school bus all spray-painted and beat up looking. This in and of itself is not that big a matter. What makes this bus different is he attached the top half of a Volkswagon van on top of the bus. This bus has been around for around fifteen years or so and has looked about the same if not worse the whole time. See, Ted used to live in this bus. It's a project he has been working on for some time now. Numerous people have asked him why he won't get rid of the ugly thing. His parents don't ask him to, they tell him to get rid of it. I have wondered myself why he has a bus such as he does and why he bothers putting so much money into it. I do notice a slight difference in Ted's eyes when he is working on it though, so there must be something about it worth saving. Ted Jensen was born December 29, 1969 right here in Vancouver, Washington at the old Memorial Hospital (now a clinic I have been told.) His parents are still alive and kicking along with his brother and sister. I met Ted as my neighbor when I first moved to my current home. He has a strong sense of what’s right and fair, as I feel I do. This must be the biggest reason why I like Ted. That and he would not intentionally hurt anybody without them deserving it completely. He may be a little headstrong at times, but he is very easy going most of the time. If I ever need anything, and I do mean anything, Ted is the guy I go to. If he does not already have it, or have access to the item or information I want, he can usually tell me who does. The year is 1986 and the location is a Grateful Dead concert. As Ted was enjoying the festivities of such a concert he came across a vehicle that pulled him to examine it closer. It was an old school bus that had been rebuilt and remodeled into a motor home of sorts. Ted knew then that he had to have one and proceeded to investigate his options. As luck would have it one of his friends needed some cash flow for a lawyer and had a 1976 school bus for sale to get it.

Kate Chopin’s Short Stories Essay

Kate Chopin is often catalogued as an insightful writer who saw ahead of her own time. Her work is filled with examples of the powerful forces which are at play in the human spirit and which go beyond the conventions of society. Chopin captures the ineffable essence of human relationships, outside the rules of social order. Thus, in many of her stories, Chopin tackles marriage as a social convention that acts as a constraint on the life of the individual. Notably, her stories do not usually have intricate plot developments, but rather focus on life scenes where certain revelations or awakenings occur. The Story of an Hour and The Storm are two of Kate Chopin’s best known pieces of short fiction, both taking up the theme of marriage as their main focus. Ripe Figs is a very brief sketch, which does not focus on marriage, but which, as it shall be seen, shares in the lyrical and revelatory quality of the other two stories. Thus, the three stories offer an important perspective on Chopin’s work: the author focuses on revelation or awakening as the central point of her discourse. Revelation can take many forms, but in Chopin’s works it is a short escape from the stream of life, somewhere outside the quotidian of existence. The Story of an Hour, Chopin’s best known short fiction, is, as its title emphasizes, the story of a very brief moment in a woman’s life. The text tells the story of Mrs. Mallard who finds out suddenly that there has been a terrible railroad accident and that her husband is on the list of the victims. Her first normal reaction is to burst into tears and isolate herself in a room. The withdrawal into this room, away from the others, and the pleasant, cheerful view out of the window bring a sudden realization upon her: the death of her husband actually means freedom, the freedom to live for herself only and to enjoy her own life. The story obviously has potent feminist connotations, as Mrs. Mallard discovers freedom for the first time, freedom from marriage as a compelling social institution and from her role as a wife. This awakening is all the more powerful as the woman realizes that she feels liberated despite the love for her husband and despite his gentleness towards her. She does feel grief, but under the influence of the tranquility of her own room and peaceful view she has from her window, she has the revelation of a life of freedom for her inner self: â€Å"She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. †(Chopin 260) What Mrs. Mallard welcomes is merely a life dedicated to herself only, in which no sacrifice is required of her. The privacy of her own room symbolizes this future inner freedom that she hopes for. Critic Daniel Deneau interprets Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to the prospect of a life that belongs to herself only, as the action of a powerful and perhaps supernatural force that is apt to transform the woman’s perspective on her own life and on her place in the world: â€Å"This ‘something,’ this ‘it,’ which oddly arrives from the sky, exerts a powerful physical influence on Louise and leaves her with a totally new perspective on her self and her place in the scheme of things. In a limited space, and without the assistance of a psychological vocabulary, Chopin may have been forced to rely on the indefinite, the unidentified, which, as best we can judge, is some powerful force, something supernatural, something beyond the realm of mundane experience or the rule of logic. †(Deneau 212) Mrs. Mallard awakens to a new perspective of herself and her place in the universe, which is markedly outside the conventional social order. The revelation is all the more baffling as it is connected with a tragic event related to the death of a husband. Chopin thus ignores convention and focuses on the liberated human spirit that can find itself outside the ties of society and tradition. More than an awakening, the moment is also accompanied by a feeling of abandonment. This is significant because Mrs. Mallard abandons herself to her own, hidden longings and sentiments: â€Å"When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: ‘free, free, free! ’ The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. †(Chopin 260) The strong emotion that she feels at the news of her husband’s death causes an inner quake that brings her own hidden desires to the surface. She is now prepared to live for herself, since it is the first time she actually escapes from the constraints of the social self and gets a glimpse of her own inner life: â€Å"There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. †(Chopin 260) The ending of the story is all the more dramatic as after the brief confrontation with her own self and the happiness felt at her impending freedom, Mrs. Mallard suddenly sees her husband returning home. Significantly, the rest of the family misunderstands the woman’s seizure and eventual death upon seeing her husband alive, as a sign of shock and incredible joy. Society thus reacts in a conventional way and is blind to the revelation that has come upon Mrs. Mallard. The Storm also focuses on marriage, only from a different point of view. Again, the story focuses on a very brief but intensely revelatory moment in the life of a woman named Calixta. It is not accidental that Chopin uses a storm as the background for the amorous and passionate encounter that takes place between Calixta and an old lover, Mr. Alcee. The storm symbolizes here freedom and unleashed passion, a moment of disturbance in nature’s calm. The outbreak of the storm and its short but tumultuous moment coincide with the unexpected encounter of the two lovers who had obviously been separated very long. Mr. Alcee’s visit to Calixta seems both unexpected and unusual, as the two appear to have kept their distance for a very long time. As in The Story of an Hour, Chopin targets here social convention and conformity. Thus, the two lovers are both married and therefore their brief moment of passion is obviously adulterous. Moreover, they come from very different layers of society, a fact which is emphasized primarily by the language style that they use in conversation. These two breaches of morality and convention are all the more striking as the story is written at the end of the nineteenth century when social behavior was very closely monitored. According to Bert Bender, the social order is violated in order to assert the unification between the human and universal rhythms, symbolized by the two parallel acts, the sexual encounter and the storm: â€Å"The Storm is remarkable not only for the freedom it asserts in the face of the suffocating conventionality of the 1890’s, but for the lyrical ease with which it unites human and universal rhythms to celebrate ‘the procreative urge of the world. ’ The story realizes Kate Chopin’s dream of woman’s renewed birthright for passionate self-fulfillment. †(Bender 261) Like The Story of an Hour, this text celebrates the rights of human passion to exist outside the impositions of society. The discoveries that the two lovers make are similar to those obtained by Mrs. Mallard in the previous story. Here, the two lovers share not only their passion but also a moment of freedom and revelation, in which they overcome their obedience to social convention. Calixta’s body is associated to a lily to emphasize the woman’s belonging to the spirit of nature itself: â€Å"They did not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms. She was a revelation in that dim, mysterious chamber; as white as the couch she lay upon. Her firm, elastic flesh that was knowing for the first time its birthright, was like a creamy lily that the sun invites to contribute its breath and perfume to the undying life of the world. †(Chopin 345) The image of the body as a white lily in the ‘dim, mysterious chamber’ underscores the state of revelation which animates the two lovers. Moreover, the idea of ‘birthright’ is very significant, as it alludes to the rights of the natural human being unenclosed by the laws of society. Chopin thus manages to capture the intensity and sensuality of the lovers’ encounter as a moment of absolute liberation. As in The Story of an Hour where Mrs. Mallard had abandoned herself to her own, yet unknown feelings, here the two lovers abandon themselves to passion and to one another without interrupting the moment with any thoughts of regret or guilt: â€Å"The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery, was like a white flame which penetrated and found response in depths of his own sensuous nature that had never yet been reached. †(Chopin 345) What is more, the two lovers do not feel any guilt after their love making either. The text thus closes with the return of Calixta’s husband and his son after the storm and then with the affectionate exchange of letters between Mr. Alcee and his wife. The lovers are suddenly and completely reintegrated into their families once the storm ends. This fact emphasizes even more the idea that the passion they share briefly is a revelation of their true selves and that after this moment is passed they return to their customary social roles. The third story under analysis here, Ripe Figs, is short text which also focuses on a momentary life scene. Here, the theme is not that of marriage or human relationships. The protagonists are a young girl, Babette and her grandmother, Maman – Nainaine. However, the story shares the lyrical quality of the other two texts and the parallel between the rhythms of human life and that of nature. The grandmother who counts her time with the aid of seasonal succession seems to live outside the hassle of modern life, in a space and time that obey natural rather than artificial laws. The story thus underlines primarily the coincidence between the rhythms of nature and those of the human spirit. Another focus of Ripe Figs is the relationship between the young girl and her grandmother, as representing stark differences in age. Babette is young and restless ‘as a humming – bird’ while the grandmother seems to live outside the course of time: â€Å"But warm rains came along and plenty of strong sunshine; and though Maman-Nainaine was as patient as the statue of la Madone, and Babette as restless as a humming-bird, the first thing they both knew it was hot summer-time. †(Chopin 174) For Maman – Nainaine, the heat and impatience of youth have gone, and she seems to live in a privileged cyclic motion of nature. Like the other characters presented in this analysis, the grandmother has been liberated from the immediate laws and requirements of life to live in conformity with nature. She thus guides her granddaughter according to the rules of seasonal cycle, choosing the ripening of figs and the blooming of the chrysanthemums as her references in time: â€Å"’Babette,’ continued Maman-Nainaine, as she peeled the very plumpest figs with her pointed silver fruit-knife, ‘you will carry my love to them all down on Bayou-Boeuf. And tell your tante Frosine I shall look for her at Toussaint–when the chrysanthemums are in bloom. ’†(Chopin 174) There is therefore a substantial difference between the young girl who waits impatiently for the future and the progression of time and the grandmother who lives in the cyclic motion of nature. The story therefore reveals the contrasts between the young and the old age as well as a significant parallelism between the life of nature and the human spirit. The three stories under analysis, The Story of an Hour, The Storm and Ripe Figs disclose essential aspects of Kate Chopin’s fiction. The main purport of Chopin’s works is thus to show the connection between the life of nature and the human spirit, in the form of sudden revelation or the escape of an individual from the quotidian existence. Chopin’s works are therefore psychologically modern, focusing on the relationship between the true human self and the social self. What is striking about the stories is that the stories always have an unconventional content. Far from suggesting any guilt in her characters, Chopin emphasizes their sense of liberation and freedom. Furthermore, the author chooses to present this sudden liberation in the form of revelation. The characters in her stories do not necessarily flee from burdensome, dreadful situation. Mrs. Mallard and Calixta are both comfortable if not thoroughly happy in their marriages. However, in Chopin’s view, the chains imposed by society have to be repelled in order to attain a sense of one’s true self. It is in this moment of revelation that the characters finally get a sense of their own nature and manage to escape the pressure of social convention. Works Cited: Bender, Bert. â€Å"Kate Chopin’s Lyrical Short Stories. † Studies in Short Fiction. Vol. XI (3) 1974. 257-266. Deneau, Daniel P. â€Å"Chopin’s The Story of an Hour. †The Explicator 61 (4) 2003. 210-214. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening and Other Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Blockbuster image

