Learn More About the Riverine Command Boat (Experimental) (RCB-X)

The Riverine Command Boat (Experimental) (RCB-X) is an experimental military craft that is testing alternative fuel blends. RCB-X uses a blended fuel consisting of 50 percent  algae-based biofuel and 50 percent NATO F-76 fuel. The goal is to reduce the Navy’s consumption of petroleum-based fuels. RCB-X is an experimental version of the Swedish Riverine Command Boat. Over 225 Riverine Command Boat’s are in use worldwide. Riverine Boat Specs Riverine Command Boat (Experimental) (RCB-X) is a 49-foot long, 12-foot wide craft that is fast and agile. The vessel is designed for use on rivers for patrols and assaults by small forces. The RCB-X has a top speed of 44 knots, 1,700 horsepower and a crew of four. It also has a 3-foot draft allowing for easy travel on most rivers. It has Swedish built engines and Rolls Royce twin-ducted water jet propulsion. The bow is reinforced allowing the craft to be run onto shore at full speed without damage. RCB has a range of 240 nautical miles on rivers or open water. There are six gun mounts on the vessel. One on the bow and another behind the mast are remote- controlled from the cockpit. The other four are used for manned weapons. It can carry .50 caliber machine guns, mortar, 40 mm grenade launchers or Hellfire missiles. The mortar launcher is a twin-barrel 12 cm. mortar. RCB can carry up to 20 troops at one time, and be transformed into a dive support vessel or a command craft. The boat can also be configured as an ambulance to take wounded soldiers off the battlefield by river. Made of heavy-duty aluminum, it has a 580-gallon fuel tank that contains a large, high-speed fuel fill capability. The bow drops down making it easy to disembark and return to the craft quickly. The cockpit is armor plated for protection and the cabin can be sealed against nuclear, chemical and biological agents. Over 4 tons of cargo can be carried on the craft. RCB-X and RCB’s are built by Safeboat International under license from the Swedish company Dockstavarvet. The first models cost anywhere from $2 to $3 million each. Bio Fuel Because the Riverine boat is a test version for fuels, it garners power from a 50 percent  algae-based and 50 percent NATO fuel called hydro-processed renewable diesel or HR-D. If the RCB-X used 100 percent biofuel, it would contain water which fouls the engines of Navy craft. Biofuels also have a six-month service life and the blend allows for longer term storage of fuel. The biofuel blend is made by a company called Solazyme, which calls the fuel Soladiesel. Soladiesel is designed to be used directly in place of conventional fuels, with no modifications to the engines or fuel system of the craft. In 2010 Solazyme delivered 80,000 liters of Soladiesel to the U.S. Navy and was under contract for an additional 550,000 liters at the time of publication. The fuel is produced in partnership with Chevron and Honeywell  in Illinois. Solazyme also makes a replacement for jet fuel and standard diesel vehicles. Solazyme’s algae grows in the dark using sugars from plants such as sugar cane and corn. Their system uses standard, industrial fermenters allowing for rapid scaling of production. Solazyme is based in San Francisco, California. Future The Navy  began testing the Riverine boat in 2010. It planned to deploy a strike group for local operations using the blended fuel in 2012 with full deployment in 2016. The Navy is testing the RCB-X, and it may be a possible fast craft for going from brown water (river) to green/blue water (ocean).

Columbine High School Massacre The Facts, Theories,...

Columbine High School Massacre: The Facts, Theories, Issues, and Solutions On April 20, 1999, one of the largest school shootings in American history took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two teens, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 13 people and wounded more than 20 others both before committing suicide. Many believe the two teens decided to hold this school massacre because both were bullied and were outcasts. This paper will examine labeling and social control theories to explain the behavior of these two juveniles, and this paper will also include issues and solutions pertaining to these theories. The labeling theory is based on social deviations that result in the outsider becoming labeled (UK Essays, 2013). Labels make expectations that the labeled person will act in a specific way. These labeled people will eventually begin to accept their labels as personal identities (Siegel Welsh, 2014). In other words, this theory explains society makes people deviant through those who label those people as delinquent; that stigmatizes those people and encourages them to accept the label as a personal identity. Another part of the labeling theory is that the process helps create a self-fulfilling prophecy; deviant behavior patterns are a response to being previously labeled (Siegel Welsh, 2014). The social control theory suggests that â€Å"people engage in criminal activity when their bond to society has weakened† (Ortiz, 2011). This theoryShow MoreRelated We Must Work to Prevent Mass School Shootings Essay1394 Words   |  6 Pagesshootings at schools. The public, and even the president of the United States, is asking if anything can be done to prevent these tragedies. There are many theories on why students kill their peers at schools; these range from increased violence in video games and movies to bullying troubles at school. Almost always, the perpetrator suffers from some form of mental illness (Khadaroo). Because of this, motives for these crimes are extremely difficult to discern. Although the theories for the causesRead MoreHistory Behind The Gun Control2680 Words   |  11 PagesCapone is most well known for his acts of violence against other gangsters.(â€Å"Al Capone†, 2016) In 1929 Capone had Jack Mcgurn, a hitman, pose as a police officer and kill seven men from a rival gang.(â€Å"Al Capone†, 2016) After this â€Å"Valentine s Day Massacre† there was a lot of heat on Capone and co. and President Hoover called for the government to finally catch and jail him for tax evasion.(â€Å"Al Capone†, 2016) Capone was eventually arrested and jailed and in from 1934 to 1938 President Franklin RooseveltRead MoreGun Laws Decrease Violence1972 Words   |  8 Pagesclose eye on him, he would do so, but if not, he would’ve admitted him for further care and evaluation (para 9). â€Å"That’s what society does. It would no more abandon this man to fend for himself than it would a man suffering a stroke,† he said. His theory is basically to help the people who need help instead of turning them away and assuming they are going to be fine. In cases such as this, why would any police officer, doctor, or anyone else be willing to take that gamble? He closes up by saying â€Å"WeRead MoreZero Toleranc e Policies During The Late 1980 S2602 Words   |  11 Pagesenforcement and arrest. In 1994 Congress passed the Gun-Free Schools Act, which forced states to pass laws mandating expulsion for a minimum of one year for bringing a weapon to school in order to receive federal education funds. By the mid 90’s roughly 80% of schools had adopted zero tolerance policies beyond the federal requirements and in response the federal government began to increase funding for security guards and other school based law enforcement officers and equipment. These changesRead MorePopular Culture and Violent Behavior Essay11795 Words   |  48 PagesIntroduction In 1871 E.B. Taylor defined culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and many other capabilities and habits acquired by...[members] of society.[1] Taylor was talking about high culture, an aristocratic view of the past-times such as ballet, theatre and art. Popular culture, on the other hand, is a form of low culture and is based primarily on marketing, mass production and revenue. Low culture is what is soldRead MoreViolence on Television Does Not Impact Behavior Essay3474 Words   |  14 Pagesindisputable fact that violence sells in the 90s. turn on the television during prime time and right away a throng of gruesome programs amasses you from Extreme Wrestling to CNN news. Whens the last time you heard something positive on the news as opposed to civil war in Europe, the death of an inner-city youth by a rival gang, or the brutal rape and murder of a child by their parent? Perhaps the news contributes more than just an insightful knowledge of events. Perhaps Columbine copycats and school bomb