There are 2 types of diversification: related and unrelated. Related diversification is where the company enters an associated market/ industry while unrelated diversification enters a market/industry with minimal to no experience at all. Relating these strategies to Blockbuster Inc, current portfolio, it loud seem that H. W. Huskiness's focus is on Diversification. As diversification is the option which entails the greatest risk (and potentially the greatest reward), alternatives must be presented to ensure that: a) risk would be minimized; and b) sustainability/growth must be achieved. A. Improve market penetration by concentrating resources on Video Rentals only. Financially, a low-risk option where the company will continue to earn or potentially increase their revenue by obtaining video rental customers from their competitors without having to spend on acquiring ewe and unsure businesses. O Sell previously acquired business units (e. Music retailer, TV and film shares, etc) and reinvest capital on promotions and rebinding as necessary. O Company could further specialize in current product marketing and development. O The concept of putting your eggs in one basket is somewhat of a risk in itself as the company would be fully reliant on the video rental market alone. B. Improve market penetration and venture on market development o This option has the benefits of Option A above without the risk of fully investing company resources n the local video rental market alone.As the local market is relatively saturated, new markets may be obtained internationally. O The relative risk is that investing in stores internationally will require capital and that the international markets may not be as responsive as local ones. C. Maintain/improve current performance of Video Rental sub-unit and Continue Diversification o Relatively risky option where current resources will be used not only to explore new products but explore new market s as well. O This option however, wh en executed properly can ensure the company's true not only as a video rental giant but as an entertainment company. Done in the wrong way however can lead to disastrous results and the company's downfall eventually. Current capital made through the â€Å"cash cow† of video rentals can be used to subsidize the newly purchased businesses in terms of capital investment, research and the like to improve the company's position in the market for such. O If met with a certain level of success, the company can also explore market/product development for not only video rentals but for their new products as well. V. Decision Option C: Maintain/improve current performance of Video Rental sub-unit and Continue Diversification Though risky and work/capital intensive at the start, having the foresight of venturing into other forms related business as well would be most logical.However, through careful planning and prudent investing of current resources for future endeavors (in this case p ackaging the company as an upcoming changes in market structure and customer demand. Film and TV shares can be considered as backward integration which could strengthen their hold on the home entertainment† market while putting up entertainment centers can be seen as moving out of the same niche which they have thrived in for the past years. All this, while keeping their thriving home entertainment business segment intact. The key here in essence is to milk the cow for whatever it's got, invest profits to penetrate new markets, engage in new segments and continuously redesign the company to meet the ever changing needs of the entertainment scene.Should this option fail if the related investments falter, the company should still be able to function at the present tit its strong market presence. Given however that the industry has been classified as a slow growing one, opportunities to gain more market share and/or segments should never be overlooked. Researching and adapting to new forms media for home entertainment should be focus of Blockbuster Inc (I. E. Product development) if they want to retain their claim as one of the biggest home entertainment companies. 1 Anions Growth Strategy Matrix, Business Strategy http://www. Acanthus. Com/databanks/ strategy/business_strategy. PH? Asps (Accessed on July 1 2, 2013)