Religion and Environmental Ethics Free Essays

string(88) " can be employed to depict the destruction and occupation of conquered territory \(Num\." RELS5149 Religion and Envirnomental Ethics Student#1155012742 – Li Wai Tat, Victor Does Christianity have a â€Å"Burden of Guilt† in our Ecological Crisis? Introduction and Methods In 1967, Lynn White Jr. , published a paper in Science (Vol 155, 1967, pp 1203-1207) â€Å"The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis†, which was to become a seminal work on the relationship of Ecology and Christianity and had since then provoked enumerous debates on the topic. In the paper he wrote â€Å"Christianity bears a huge burden of guilt† and concludes that â€Å"Hence we shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man. We will write a custom essay sample on Religion and Environmental Ethics or any similar topic only for you Order Now † White depicted Western Christianity as seeing the world existing primarily for the benefit of man, and man, bearing God’s image and sharing in great measure God’s transcendence of nature, exploit nature for his proper ends according to God’s will. This thesis of White shall be referred to as â€Å"Dominion Hypothesis† for ease of identification in this paper. But are the claims in his Dominion Hypothesis valid? Does Christianity bear a burden of guilt for the ecological crisis of the world? The purpose of this paper is to assess the strength of his thesis by firstly analysing what the biblical scriptures and theologians have to say with regard to the relationship of God, man and the environment. Next the symptoms and origins of our ecological crisis are examined, after which their ties with Western Christianity are assessed to determine whether the later has causal relationship with the former. Finally, after arriving at the conclusion, some recommendations are presented. 1 White’s Thesis White’s thesis can briefly be summarized as: â€Å"All forms of life modify their contexts, and the human race has in one sense simply done this more than others. However, the human impact on the environment, whilst frequently detrimental in the past, was given an added impetus by Christianity in its Westernized form. Western society, as a product of Westernized Christianity, inherits an exploitative attitude to the natural world which is the key to our present ecological crisis. † (Richardson, 1998) . White depicted Western Christianity as seeing the world existing primarily for the benefit of man, and it is according to God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends. Biblical verses that align to the Dominion Hypothesis Arguably the following passages from the Bible are aligned to the Dominion Hypothesis and are most frequently cited by ecology critics of the Bible. Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of trhe air, and over the the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thinng that creeps upon the earth’ So god created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ‘ † (Gen. 1:26-29) â€Å"Yet thou has made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Thous hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thous hast put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. † (Ps. 8:5-8) 2 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the grou nd and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. † (Gen. 9:1-3) â€Å"You have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth† (Rev. 5:10). According to exegeses by theology scholar (Hiebert, 1996), â€Å"the term ‘dominion,’ from the Hebrew verb â€Å"radah†, implies that it grants humans the right and responsibility to rule, to govern the rest of creation. It connotes a hierarchy of power and authority in which the human race is positioned above the rest of the natural world, although the verb radah does not itself define how this dominion is to be exercised, whether benevolently or malevolently. The laws of Leviticus, when they stipulate that household servants are not to be *ruled* harshly (Lev. 25:43, 46, 53), imply that this kind of dominion may be kind and humane. Yet the use of radah in the context of international relations, where it is more commonly employed, carries a decidedly more antagonistic tinge, since it signifies rule over one*s enemies. It occurs frequently in descriptions of military conquest, where it is paired with such verbs as *destroy* (Num. 24:19) and *strike down* (Lev. 26:17; Isa. 14:6). When used of the Israelite king, radah always refers to dominion over his enemies, not to rule over his own Israelite subjects, for which the verb malak, *reign,* is the usual term. Similar conclusions may be drawn about the phrase *subdue the earth* in Gen. :28. The verb *subdue,* from the Hebrew kavash, depicts a hierarchical relationship in which humans are positioned above the earth and are granted power and control over it. The verb kavash is even more forceful than radah, describing the actual act of subjugation, of forcing another into a subordinate position. It is used for military conquest, where the same phrase used in Gen. 1:28 , *subdue the earth/land,* can be employed to depict the destruction and occupation of conquered territory (Num. You read "Religion and Environmental Ethics" in category "Essay examples" 32:22, 29). It is also used of the king*s forcing his people into slavery against God*s wishes (Jer. 4:11, 16), and of rape (Esther 7:8; Neh. 5:5). In many of these cases, the abuse {19} of power is patently obvious. † 3 Biblical verses that align to the Eco-Friendly perspective On the other hand, the following verses can be interpreted as being aligned to an EcoFriendly view:†Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psalm 96:11-13) â€Å"Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him i n the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. a Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. † (Psalm 148:1-13) *When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swin ging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should [m]be besieged by you? Only the trees which you known are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls. † (Deuteronomy 20:19-20) *When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God. † (Leviticus 19:2325) â€Å"You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall there come upon you a garment of cloth made of two kinds of stuff. † (Leviticus 19:19) â€Å"For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild beasts may eat. † (Exodus 23: 10-11) 5 â€Å"The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small * and for destroying those who destroy the earth. * (Rev 11:18) â€Å"For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. † (Rev 19:2) â€Å"They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9) â€Å"The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,† says the LORD. † (Isaiah 65:25) Theology scholars commenting on this view of nature of the Old Testament wrote : â€Å"†¦ It is therefore fair to conclude that nature is far from ‘de-animated ’ in Biblical thought. † (Wybrow, 1990), â€Å"The natural world may not be seen as sacred or divine in the Bible, but it is certainly not dead, lifeless, and outside the divine moral framework†¦ here are no scriptures suggesting that nature was viewed as dead matter to be manipulated by man.. † (Kinsley, 1995). Referring to the theme of the kingdom of God running through the New Testament, Zerbe (1992) argues that the New Testament has significant ecological implications, he explained: â€Å"Isaiah*s vision of restored humanity and nature climaxes with the statement that there will no longer be any hurt or destruction in creation (Isa. 11:9; 65:25). And John*s vision of judgment states that those who destroy the earth will themselves be destroyed (Rev. 11:18; 19:2). It is noteworthy that the prophetic critique of Rome in Rev. 17:1-19:4 closely connects greed and the earth*s destruction: the insatiable desire for consumption and wealth is what results in the destruction of people and the earth. † The corresponding passages are as quoted above. 6 Alternative view: Dominion Theology in Genesis 1 vs. Dependence Theology in Genesis 2 And lastly, but most importantly, consider the following two verses, both from Genesis 2:†Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) â€Å"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. † (Genesis 2:15) What is very important to the discussion in this paper is that according to Hiebert (1996), as evident in the above verses, Genesis 2 presents an alternative to the dominion theology of Genesis 1, which he calls dependence theology. His thesis b eing that the first human is made of the same arable soil as are all of other forms of life; and the divine breath into which his nostrils blown is the same with which all the animals live and breathe (Gen. :7; 7:22). The role of the human in the earth described is not that of mastery but of servanthood. In this account of creation, the theology of the human place in creation is not a theology of dominion but a theology of dependence (Hiebert, 1996). This theology is evident in other parts of Scripture, examples including Psalm 104 and the Book of Job (McKibben,1994). According to Hiebert: â€Å"†¦ In this tradition (Genesis 2), the human being is positioned very differently within the world of nature. Here the archetypal human is made not in the image of God but out of topsoil, out of the arable land that was cultivated by Israelite farmers (Gen. 2:7). As a result of this kind of creation, humans hold no distinctive position among living beings, since plants and animals also were produced from this same arable soil (2:9, 19). Moreover, the role assigned humans within creation in this story is not to rule (radah) and to subdue (kavash) but rather to {23} *serve* (avad; Gen. 2:15; 3:23). The Hebrew term avad is properly translated *till* in these verses (NRSV), since it clearly refers to the cultivation of arable land. But avad is in fact the ordinary Hebrew verb *serve,* used of slaves serving masters and of humans serving God (Gen. 12:16; Exod. 4:23). â€Å", the conflicts of Genesis I and Genesis 2 notwithstanding, there are lots of thesis arguing that there is no inconsistency between the two chapters and the ouvert differences are due to different ways in recapitulation only . (Young, 1960),(Archer, 1964),(Kitchen,1966) On another plane of our discussion, we shall now turn to a brief discussion of the historical origins of our ecological crisis. 7 The Historical Origins of our Ecological Crisis There is general consensus that the planet earth is heading towards environmental catastrophe due to alarming development at different fronts: the green house effect, acid rain, damage to ozone layer, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, chemical pollution, freshwater shortage, etc. , amongst others. (Magdoff Foster, 2011).. But how did all these pollutions started? according to Thorsheim (2006), in his book â€Å"The Invention of Pollution†, it all started with the use of fossil energy, which was conducive to the Industrial Revolution. The first largescale commercial use of fossil energy was coal in Britain in the 1800’s, which he referred to as a â€Å"Faustian bargain† for Britain, since on the one hand it helped to bring tremendous wealth, advance and power to the country, whilst on the other coal also filled the air with immense smoke and acidic vapors, which was one of the origins of what we now call the â€Å"green house effect† and â€Å"acid rain†. Fossil oil as energy had also been popularized ever since Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well in 1853, but the impact on the environment is equally as detrimental as Coal, if not more so. The fossil energy application was conducive to the Industrial Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution had led to the advance in comfort, convenience and enjoyment, from dwelling comfort to transport convenience to material needs, leading to the abundance and later overabundance in supply of products. Consumerism in the past decades had eventually been invented in order to â€Å"help† us to recognize our needs, and due to the needs for growth of enterprises, some products have also began to be designed with â€Å"built-in obsolescence†. All these initiatives had contributed to the generation of ever more wastes than in the centuries before the industrial revolution, much more than can be â€Å"sinked† by the earth, which contributed to the chemical pollution of soil, water, which has also altered the bio-diversity of the Earth. 8 Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the consumption of energy has experienced exponential growth (see figure 1. 1). Concomitantly, different kind of detrimental impacts had been inflicted upon the ecology of the earth (see figure 1. 