Why did Haiti suffer more than Kobe as a result of an earthquake Essays

Why did Haiti suffer more than Kobe as a result of an earthquake Essays Why did Haiti suffer more than Kobe as a result of an earthquake Essay Why did Haiti suffer more than Kobe as a result of an earthquake Essay Both the Kobe earthquake (1995, in Japan) and Haiti earthquake (2010) measured about 7.0 on the Richter scale, but the casualty rate of Haiti earthquake was at least five times more deadly than the Kobe earthquake that killed 6,434 people. The main reason that Kobe didn’t suffer as much as Haiti is because Kobe is in Japan, which is an MEDC, Japan can afford many expensive resources, which Haiti cannot afford because it is a Less Economically Developed Country (LEDC).Haiti’s strength is in its culture. In Haiti, the banks have proven to be the fasted growing industry. It has many weaknesses including its government, economical situation and infrastructure. The Haitian government is one of the biggest obstacles for economic growth. Over the past ten years, Haiti has experienced a decrease of success in its public office. After years of dictatorship and military rule, the Haitian people were relieved when Aristides party won Haitis first free elections.The relief turned i nto distress when the government proved to be more like a dictatorship. Haiti’s economy has been slowly dropping since the 1980’s, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling two percent a year from 1980-1991. Haitis physical infrastructure is poor roads are insufficient, and basic services such as power and telephones are frequently unavailable. The country also lacks a railroad system, making the shipping of goods around the land a tedious and dangerous job.Japan is a country that conquered the world market together with China and the U.S. Many huge businesses such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Toshiba and NEC are based in Japan and they provide many jobs and a lot of profit. It has many strengths but also a few weaknesses. Some of Japans strengths are its automobile industry, computer firms, exporting companies, digital gaming industry and its technological advancements research. One weakness of Japan is its geography. It is right on top of two tectonic plates so it suff ers many earthquakes.Kobe has many well-developed warning systems, which give out a signal that tells people to stay inside their Earthquake proof buildings until the earthquake is over. This equipment saved many lives, lots of money and helped keep the rate of destruction as low as possible. If Haiti had the same infrastructure and technology that Kobe has, then Haiti would have most likely had a much lesser death toll.The death toll of the Haiti earthquake reached around 250,000 which is large compared to the size of their population, around 7 million; where as the death toll of the Kobe earthquake, 6,425, wasn’t as big in proportion to the size of Japans population. Haiti hadn’t had an earthquake as big in 1995 since 1770, where as Japan has regular small earthquakes and it is part of daily life so they were more prepared. In Haiti, 2 million people were left homeless; 3 million were in need of emergency aid.In conclusion I think that if Haiti had the same high leve l of government, economy and infrastructure as Kobe, than not as many people would have died or suffered from injuries, been left homeless and Haiti would have recovered from the disaster as quick as Kobe did.

Timeline of Canadas 1970 October Crisis

Timeline of Canadas 1970 October Crisis In October 1970, two cells of the Front de Libà ©ration du Quà ©bec (FLQ), a revolutionary organization promoting an independent and socialist Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. Armed forces were sent into Quebec to help the police and the federal government invoked the War Measures Act, temporarily suspending civil liberties. Key Events of the October Crisis of  1970 Here is a timeline of the key events during the October Crisis. October 5, 1970British Trade Commissioner James Cross was kidnapped in Montreal, Quebec. Ransom demands from the Liberation cell of the FLQ included the release of 23 political prisoners, $500,000 in gold, broadcast, and publication of the FLQ Manifesto, and an aircraft to take the kidnappers to Cuba or Algeria. October 6, 1970Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa agreed that decisions on the FLQ demands would be made jointly by the federal government and the Quebec provincial government. The FLQ Manifesto, or excerpts of it, was published by several newspapers. Radio station CKAC received threats that James Cross would be killed if FLQ demands were not met. October 7, 1970Quebec Justice Minister Jerome Choquette said he was available for negotiations. The FLQ Manifesto was read on CKAC radio. October 8, 1970The FLQ Manifesto was read on the CBC French network Radio-Canada. October 10, 1970The Chenier cell of the FLQ kidnapped Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte. October 11, 1970Premier Bourassa received a letter from Pierre Laporte pleading for his life. October 12, 1970The Army was sent in to guard Ottawa. October 15, 1970The Quebec government invited the Army into Quebec to help local police. October 16, 1970Prime Minister Trudeau announced the proclamation of the War Measures Act, emergency legislation dating from World War I. October 17, 1970The body of Pierre Laporte was found in the trunk of a car at the airport in St.-Hubert, Quebec. November 2, 1970The Canadian federal government and the Quebec provincial government together offered a reward of $150,000 for information leading to the arrest of the kidnappers. November 6, 1970Police raided the hideout of the Chenier cell and arrested Bernard Lortie. Other cell members escaped. November 9, 1970The Quebec Justice Minister asked for the Army to stay in Quebec for another 30 days. December 3, 1970James Cross was released after police discovered where he was being held and the FLQ were given assurance of their safe passage to Cuba. Cross had lost weight but said he was not physically mistreated. December 4, 1970Federal Justice Minister John Turner said the exiles to Cuba would be for life. Five FLQ members received passage to Cuba - Jacques Cossette-Trudel, Louise Cossette-Trudel, Jacques Lanctà ´t, Marc Carbonneau and Yves Langlois. They later moved to France. Eventually, all returned to Canada and served short jail terms for kidnapping. December 24, 1970Troops were withdrawn from Quebec. December 28, 1970Paul Rose, Jacques Rose, and Francis Simard, the remaining three members of the Chenier cell, were arrested. With Bernard Lortie, they were charged with kidnapping and murder. Paul Rose and Francis Simard later received life sentences for murder. Bernard Lortie was sentenced to 20 years for kidnapping. Jacques Rose was initially acquitted but later convicted of being an accessory and sentenced to eight years in prison. February 3, 1971A report from Justice Minister John Turner on the use of the War Measures Act said 497 people were arrested. Of these, 435 were released, 62 were charged, 32 without bail. July 1980A sixth person, Nigel Barry Hamer, was charged in the kidnapping of James Cross. He was later convicted and sentenced to 12 months in jail.

Evolution of the Office - History and Innovations

Evolution of the Office - History and Innovations As long as governments or other organizations have existed the office has existed in some form as a place to do the associated administrative or clerical duties. The 19th Century Office In the late 19th century, commercial offices for conducting business first appeared in the United States. The railroad, the telegraph and then the telephone were invented allowing for instant remote communication. Wherever manufacturing existed, for example in a mill or factory, the administrative office could now be placed at a distance. Other inventions that promoted the office included: electric lighting, the typewriter, and calculating machines. More Office Machines Office Furniture Perhaps the greatest symbol of the office is the office chair and desk. During the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, new office equipment and furniture were popular exhibits. The exposition featured fancy rolltop desks and novel new filing systems. Desk design eventually evolved after the invention of the typewriter as the rolltop design was not a good one for the placement of the typewriter. The 20th Century Office By 1900, nearly 100,000 people in the United States were working as secretaries, stenographers, and typists in an office. The average worker was employed for sixty hours per six-day work week. Specialized training was now available for people who wished to study office skills. Office Ergonomics The birth of the white collar worker and the office meant that for many hours a day office workers would be sitting and conducting tasks. Ergonomics is the optimizing of the experience between human beings, and the designed objects and environments they interact with and has played a large role in the design of objects used in the modern office. Â   Continue Office Machines

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

Reading response - Essay Example People should base their actions on the desire to promote the happiness and welfare of others. The new society must be based on brotherly love between people. According to Winthrop, the coexistence of people suggests a sincere belief in God and adherence to ethical principles, which are given by Christianity. Love, kindness, mercy, justice, and mutual aid are considered as the basic ethical principles that will enable people to live a happy and peaceful life. The new society is intended to conform to Gods ideal. Only God can justify the existence of the ideals of the new society in the Americas. People should do everything possible so that their life was based on respect for God and desire to follow the path, which is consistent with the plan of God to people. This path involves strict adherence to ethical principles, which should help people to create heaven on earth. Thus, Winthrops speech can be viewed as a project of an ideal society, which the author proudly calls the City upon a Hill. This project is optimistic as to what future awaits the people. Winthrop is confident that in the New World, people will be able to find what they have been looking for so long, namely prosperity, well-being and peace. On the other hand, people need to be proactive in creating a new godly society where all of them are brothers and sisters to each other. The project assumes that people consciously and voluntarily entrust their lives to God who enters their hearts and minds as an integral part of their nature. Winthrop encourages people to open their souls and hearts to God. This spiritual union promises prosperity and happiness both for the people and for God. In general, this speech bears the imprint of a kind of religious fanaticism. I am surprised ho w Winthrop encourages people to purify their hearts and minds from bad thoughts and follow the path that God prepared for them. The new Christian society is seen as the successor of the mission of

Review of lay literature article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Review of lay literature - Article Example The therapist may perform a validated remedy erroneously, or conduct unnecessary exercises that a patient does not need for recovery. Further on, the authors advise the reader to be ready to push him or herself during their exercise routine. Relying too much on heat and ice does not speed up recovery, and the physical therapist requires spending not too much time applying these two on the injury. It is a fact that many therapists hesitate to push their patients especially in the case where they are old. In knee replacement cases, the author urges the reader not to agree to wear a continuous passive motion machine because there is no proven evidence that this device works. Instead, the patient should participate in exercise as soon as 24 hours after surgery for quicker recovery. Whirlpools, on the other hand, are of no significance in aiding recovery despite their use on wounds for more than 100 years. The author of the article deliberated with experts at the American Physical Therapy Association in a bid to advise the reader on recommendations for quicker recovery when consulting a physical therapist. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is an individual U.S. membership national association constituting a pool of more than 90,000 professional physical therapists, physical therapists assistants, and physical therapist students. 3 The organization seeks to improve and enhance the quality of life of individuals. It achieves this objective by making headway for the physical therapist practice, education and research, and expands awareness and apprehension of physical therapy’s role in the healthcare of the nation. The editors of Consumer Reports target and seek to inform any reader because one never knows when they might get an injury or an accident that will require the services of a physical therapist. They do not limit the advice to those readers with serious

Implementation Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Implementation Memo - Essay Example Although the daycare bus runs to the elementary, they do not have a route running at the high school. The second possibility is to incorporate a daycare at the high school. A room for the children could be set aside with fully licensed daycare workers and the mothers to take care of the children. The mothers would have one hour classes and receive credit for home economics as an elective. This option is supported by the town’s school. The benefit is mothers and children will be at the same site during the day. Babies and children can ride in car seats on regular buses. Another benefit is breastfeeding mothers will have access to their children. The one hour classes a day in the nursery will also provide the teenagers with guidance on how to feed, clean, and take care of their babies. There are two groups who have voiced concern. The first is the PTA at the school. Their concern is unwed teenage mothers might influence the other girls to have babies. I disagree. If babies and toddlers are at the school, maybe regular girls without children can take the home economics class. These girls would soon realize how uncool and complicated having a baby can be. The second group that has voiced concerns is the First Baptist Church. They also feel this is setting a bad example. I would hate to remind them how many of their daughters are unwed and mothers. I would also like to point out that many of these mothers, now older did not receive an education. These women work low level jobs and live in poverty. Only a few without education have succeeded in marriage or career. They are the exception, not the rule. In the end, the federal grant allows us to have this program. The organization I have chosen will be the school system. This is the easiest choice for transportation and location. However, I believe this will be the best example on what it really is like for unwed mothers. It will also help the mothers with their high school

Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Paper 2 - Essay Example Compared to both Steve and Brandon, Dawn is seen as the victim of naivety brought about by lack of support from the appropriate quarters (George & Trimbur 113). The two boys represent the Goths and Monsters talked about by both Hines and Cohen in their respective essays. They are monsters in the sense that they represent what young people end up becoming and the notions that they entertain in their lives. Welcome to the Dollhouse shows that X (use of Dawn) is a portrayal of the challenges that teenagers face when they are discovering their maturity. The film portrays the two male characters (Steve and Brandon) who are Dawn’s centers of interest at different times in the movie, are a representation of the Goths mentioned in Hine’s essay. These two characters fuel Dawn’s desire for recognition which spawns her quest for sex with either of the two, which she believes will gain her acceptance. Dawn is also a representation of the monster (Y) mentioned in Cohenâ€℠¢s seventh thesis. The article Goths in Tomorrowland by Thomas Hines addresses the issues and challenges facing young adults and teenagers in their formative years of crossing over to adulthood. In the article, Hines extrapolates on how the youth, try to carve an identity for self by going through a trial and error stage which requires them to experiment with various aspects of their lives. â€Å"The body alterations that young people use to assert that they are no longer children successfully frighten grown-ups, but they also convince them these weird creatures are well short of being adults. The ring through the lip or the nipple merely seems to demonstrate that they are not ready for adult responsibility. What they provoke is not respect but restrictions† (Hine page-71). This is shown in the scene where Dawn embraces the notion of having sex with Steve after being told by her only friend Ralph that its sex that boys want from girls. After this revelation there is manipulat ion of light around Dawn especially around her face to indicate enlightenment or discovery of the secret behind getting a boyfriend. The source of this information is also made to be significant in the sense that Ralph is sitting in front of a computer. The computer represents the alternative that teenagers result to for guidance on issues that have been neglected by adults. Ralph notices the new resolve on Dawn’s face, and he offers himself to her as an alternative, but she out-rightly rejects him. To enhance the feeling of disappointment for the viewer, when Ralph bows his head, the brightness of colors around his personal space is dimmed. This aspect is further advanced by dull grey color of the wall behind the desk he is seated on in the room. When Dawn enters Ralph’s room and finds him seated at the computer, his position is from Dawn’s standing point of view from an elevated angle. This is indication of Ralph’s status and meaning to Dawn; she might be in need of his opinion but she does not hold him in high enough regard to consider him in her stature. In this scene, there is the use of color intensity alteration to help bring out the difference between two friends who are in a similar situation but have differing solutions to address their common problem of lack of friends (George & Trimbur 186). When Ralph is offering his advice to Dawn, his dull colored shirt seems brighter from Dawn’s perspective through which this instance in the scene is

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family Law - Essay Example an equitable portion of the property.4 This essay will examine these inequities. Marital and Cohabitation Law – Before White v. White White v. White5 was a case that focused upon married persons. In this case, the court decided that financial need was not a basis for the distribution of finances. Moreover, the case was the first to establish that the distribution of property upon divorce should be divided up equitably, without discrimination. That way, the wage earner would not be entitled to more than the child-carer. In other words, the non-financial contribution of the parent who cares for the children is recognized in property division. The White case represented a landmark, in that the court was ordered to divide marital property equitably, regardless if one contributed financially towards to home or not. Before White, the cases in the UK were decided against the non-working spouse who did not contribute financially towards the house, either towards the purchase price or towards the mortgage. For instance, in the case of Pettit v. Pettit,6 the couple was married and the husband did not work outside the home. Therefore, he did not contribute financially. Moreover, the home was in the separate name of the wife, and the wife used her own funds to buy the home. The husband contributed labour towards the home – decorating the home, building a wardrobe, laying a lawn and constructing an ornamental wall and garden side wall. However, the Pettit court found that the husband was not entitled to a beneficial interest in the home. Therefore, prior to White, the court presumptively did not award property to the non-working spouse. White represents an improvement upon this, as discrimination against the non-working spouse is not longer acceptable. That said, there is not a statutory provision that dictates that property needs to be divided equitably, although the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 states that, essentially, courts have discretion in that there is no determined order of priority in the distribution of assets in every case. Although the marital property law has evolved to give equal rights to the non-working spouse, the law regarding co-habitating couples has not similarly evolved. Prior to the White case, the courts decided a number of co-habitation cases against the non-working spouse. For instance, in Gissing v. Gissing,7 the non-working spouse was the man, and the man did not contribute financially towards the home. The husband did buy furniture and also did chores, such as lawn-mowing. The husband did not have an interest in the home. This was the same case with Lloyds Bank v. Rosset.8 In that case, it was the wife that did not work. She claimed a beneficial interest in the property when the Lloyd's Bank tried to foreclose on the home after the husband took a loan against the home and defaulted. The Lloyd's court found that the only way for the woman to have an interest in the home is if the parties agreed that she would have interest, or if there