2). As an in-depth analysis of our ecological crisis is out of the scope of this paper, focus is now centred on the â€Å"origin† of the crisis, viz. the advent of fossil energy application, which shall be discussed below. Some key developments relating to fossil energy application:1665 Invention of the first modern industrial steam engine by English inventor Edward Somerset which can use wood or coal as fuel 1794 First produce of Coal Gas by William Murdoch 1853 First refinement of Kerosene by Abraham Gesner 1859 Drilling of first Oil Well by Edwin Drake 1859 Building of the first practical self-combustion engine by Etienne Lenoir Religious Background of the Inventors / Innovators Astonishingly, what the above key developments have in common, according to research by the author, is that all the inventors / innovators were Judeao-Christian in religious belief, as can be listed below according to extant data. Inventor/Innovator Place of Birth Religion Edward Somerset (1601-67) Monm outhshire, Britain Roman Catholic William Murdoch (1754 – 1839) Cumnock, Scotland Roman Catholic Abraham Gesner (1797-1864) Nova Scotia, Canada Protestant Christian Edwin Drake (1819-1880) New York, U. S. A. Jewish Jean-Joseph-Etienne Lenoir (1822-1900) Mussy-la-Ville, Belgium Roman Catholic However, just as one cannot say that the inventions or innovations in fossil energy application has been due to Western Christianity, as otherwise one will fall into the â€Å"post-hoc ergo procter hoc† fallacy, it is likewise not valid to attribute the ecological crisis directly to Western Christianity. However, If we put the question conversely by asking that if the inventors/innovators were pantheistic, believing that the nature is sacred in itself and should be reverred, then it is highly unlikely that the inventions/innnovations had been conjured and accomplished by them. Science and Christianity It has been argued that science and christianity are coherent to each other, A British Scientist, Robert Clark, once said â€Å"†¦ we may interpret the fact scientific development has only occurred in a Christian culture. The ancients had brains as good as ours. In all civilizations, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, India, Rome, Persia, China and so on, science developed to a certain point and then stopped. It is easy to argue speculatively that science might have been able to develop in the absence of Christianity, but in fact, it never did. And no wonder. For the non*Christian world felt there was something ethically wrong about science. In Greece, this conviction was enshrined in the legend of Prometheus, the fire*bearer and prototype scientist who stole fire from heaven thus incurring the wrath of the Gods. † 10 Consider also these statements from renowned scientists; William Thomson: â€Å"Do not be afraid to be free thinkers. If you think strongly enough, you will be forced by science to the belief in God. † Isaac Newton: â€Å"This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being†¦ , Stephen Hawking:†In fact, if one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that produced life like ours are immense. † Conclusion This paper has attempted to examine the hypothesis of Lynn White’s that Christianity bears significant responsibility for the earth’s ec ological crisis. The author has attempted to typologize and quote verses from the scriptures, exegeses and writings of theologians on the Biblical scriptures depicting the relationship of God, man and nature. Whilst according to the Dominion theological perspective as discussed above, the hierarchal relationship of God-Man-Nature (see figure 1. 3) is apparent, in the Dependence theological perspective, the hierarchal relationship of God-Man ; God - Nature (see figure 1. 4) is also evident. God God Man Man Nature Nature Figure 1. 3 The Dominion Perspective Figure 1. 4 The Dependence Perspective Other verses as listed under the section â€Å"Passages that echo Eco-Friendly† also act as a counter-argument for the Dominion hypothesis. It would seem therefore that White’s hypothesis that â€Å"†¦ Western Christianity sees the world existing primarily for the benefit of man† and therefore â€Å"Christianity bears a huge burden of guilt† is not grounded solidly, because as mentioned above, there are many verses which encourage man to be benign to our environment, and conversely, there is no single passage asking man to abuse nature for his primarily benefit only. However, if White argued that â€Å"Christians bears a burden of guilt†, then it is less reputable, as explained in the next paragraph. 11 If one concurs that scientific thinking is coherent to Christian belief, as discussed above, and like White argues in his paper, Western Christianity has been contributory in promoting modern science and technological advance, and from the standpoint of the analysing of advent of fossil energy as the origin of our ecological crisis, which does have tremendous detrimental impacts to our environment, it seems evident that Christians do have a direct linkage to the inventions and innovations leading to the mass scale use of fossil energy, the detrimental origin to our ecological system. Recommendations It can be said that with subtlety in the Biblical scriptures, interpretations are often contingent upon the context and the wisdom of the readers, as inspired at different times. What can be said is that given the state of development before the advent of sciences, man had been under the perpetual threats of nature, from attacks by animals, storms, sickness to famines and other disasters. The Dominion theological perspective no doubt inspired man to develop creative thinking about mastering the nature for the betterment of his lifelihood and survival, lacking which man might still be living rather primitively. The advent of sciences and most notably the Industrial Revolution can be depicted as the epitome of this mentality. As our civilization, technology and wisdom progresses, we should now be in a position to recognize that a Dominion mentality to the nature is detrimental to our environment and it is time that we revisit the scriptures to investigate whether we have overlooked an alternative theology in the Bible for seeing our relationship with nature-the Dependence approach, treating the nature as equals of ours, in which we serve god to ensure its goodness, and ensuring its long term sustainability to prepare for the â€Å"Kingdom of God†. 2 Bibliography Lynne White Jr (1967), ‘The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis’, reproduced in John Barr (ed), The Environmental Handbook (London: Ballantine/Friends of the Earth, 1971) pp 3-16. David Kinsley, Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice Ha ll, 1995) Richard Cameron Wybrow â€Å"The Bible, Baconism, and Mastery over Nature: The Old Testament and Its Moderrn Misreading† (Ph. D disserrtation, McMaster University, Hamillton Ont. Canada, 1990) p. 206 Theodore Hiebert, Professor of Old Testament at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois. , Direction (Winnipeg, MB), 1996 Gordon Zerbe, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, Winnipeg, Manitoba. , Direction (Winnipeg, MB), 1992 Howard Snyder, Liberating the Church: The Ecology of Church and Kingdom (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983) 45-51. Young, Edward J. (1960) An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co. ). Archer, Gleason (1964), A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago: Moody Press). Kitchen, Kenneth (1966), Ancient Orient and Old Testament (London: Tyndale Press). Thorsheim, Peter (2006), Inventing Pollution: Coal, Smoke and Culture in Britain since 1800 13 How to cite Religion and Environmental Ethics, Essay examples