Ground Subsidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Ground Subsidence - Essay Example Most human built structures do rely on the ground for stability but what if the ground suddenly becomes unstable What if subsidence occurs This paper aims to answer these questions by discussing the nature of subsidence and its effects on civil works. I will be providing definitions and possible causes of subsidence. For the civil works, I will be enumerating the effects along precautionary and remedial measures that can mitigate its effects. "Ground subsidence" is legally defined as the means or process that is characterized by the downward displacement of surface material caused by natural phenomena such as removal of underground fluids, natural consolidation, or dissolution of underground minerals, or by man-made phenomena such as underground mining. (Colorado Geologic Survey) Subsidence may occur abruptly-virtually instantly-or gradually over many years. It may occur uniformly in a small, confined area as shown in Figure 1a or may occur over a wide area as local depressions as shown in Figure 1b. Subsidence is commonly associated with the dissolution of soluble rocks, such as limestone, beneath the surface while those with crystalline rocks in which most metals are mined have greater strength and are less likely to settle or collapse. The resultant landscape has closed depressions and is known as karst topography. Note that the depressions do not necessarily result to holes in the ground as shown in Figure 2. ... ed subsidence occur as a result of withdrawal of fluids from subsurface reservoirs as shown in Figure 4, from the collapse of soil and rock over subsurface holes, such as those left by underground mining and from the draining of wetlands. (Waltham and Cushaw, 2004) FIGURE 1a. SMALL SINKHOLE. Not all sinkholes are large subsidence features. Small collapse sinkholes, such as this one in Boyle County, Kentucky, are common. (Kentucky Geological Survey) FIGURE 1.b LARGE COLLAPSE SINKHOLE. This sinkhole near Montevallo in central Alabama was dubbed the "December Giant" after it measured close to 120 m (400 ft.) in diameter and 45 m (150 ft.) in depth. (U.S. Geological Survey) FIGURE 2. KARST TOPOGRAPHY. This rolling landscape of the Mitchell Plateau in southern Indiana is typical of karst topography in a humid temperate climate. (Samuel S. Frushour, Indiana Geological Survey) Subsidence can also occur due to expansive soils. There are clay-rich soils which shrink significantly during dry periods and expand or swell during wet periods. The swelling is caused by the chemical attraction of water molecules to the surface of very fine particles of clay. Swelling can also be caused by the chemical attraction of water molecules to layers within the crystal structure of some clay minerals. Figure 3a shows the mechanism by which expansion of soil can occur while Figure 3b shows water consumption by trees as another cause. FIGURE 3. EXPANSIVE SOILS (a) Smectite clay expands as water molecules are added onto and within the clay particles. (b) Effects of soil's shrinking and swelling at a home site. (After Mathewson, C. C., and J. P. Castleberry, II. Expansive soils: Their engineering geology. Texas A&M University) FIGURE 4. PROCESS OF SUBSIDENCE DUE TO WATER

Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Family Law - Essay Example an equitable portion of the property.4 This essay will examine these inequities. Marital and Cohabitation Law – Before White v. White White v. White5 was a case that focused upon married persons. In this case, the court decided that financial need was not a basis for the distribution of finances. Moreover, the case was the first to establish that the distribution of property upon divorce should be divided up equitably, without discrimination. That way, the wage earner would not be entitled to more than the child-carer. In other words, the non-financial contribution of the parent who cares for the children is recognized in property division. The White case represented a landmark, in that the court was ordered to divide marital property equitably, regardless if one contributed financially towards to home or not. Before White, the cases in the UK were decided against the non-working spouse who did not contribute financially towards the house, either towards the purchase price or towards the mortgage. For instance, in the case of Pettit v. Pettit,6 the couple was married and the husband did not work outside the home. Therefore, he did not contribute financially. Moreover, the home was in the separate name of the wife, and the wife used her own funds to buy the home. The husband contributed labour towards the home – decorating the home, building a wardrobe, laying a lawn and constructing an ornamental wall and garden side wall. However, the Pettit court found that the husband was not entitled to a beneficial interest in the home. Therefore, prior to White, the court presumptively did not award property to the non-working spouse. White represents an improvement upon this, as discrimination against the non-working spouse is not longer acceptable. That said, there is not a statutory provision that dictates that property needs to be divided equitably, although the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 states that, essentially, courts have discretion in that there is no determined order of priority in the distribution of assets in every case. Although the marital property law has evolved to give equal rights to the non-working spouse, the law regarding co-habitating couples has not similarly evolved. Prior to the White case, the courts decided a number of co-habitation cases against the non-working spouse. For instance, in Gissing v. Gissing,7 the non-working spouse was the man, and the man did not contribute financially towards the home. The husband did buy furniture and also did chores, such as lawn-mowing. The husband did not have an interest in the home. This was the same case with Lloyds Bank v. Rosset.8 In that case, it was the wife that did not work. She claimed a beneficial interest in the property when the Lloyd's Bank tried to foreclose on the home after the husband took a loan against the home and defaulted. The Lloyd's court found that the only way for the woman to have an interest in the home is if the parties agreed that she would have interest, or if there

Writing assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Writing assessment - Essay Example My supervisor pointed out that the logic was in fact flawed. Moreover, the essay was underdeveloped in minor ways, and there were only one or two clunky introductions from outside sources. When it came to my second assignment, I was happy to notice that the supervisor had acknowledged the fact that most of my sources were appropriate. Instead of referring to online dictionaries and other unimpressive and unreliable sources as I did in the first paper, I cited appropriately the ideas from a research work by Laurie A Couture, and provided correct bibliographic details in the end. However, some of the flaws still persisted in the second paper as well. It was marked ‘poor’ or two counts – for one or more tasks mismanaged and for being distinctly underdeveloped. There were also occasional gaps in logic or clarity, and there were one or two clunky introductions of outside sources. When I read the paper a second time, I too felt that I could have done better with the dev elopment of the paper if I hadn’t confused the notion of injustice by referring to an incident where I was clearly misbehaving and punished as a child, though the immediate cause for punishment could not be strictly attributed to me. I could have chosen a better instance of injustice where one was at the receiving end of ruthlessness or oppression. When compared to the second paper, the first was slightly better in that it did develop the tasks reasonably well, and was underdeveloped only in minor ways. However, I will make sure that the improvement I made with regard to the sources and logical arguments. In the future, I hope to focus more on my areas of weakness in order to make faster improvement and achieve more clarity by better research and organization of thoughts. I haven’t made much progress with regard to the organization of thoughts. In the first paper, I was marked average for mostly coherent paragraphs, and

Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Example for Free

Socrates The Symposium and Its Serious Purpose Essay Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)was a Greek philosopher.   Plato (ca. 429-347 B.C.E.)was the student of Socrates.   According to David H. Richter, because Plato mistrusted writing, he did not set down his philosophy in the usual form of a set of treatises but rather in dialogues (18).   The Symposium comes from a dialogue of Socrates ideas transcribed by Plato, because Socrates never wrote anything himself. Whether or not Plato kept his own ideas out of Socrates is the subject of debate:   . . . at times we may wonder whether Socrates is being serious or ironic, at other times whether he always speaks directly for Plato (Richter 18).   Be that as it may, The Symposium discusses the nature of love, and although it is written in a comic tone, nonetheless it also strives to explore love in a serious manner as bound in morality in the structured forms of drama, rhetoric and dialect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Symposium takes the form of several speeches by guests at a symposium, or drinking party, at the house of Agathon.   Each of the seven party guests, and their respective speeches, represent a different aspect of love.   Phaedrus takes a literary approach to the topic of love, while Pausanias a legal perspective.   Eryximachus brings a doctors view to the topic, and Aristophanes, as a comic poet, sticks with a humorous take on the subject.   Agathon uses a self-conscious poetic outlook, whereas Socrates puts a religious spin on love.   Finally, Alcibiades talks about his relationship, whether erotic or not, to Socrates.   If love is a part of or even the basis of morality, then it is not surprising that Socrates and Plato were interested in coming up with a clear idea of what love was, because according to D. Brendan Nagle, Socrates and Plato, came to the defense of the beleaguered city-state and tried to find a new and irrefutable moral basis for it (162).   Socrates was looking for a basis for morality, and certainly he thought at least a part of it was bound up in the idea of love.   C. M. Bowra, in Classical Greece, says that Socrates was the first exponent in Greece of a morality based on the demands of individual conscience rather than the demands of the state (137). This work explores this idea of love bound in morality.   Socrates, at a time before the drinking party, speaks to Diotima, who tells him a story about love.   She brings together the ideas of love and eternality, or what we might today call a true and undying love.   She relates how some men were willing to die for the sake of their name being bound to a good reputation even after their death.   She gives the example that Achilles would not have avenged Patroclus was it not for the memory of their virtues, which still survives among us, would be immortal? (The Symposium).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plato uses the dramatic form as one type of structure for The Symposium (Platos Symposium).   There is an introduction, the body of the play, and an afterward.   The drama is built around the verbal antics of three pairs of speakers with differing points of view.   Phaedrus is a social climber and wants to get in good with the poets.   He is a rival to Pausanias for Agathons attention.   Pausanias, however, is Agathons current lover, so the plot thickens comedically in this first episode. The next scene takes place between Eryximachus, the physician who is bombastic and Aristophanes, the comic dramatist who was known for bringing down people with big egos.   The final portion is a debate between Agathon and Socrates.   Plato draws a verbal picture of Agathon as a flamboyant self-centered character, whereas Socrates comes across as simple and unfashionable.   These pairings help produce the comedy and satire of the piece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rhetoric of this piece can also be used as a form for the discussion of love in which these characters partake.   Some of the characters deliver their speeches in an exaggerated manner, such as Eryximachus and Agathon.   Others, like Socrates and Aristophanes, use a plain style.   By the end of the piece Alcibiades, the last speaker, explains in summary that inner beauty is more attractive than outer charm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another way to understand The Symposium is as an example of the Socratic method itself.   It starts with basic ideas about love, and gradually it grows to deeper understanding based on a question and answer format made famous by Socrates.   Phaedrus begins with the idea that love elevates the lover, but Pausanias counters that love can have a religious context or a secular one. The doctor gives a medical explanation for love, claiming that love will bring peace to the mind, whereas Aristophanes thinks that love is more self-centered, because the lover is looking for self-actualization through the means of love. Socrates has the final summary through expressing the ideas of Diotima to the other party guests that love in its purest form wants eternally to be immortal and also wants the good and the beautiful to be the focus of its immortality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Socrates used humor as well as structure provided by drama, rhetoric, and the Socratic method of question and answer to get his message concerning love across not only to the guests at the party, but eventually to the world.   This piece has been the foundation upon which Western cultures idea of love was based.   Although Socrates students loved him, the state, not surprisingly, did not for several reasons.   The city-state leaders did not like the idea that Socrates questioned the popular religions of the day. He believed his search for self-individualism was greater than the needs of the state.   The state of Athens thought Socrates, in his role as an educator, to be a corrupting force on the youth of the city, and they condemned him to death.   He died surrounded by his friends and talking to them, after he had drunk hemlock, the poison that would take his life.   Plato called Socrates,the wisest and most just and best man who ever lived, a saint and a martyr (Bowra 138).   Even after Socrates death, Plato wrote down the words that Socrates said, and this is why we can begin to understand his thoughts in The Symposium. Works Cited Bowra, C. M. et al.   Classical Greece.   Alexandria, VA:   Time-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Life Books, 1977. Nagle, D. Brendan.   The Ancient World:   A Social and Cultural   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   History.   2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:   Prentice Hall,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1989. Plato.   Symposium.   http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/p/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   plato/p71sy/symposium.html Platos Symposium.   http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   tlove/symposium.html Richter, David H.   The Critical Tradition:   Classic Texts and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Contemporary Trends.   2nd ed.   Boston:   Bedford Books, 1998.

The Purpose of Mother Night :: Mother Night Essays

The   Purpose of   Mother Night      Ã‚  Ã‚   Over   the years,   such world-renowned   authors as   Mark Twain and   J. D. Salinger have   shown readers how literature reflects the era in which   it is written. Another author who has  Ã‚   also   made  Ã‚   significant   contributions  Ã‚   to   American literature   is   Kurt   Vonnegut,   author   of   such well-known novels as Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vonnegut was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana   ("Kurt Vonnegut,   Jr."). Vonnegut   attended Cornell University in 1940 where he   wrote for the Cornell Daily Sun ("Chronology"). In   1943, Vonnegut joined   the United States Infantry. He fought   in World War II for   the 106th Infantry Division until 1945 when he   was captured by the Germans and shipped to a   work camp in Dresden. It was   here in the city of   Dresden   where   Vonnegut   witnessed the American/British firebombing   that  Ã‚   killed   an   estimated  Ã‚   135,000   people. "[Vonnegut] tried for   many years to put into   words what he had   experienced during   that horrific   event...It took   him more  Ã‚  Ã‚   than  Ã‚  Ã‚   twenty  Ã‚  Ã‚   years,  Ã‚  Ã‚   however,  Ã‚  Ã‚   to  Ã‚   produce Slaughterhouse Five" ("Vonnegut in WWII").      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Slaughterhouse Five is Vonnegut's   most famous work. In this book, Vonnegut fictionally   recreates his experience in Dresden. However this book   wasn't published until 1969, and he had published several works   before this. His first book, Player Piano,   was published in 1952;   and his third, Mother Night,   was published   in 1961   ("Chronology"). Even   though Slaughterhouse Five   was Vonnegut's only   novel to re-create his experience   in Dresden, a   strong anti-war theme   can be found in his   earlier literature as well. A   fine example of one of his works that fits this description is Mother Night. The novel takes place in an   open jail in Old Jerusalem. The protagonist introduces himself by saying, "My name is Howard W.   Campbell, Jr.   I am   an   American   by birth,   a Nazi   by reputation, and a nationless person by inclination, The year in   which I   write this   book [is]   1961" (Vo nnegut   17). In first-person  Ã‚   narration   Campbell  Ã‚   accounts   stories   from before, during and post World War II. The reader learns that Campbell lived in Germany   before the war entertaining Nazis as a playwright.   He and his wife Helga   had no intention of leaving Germany once war became a threat. Campbell tells the reader that in 1938 he   was recruited as an American special agent who was to pose as a Nazi propagandist during the war. The   reader   learns   that   this   is   the   reason Campbell is currently behind   bars in; he is   to be tried by   Israel for severe war crimes of spreading propaganda. The Purpose of Mother Night :: Mother Night Essays The   Purpose of   Mother Night      Ã‚  Ã‚   Over   the years,   such world-renowned   authors as   Mark Twain and   J. D. Salinger have   shown readers how literature reflects the era in which   it is written. Another author who has  Ã‚   also   made  Ã‚   significant   contributions  Ã‚   to   American literature   is   Kurt   Vonnegut,   author   of   such well-known novels as Slaughterhouse 5 and Cat's Cradle.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vonnegut was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana   ("Kurt Vonnegut,   Jr."). Vonnegut   attended Cornell University in 1940 where he   wrote for the Cornell Daily Sun ("Chronology"). In   1943, Vonnegut joined   the United States Infantry. He fought   in World War II for   the 106th Infantry Division until 1945 when he   was captured by the Germans and shipped to a   work camp in Dresden. It was   here in the city of   Dresden   where   Vonnegut   witnessed the American/British firebombing   that  Ã‚   killed   an   estimated  Ã‚   135,000   people. "[Vonnegut] tried for   many years to put into   words what he had   experienced during   that horrific   event...It took   him more  Ã‚  Ã‚   than  Ã‚  Ã‚   twenty  Ã‚  Ã‚   years,  Ã‚  Ã‚   however,  Ã‚  Ã‚   to  Ã‚   produce Slaughterhouse Five" ("Vonnegut in WWII").      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Slaughterhouse Five is Vonnegut's   most famous work. In this book, Vonnegut fictionally   recreates his experience in Dresden. However this book   wasn't published until 1969, and he had published several works   before this. His first book, Player Piano,   was published in 1952;   and his third, Mother Night,   was published   in 1961   ("Chronology"). Even   though Slaughterhouse Five   was Vonnegut's only   novel to re-create his experience   in Dresden, a   strong anti-war theme   can be found in his   earlier literature as well. A   fine example of one of his works that fits this description is Mother Night. The novel takes place in an   open jail in Old Jerusalem. The protagonist introduces himself by saying, "My name is Howard W.   Campbell, Jr.   I am   an   American   by birth,   a Nazi   by reputation, and a nationless person by inclination, The year in   which I   write this   book [is]   1961" (Vo nnegut   17). In first-person  Ã‚   narration   Campbell  Ã‚   accounts   stories   from before, during and post World War II. The reader learns that Campbell lived in Germany   before the war entertaining Nazis as a playwright.   He and his wife Helga   had no intention of leaving Germany once war became a threat. Campbell tells the reader that in 1938 he   was recruited as an American special agent who was to pose as a Nazi propagandist during the war. The   reader   learns   that   this   is   the   reason Campbell is currently behind   bars in; he is   to be tried by   Israel for severe war crimes of spreading propaganda.