Charles Manson Aka Jesus Christ Essay Example For Students

Charles Manson Aka Jesus Christ Essay He has been dubbed The most dangerous man alive. Charles Manson has been persecutedrelentlessly. We call him the devil. He is the reason society is so bad. Does this sound familiar? This sounds like the same accounts towards Jesus Christ by the RomanEmpire 2000 years ago. As they have nailed Christ to the cross, we have nailed Charles Manson tothe cross. Could it be that Charles Manson and Jesus Christ are the same person? If you knowanything about these two, the answer is: Most likely. Let us take a look at these two. Both Jesus Christ and Charles Manson led a cult that still thrives tothis very day. Christs followers are still preaching his words, as do Christs followers. And each cultare growing as time goes by. Both Christianity and The Manson Family will be here forever. Asold followers die out, new followers will take their place to carry on the words of both Jesus Christand Charles Manson. If we looked past the usual stereotype against Charles Manson, we can see that the preachings ofManson is identical to that of Jesus Christ. Hasnt Jesus spoke about the power of love? And also,isnt that what Charlie used for his motto Charles Manson has said In love, you do no wrong.Wouldnt Jesus agree? In fact, would Jesus apply to that? In truth, yes!Now, its time to unveil the infamy of Charles Manson and Jesus Christ. Yes, both of them arewanted for influencing murder. Charles Manson has led the Tate-LaBianca murders as Jesus Christled the city of Jericho, town of Salem murders. In both incidents, people were to die for their sins. Because of this, both Manson and Christ have been the victims of injustice due to the courts andtrials. During the trial, Manson was denied the right to defend himself. Instead, we have hung him uponto the cross.

Carl Jung Essays - Analytical Psychology, Freudian Psychology

Carl Jung Sigmund Freud was Carl Jung's greatest influence. Although he came to part company with Freud in later years, Freud had a distinct and profound influence on Carl Jung. Carl Jung is said to have been a magnetic individual who drew many others into his circle. Within the scope of analytic psychology, there exists two essential tenets. The first is that the system in which sensations and feelings are analyzed are listed by type. The second has to do with a way to analyze the psyche that follows Jung's concepts. It stresses a group unconscious and a mystical factor in the growth of the personal unconscious. It is unlike the sytem of Sigmund Freud. Analytic psychology does not stress the importance of sexual factors on early mental growth. In my view, the best understanding of Carl Jung and his views regarding the collective unconscious are best understood in understanding the man and his influences. In keeping with the scope and related concepts of Carl Jung, unconscious is the sum total of those psychic activities that elude an individual's direct knowledge of himself or herself. This term should not be confused either with a state of awareness, that is, a lack of self knowledge arising from an individual's unwillingness to look into himself or herself (introspection), nor with the subconscious, which consists of marginal representations that can be rather easily brought to consciousness. Properly, unconscious processes cannot be made conscious at will; their unraveling requires the use of specific techniques, such as free association, dream interpretation, various projective tests, and hypnosis. For many centuries, students of human nature considered the idea of an unconscious mind as self contradictory. However, it was noticed by philosophers such as St. Augustine, and others, as well as early *PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH 1998 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED experimental psychologists, including Gustav Sechner, and Hermann Von Helmholtz, that certain psychological operations could take place without the knowledge of the subject. Jean Sharcot demonstrated that the symptoms of post-traumatic neuroses did not result from lesions of the nervous tissue but from unconscious representations of the trauma. Pierre Janet extended this concept of "unconscious fixed ideas" to hysteria, wherein traumatic representations, though split off from the conscious mind, exert an action upon the conscious mind in the form of hysterical symptoms. Janet was an important influence on Carl Jung, and he reported that the cure of several hysterical patients, using hypnosis to discover the initial trauma and then having it reenacted by the patient, was successful. Josef Breuer also treated a hysterical patient by inducing the hypnotic state and then elucidating for her the circumstances which had accompanied the origin of her troubles. As the traumatic experiences were revealed, the symptoms disappeared. Freud substituted the specific techniques of free association and dream interpretation for hypnosis. He stated that the content of the unconscious has not just been "split off," but has been "repressed," that is forcibly expelled from consciousness. Neurotic symptoms express a conflict between the repressing forces and the repressed material, and this conflict causes the "resistance" met by the analyst when trying to uncover the repressed material. Aside from occasional psychic traumas, the whole period of early childhood, including the oedipus situation or the unconscious desire for the parent of the opposite sex and hatred for the parent of the same sex, has been repressed. In a normal individual, unknown to himself or herself, these early childhood situations influence the individual's thoughts, feelings, and acts; in the neurotic they determine a wide gamet of symptoms which psychoanalysis endeavors to trace back to their unconscious sources. During psychoanalytic treatment, the patient's irrational attitudes toward the analyst, referred to as the "transference," manifests a revival of old forgotten attitudes towards parents. The task of the psychoanalyst, together with the patient, is to analyze his resistance and transference, and to bring unconscious motivations to the patient's full awareness. Carl Jung considered the unconscious as an autonomous part of the psyche, endowed with its own dynamism and complementary to the conscious mind. He distinguished the personal from the collective unconscious; the later he considered to be the seat of "archetypes" - - universal symbols loaded with psychic energy. As new approaches to the unconscious came about, Jung introduced the word association test, that is, spontaneous drawing, and his own technique of dream interpretation. His therapeutic method aimed at the unification of the conscious and the unconscious through which he believed man achieved his"individuation," the completion of his personality. Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jungs' concepts of the unconscious have provided a key to numerous facts in psychology, psychiatry,