Purchasing Drill Accessories :: Informative Essay

The use of drill accessories are increasing for commercial as well as domestic projects. The reason is that these cordless drill accessories can perform multiple tasks in a short time. Whether you are making a hole in a wall or mixing liquid for painting, it is essential to include drill accessories with other equipment. While purchasing for drill tools, you can get all essential drill parts in form of drill accessory set. This set is considered an essential item for wood and metal applications and also used for other construction tasks. Many experts are of the view that drill accessory works on the base of rotating technology and saves much time and labor cost. It works on the base of rotating terminology that can make a hole or cut the concrete walls. For the accomplishment of multiple tasks, drill bits prove helpful in the space mission and screw driving applications. Electric motor is fitted in this accessory that can make a hole in an object within a few seconds. While working with different applications, you can adjust the speed of the drill that fits to the needs of the task. However, Cordless drill accessories are preferred than others because of their ease of use and built in batter features. In the cordless drill accessories, you will find the battery that can be used in case of electricity supply shortage. The use of this amazing tool has facilitated the workers because they can now complete the task of drilling without much efforts and labor. When you are using drill accessories, you must adopt some essential security measures. It will save you from any type of serious injury. When you plan for cordless drill accessories shopping, you will find different types of drill tools in the market. Here, I am giving you an overvi ew of some functional drill accessories so that you can buy the right drilling driver for your task. Compact drill The purchase of a compact drill will prove cost effective for you because it can be used for drilling and screw driving application at the same time. It is available with integrated keyless chuck and some adjustment tools. In addition, industrial metal and gears are used in its manufacturing that increases its durability. It works similar to cordless drill accessories and easy to use for all drilling applications. Rotary mixer drill Rotary mixer drill is another latest tool that is designed for plastering, painting and concrete applications.

Admission Seeking Interviews Essay

There are several reasons why a person would consider and actually go through with committing fraud. It could be due to a perceived pressure, for example financial problems, abuses like drugs or alcohol, pressure from superiors, or simply because the individual is a disgruntled employee who thinks the company â€Å"owes them†. Or the reason could be they want to increase their lifestyle like â€Å"keeping up with the Joneses†. Other pressures could come from superiors who coerce employees to go along with the fraud or lose their jobs. Fraudsters rationalize their misdeeds with thoughts like; they will replace the stolen asset in the near future before anyone notices, or maybe the boss is doing it so why can’t I? Higher level employees like the CEO may rationalize that stock prices will be higher if they manipulate the financial statements, after all who they are hurting? It all comes out in the wash, right? Creative accounting is all it takes and adjustments could be made in the future to remedy this year’s fraud. Individuals who do a fraudulent act typically have the opportunity to commit the fraud. It could be because of shoddy internal controls; even with good internal controls a determined person could find a way to override them. A CEO or manager may think they are high enough on the totem pole that no one would question their antics. Once a fraud has been discovered or reported the fraud examiner must do his/her homework. They must secure data and documents to determine if a fraud has actually happened. Once all the evidence has been gathered about the crime and the subjects background has been determined the fraud examiner sets up an appointment which could be a planned or spontaneous event. He/she would interview the interviewee using a variety of techniques and executing objectivity, fairness and professionalism at all times. The subject who thinks the interviewer is out to help them and does ot judge their misdeeds would be more forthcoming with information so it is important that the interviewer thanks the person periodically offers breaks and concessions lie coffee or a drink. Once it has been determined that the subject was involved through investigation and preliminary interviews the examiner would sympathize with the subject stating such things as â€Å"anyone would do that in your position†. It is important that they establish a rationalization and motive for the fraud. The fraud examiner could produce other witness’ statements to try to get the subject to reveal their motive. Once the motive or rationalization is uncovered it would be important to discover how the act took place. What opportunities did the subject have to commit the crime? Examples could be poor internal controls, management that was lax, or the fraudster was capable of outsmarting his superiors. There are many recommended methods to have a successful interview. Each case is unique and has to be handled in a different way, but the outcome is pretty much the same. The purpose to an admission seeking interview is to determine how it was done, opportunity, why it was done, rationalization, and finally what made the person do it, perceived pressure. In closing, people are complex and unique in their make-up; there is no mold or template that determines who will commit a fraud or why they may do it. Not all people that have pressures for example sole providers of a struggling family, or can rationalize a reason, or have the opportunity will commit a fraudulent act. Basically we all have to live our lives under a certain code of conduct. People who deviate from the honest worker lack morals in my opinion. It is up to the examiner to uncover the truth. The fraud triangle is a helpful tool that gives a standard of the typical fraudster. Classifying potential pressures, opportunities, or probable rationalizations and by using the techniques of a successful interviewer one should net the desired result in determining if the subject is indeed guilty or just being set up by the whistleblower for whatever reason.