Revolution for Change essays

Revolution for Change essays Alexis de Tocqueville and Karl Marx both believed that revolutions were inevitable. However, the two did not agree on all aspects of revolution. De Tocqueville found that revolutions couldnt be deterred, but also found that no laws in history determined revolutions. On the other hand, Marx used a logical framework to claim that revolutions were acts of history. The focus of de Tocquevilles study on revolutions was the French Revolution. In his book entitled The Old Regime and the French Revolution, de Tocqueville addressed the causes of the revolution and gave clues pertaining to the link between revolutions and the formation of modern states. The problems with the old regime began with the weakness of the king, Louis XVI. Until the revolution France was an Absolute Monarchy; this meant that the monarch had large powers over society. Some of these powers included the national system of justice, the right to tax, the right to put up arms (as leader of the military forces), and heavy influence upon the Catholic Church. All these powers were in need of a strong king to survive, unfortunately that was not the case. According to de Tocqueville, had there been a wiser king the revolution may not have occurred. Another reason attributed to the revolution was the division of classes. The population of France had been divided into three estates, wi th two being privileged. They consisted of the bourgeoisie, the nobility, and the clergy. The upper two estates, the nobility and the clergy, had many privileges over the bourgeoisie: they were exempt from taxes, although, they were the richest. In addition, they were the only members in society who could hold positions of importance; this caused discontent within the bourgeoisie. The way of taxing society was also a cause for revolution. Before the revolution there was a great need for taxation reform in France. Only the lower classes were being taxed, i.e. the bourgeoisie. This was pro...

The life of Frederick Douglass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The life of Frederick Douglass - Essay Example Douglas relocated to work for a new owner by the name Sophia Auld. His new master began as a nice and humble woman, but with time turned out to be highly cruel and hateful. This woman started teaching him the alphabet and spelling. However, her husband found out of the alphabet lessons and argued that if slaves know how to read soon they would become hateful and dissatisfied by their status. In the end, they will develop desires for freedom. In this context, Douglass took the argument as an anti-abolitionist statement. The slave would later talk about this on his lectures. Consequently, Douglas decided to undertake self-administered learning. He would ask for a little help from his neighbors. His interest in learning grew to a point where he started purchasing books.The highlight of his slave life is when he got into a physical confrontation with his boss Edward Covey. Covey had a habit of beating up his slaves, and on one day, Douglas fought back at him and beat him up. As a result, this made Covey never to try beating him again. The master feared that it might damage his reputation as a brutal slave owner (Risley 67). This was a real turning point in his slavery life as he earned some respect from his master. From historical information, we find out that before this, his master would administer regular whips to the slave. This made him extremely weak, and one day he collapsed on the field. He then decided that he could no longer face increasing brutality and unfairness in the camp.... In the end, they will develop desires for freedom (Douglas 54). In this context, Douglass took the argument as an anti-abolitionist statement. The slave would later talk about this on his lectures. Consequently, Douglas decided to undertake self-administered learning. In addition, he would ask for a little help from his neighbors. His interest in learning grew to a point where he started purchasing books and other learning materials. The highlight of his slave life is when he got into a physical confrontation with his boss Edward Covey. Covey had a habit of beating up his slaves, and on one day, Douglas fought back at him and beat him up. As a result, this made Covey never to try beating him again. The master feared that it might damage his reputation as a brutal slave owner (Risley 67). This was a real turning point in his slavery life as he earned some respect from his master. From historical information, we find out that before this, his master would administer regular whips to th e slave. This made him extremely weak, and one day he collapsed at the field. He then decided that he could no longer face increasing brutality and unfairness in the camp. In this regard, Douglas opted to fighting back as the only way of earning his respect (Huggins 43). This happened when the slave confronted Covey about an issue, which according to conventional master-slave relationship would warrant a beating as punishment. The fight that ensued was tough, and finally, Douglas turned out victorious. This combat victory was a major turning point in his life. Douglass then started thinking of how he could escape from slavery. Despite substantial efforts, his first attempt was not successful. He had to rethink again. In the process of developing a secondary plan, the slave met

Comparison of Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha and the Parable of Essay