Prison Term Policy Recommendation Paper

In September 2011 there will be a vote on a bill that will double the prison sentence of anyone committing armed robbery, in the state of Wisconsin. The hope of the bill sponsors is that the increased penalties will deter a person from committing armed robbery. Senator McKenzie is aware of popular support for the bill; however, he has asked for my recommendation of whether or not the measure will have any genuine deterrent effect on the rate of incidence. When State Senator McKenzie asked me for my recommendation, I looked for studies on the deterrent effect of lengthy sentences, for armed robbery. The studies I read indicate that, whereas there may be a slight decrease in recidivism, the reduction was not significant enough to indicate that a longer sentence has a significant deterrent effect on those commit armed robbery. The reduction of crime is not directly contributable to the length of sentence. Rather than focus, too intently, on studies of the deterrent effect of stiffer penalties, I believe that it is more important to look at the other factors, which may lead a person to commit an armed robbery. There are three criminology theories in particular, which may influence a criminal’s decision to commit a violent crime. The biological theory theorizes that some people are ‘born to be bad’; something in his or her biological makeup causes them to behave in a violent fashion. The rational choice theory theorizes that people have free will and, if they commit a violent act it is that they choose to do so. Finally, the psychological theory theorizes that there is a psychological deficiency that leads a person to commit criminal acts. What is Armed Robbery? To begin, it is important to understand why armed robbery should receive greater penalties than non-armed robbery. When a person commits armed robbery, he or she is using, or threatening to use, a weapon; the criminal is intimidating the victim into relinquishing his or her money or property (CriminalDefenseLawyer. com, 2011). When weapons are involved, the danger that someone will be seriously harmed or killed significantly increases. The purpose of the bill, on focusing on armed robbery, is to deter criminals from using violence in the commission of his or her crime. The main question to be considered is; why does a criminal commit an armed robbery? Understanding this question may eventually lead to the genuine determination of how to reduce and eliminate crime; three theories of criminal behavior in particular may hold the key. Biological Theories The first theory to consider is the biological theory. Is there something in the fundamental makeup of an individual that may lead him or her to violence and criminal activities? Cesare Lombraso, a 19th century Italian medical doctor, is one of the best known scientific biological theorists. One of his theories posited that, if a person had an underdeveloped brain (e. g. inferior brain) they would be incapable of conforming to the rules and laws of society; because they would be unable to understand why what they are doing is wrong. Lombroso performed autopsies on numerous criminals, including an Italian soldier who attacked and killed eight of his fellow soldiers, and found deformities of the criminals’ brains. This led him to conclude that a reason for the criminal’s behavior was that the criminal had inferior reasoning capabilities, and therefore, the criminal could not understand the difference between what is right and wrong (Schmalleger, 2009). A biological theory, by evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, theorized that because life favors the strongest and best individuals, those who are able to attain power and possessions are most likely to procreate, thus continuing his or her genes. Animals, including humans, are driven to ggression, and crime, to improve his or her economic and social positions; to facilitate his or her search for a mate (Schmalleger, 2009). Lombraso and Darwin determined that biology is the cause behind aggressive and criminal behavior. Rational Choice Theory A second theory is the classical school of criminology referred to as the rational choice theory, or free will. This theory posits that a person chooses to commit criminal acts; that circumstances su ch as social and economic hardships lead a person to commit crime. The theory maintains that a person will consider the pros and cons of committing a criminal act; if the benefits outweigh the punishment, the person will commit the crime (Law Library: Free Legal Encyclopedia, 2011). According to this theory, a person with low social standing, and often impoverished would be more likely to commit armed robbery to improve his or her economic conditions, thus improving his or her social position. Classical theorists Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham were two theorists who believed that if the punishment were greater than the benefits of the crime, individuals would be deterred from committing criminal (Schmalleger, 2009). However, this theory does not appear to take into account the desperation factor; if someone is impoverished, possible living on the streets, his or her desperation for basic requirements may be such that there is no deterrent strong enough to stop him or her. Psychological Theory The third theory is based on psychological factors. Sigmund Freud and J. Dollard proposed theories that, when a person is significantly frustrated, over a long period, aggression is the natural outcome (Schmalleger, 2009). According to this belief, if a person lives in depravation long enough, the individual will eventually become frustrated enough that he or she may resort to armed robbery, to improve his or her economic status. Another psychological theory, which is popular in current times, is that violent video games, television, and movies, are the driving force behind violent criminal activity. Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, a former assistant professor of psychology at West Point, calls video game, â€Å"hypnotic murder simulators† (Schmalleger, 2009, p. 231). This theory posits that people become desensitized to violence and lose perspective; they no longer see right and wrong, therefore they may resort to criminal activity to obtain what they want. Whether any, or all, of these theories have merit, it is clear that there are factors other than simple greed that can lead to a person committing a violent crime such as armed robbery. Without being able to narrow down the factors of why a person is likely to commit an armed robbery, it is difficult at best to determine what will deter him or her from committing the crime. It is my belief that too many factors contribute to a person’s decision to commit the crime, to believe that simply lengthening the sentence will be effective. Studies Two studies in particular, on the deterrent effect of longer sentences on criminals committing armed robbery, indicate that although there may be a slight deterrent effect, there is not a significant deterrent effect by increasing sentence length. In 2006, Italy passed a bill that gave clemency to thousands of criminals with three or fewer years left on his or her sentences. If the criminals were to commit any further crimes within the next five years, not only would the individual have to serve the sentence for whatever crime was committed, the sentence would be extended by whatever time had not been previously served (University of Chicago Press Journals, 2009). This gave three scientists, Francesco Drego, Roberto Galbiati, and Pietro Vertova the opportunity to study the deterrent effect of longer sentences on recidivism rates. In 2009, the scientists published their discoveries in the Journal of Political Economy; the results indicate that an increase of sentencing, by as little as one month, reduced the recidivism rate by 1. 3% in less serious crimes; however, for criminals committing more serious offenses, of which armed robbery is one, there was virtually no deterrent effect (University of Chicago Press Journals, 2009). Although this study is encouraging for less serious crimes, it does not indicate that there is a significant reduction of serious and/or violent crimes because of the longer sentencing. Another study conducted by the economists David S. Lee of Columbia and Justin McCrary of Michigan, focused on Florida recidivism rates, discovered that even though imprisonment and sentences increase from three to 17% after the age of 18, depending on the seriousness of the crime, there was no significant drop in recidivism rates when juvenile criminals transitioned to adult courts. It was, in fact, because the individual was incarcerated and unable to commit more crimes that there was a drop in criminal activity between the ages of 17 and 19 (Waldfogel, 2007). Conclusion There are too many factors, which may cause a person to commit an armed robbery, to believe that simply lengthening the prison term will be effective. If a person is biologically inclined toward criminal activity, longer sentences will not be sufficient to override his or her biological ‘programming’. If they have inferior cognitive abilities, because of underdeveloped brains, they will be unable to comprehend the significance of a longer sentence; a longer sentence would have no more significance to them than a shorter sentence. If the person has endured frustration long enough that they feel his or her only choice it to take what they want by force, they are unlikely to consider the prison sentence before they commit the act. Or they may determine that even if they are caught, at least they will have a roof over their heads, food on their plate, and clothes on their back, if they are sent to prison. For some criminals this may, in fact, be an inducement to commit the crime. If a person has become psychologically ‘warped’ by social media, they may have lost the capability to judge right and wrong, thereby losing the capability to consider the consequences of his or her actions; a longer sentence would not be sufficient deterrence. Finally, if the person has made the choice, of his or her own free will, to commit an armed robbery, even after weighing the pros and cons, doubling his or her sentence is going to have very little deterrent effect. Many criminals believe that they will not be apprehended; or they believe they will be able to reduce their sentence through a plea bargain. When a criminal chooses to commit a crime, they are also choosing to accept the penalty should they be caught. Of the three theories, I believe that a criminal who falls under the rational choice theory has the best chance of being deterred. This criminal is the one who is most likely to understand the significance of a longer sentence. However, as the Italian and Florida studies indicated, imposing longer sentences did little to deter violent criminals. As violent crime is not, in my opinion, a rational act, it is unlikely that armed robbers would fall under the rational choice theory; hence, they are unlikely to be deterred by doubling their prison sentence. My Recommendation While I do not believe that doubling the prison sentences of armed robbers will have a significant deterrent effect on armed robbers, I do believe that it will have an effect on the crime rate. If the criminal is incarcerated for a long period, they are unable to commit further armed robberies. They will be segregated from society, and will be unable to further victimize society. Society will also receive psychological benefits from the new law; they will feel comforted by the fact that the individual is no longer able to victimize society. As the bill has popular support, from both the legislature and the public, I recommend that Senator McKenzie vote to pass the bill, when it comes up for a vote in September 2011. References CriminalDefenseLawyer. com. (2011). Armed Robbery. Retrieved 10 January 2011, from http://www. criminaldefenselawyer. com/crime-penalties/federal/Armed-Robbery. htm Law Library: Free Legal Encyclopedia. (2011). Classical School of Criminology. Retrieved 30 January 2011, from http://law. jrank. org/pages/14359/classical-school-criminology. html Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction, Fifth Edition. Retrieved 30 January 2011, from CJA 314. University of Chicago Press Journals (2009). Potential Criminals Can Be Deterred By Longer Sentences, Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved 30 January 2011, from http://www. sciencedaily. com /releases/2009/05/090518111726. htm Waldfogel, J. (2007). The Irrational 18-Year-Old Criminal. Slate. Retrieved 30 January 2011, from http://www. slate. com/id/2158317/