Comparison of Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha and the Parable of the Lost Son - Essay Example In The Teachings, the father’s wealth was greatly focused upon and stressed as an important part of the story. The father had many jewels about him, and acquired many riches, while his son was laboring in a poor hamlet for low wages.1 The Buddhist account is a tale which truly focuses on how the father was living in lavish luxury—while his own son was very poor, as he had left the household in search of adventure and spent much of his own fortune. What is most troubling about the difference between the Buddhist and the Christian accounts is how much the Buddhist teaching focuses on telling the story in such an elaborate fashion—detailing the every luxury of the father’s house, whereas the Christian account is a rather, how shall one say, ‘unvarnished’ tale. The Biblical account, while very similar in terms of talking about the father’s wealth—also mentions the fact that, like in the Buddhist account, the son is poor and working a s a hired hand on his own father’s land. ... gs, it says, â€Å"The father [was] struck with compassion [for his son, who was working hard in the field as a day-laborer.†3 In the Biblical account, it says, â€Å"But while he [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him...†4 This demonstration of compassion is something that everyone can relate to, as a parent’s compassion for a child is something that is unbelievably generous and tender. This is related well in both accounts of the actual story’s own retelling. IV. The Father Sought Communication With His Son It is natural for any parent to want to have communication with his or her child. This father, in both accounts, was so desperate to have his son back home that not only did he go out of his way to be close to his son—but, that, in the Biblical account, the father slaughters the fatted calf in order to celebrate his homecoming. In The Teachings, The father dressed himself in rough cloth and put dust on himself just to go about into the field where his son was working.5 He just wanted to be near him. It was like a father painfully watching his son be homeless and volunteering at a homeless shelter just to have interaction with him. Similarly, in the Biblical account, the father goes to his son—but in this case the father has physical contact and gets to hug his own son. â€Å"[The father] ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.†6 There is something powerful about the relationship of the father and son that is evidenced through both of these very insightful, endearing readings. V. Conclusion Of course, no love can match that of a parent’s love for his or her child—except possibly that of a lover for his or her partner. However, what is amazing is that both of these accounts of the

Quality tools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quality tools - Essay Example Thus, the check-in and the check-out processes should be smooth and genuinely welcoming, with all effort directed to make the guests feel at home. The Hotel Escargo chain has tried to present winning guidelines to their frontline guest registration staff about what they should do when registering guests. However, a room for improvement exists and it is important to analyze measurements for check-in, check-out and room change requests for the hotel. This brief write-up presents a discussion about application of quality tools to reception performance measurements for Hotel Escargo. This write-up presents a discussion about ways for improving the check-in and check-out system at Hotel Escargo. The mission statement of Hotel Escargo clearly presents values related to serving business and leisure travelers by making customer satisfaction highest priority and providing quality service, amenities, comfortable surroundings and friendly employees. However, a recent review undertaken at the Hotel Escargo chain indicated that amongst other improvements, it was possible to enhance the quality of the check-in and check-out systems implemented by the Rooms Division of Hotel Escargo. By improving procedures and interactions with guests, improved perceptions of service quality emerge and this results in improved customer satisfaction (Salvendy, 2001, Pp. 621 – 623) and (Bardi, 2007, Pp. 185 – 187). Thus, it makes sense to apply quality tools to the Hotel Escargo check-in and check-out system by collecting measurements for processing using quality tools. Appendix A presents the observations for front office operations at Hotel Escargo and measurements for the check-in and check-out system. Quality tools use the measurements collected to try to discover what improvements are possible. Quality tools that are widely used for analysis of quality issues in businesses are presented in

Female Education In Pakistan Theology Religion Essay

Female Education In Pakistan Theology Religion Essay Do you think education is important for the development of a nation? Napoleon Bonaparte said, Give me an educated mother, I shall promise the birth of a civilized nation. Education has a key role in the development of a country. As about half of the population of world is female, female education is as necessary as male education. We have seen in the history of the world that those nations are in the lines of leading developed nations who have educated their women and men equally. But unfortunately the situation of female education in Pakistan is not as good as it should be. Many organizations are working for its improvement. There are some major obstructions in the way of female education but the situation may be improved if some steps are taken with responsibilities. Importance of female education is obvious to everyone. Education of female is necessary for a society in many ways. Firstly educated mothers can educate children in a better way as compared to uneducated woman. She can understand the difficulties coming to students in seeking education. Secondly educated mothers bring up children with more care than uneducated woman. Moreover, Education gives girls and women power to decide about their life and life style. She knows how her right and can raise her voice for her right in the world. Lower female education has a negative impact on economic growth as it lowers the average level of human capital. If we look at the success of European countries, that is only because of their education system. They take education seriously the education of men and women equally. That is the only cause why they are developing so fast. But the situation in Pakistan is totally reversed people understand education necessary for men and not for women. The siFatuation of female education in Pakistan is not satisfying. According to Pakistan Social and Living Measurement survey 2008-2009, the literacy rate of women was only 45%. The rate was 41.75% in 2004. It means the rate was increased only by 3.25% in the duration of five years. It is very disappointing as compared to any other developing country for example India which has the female education rate of 74%. The ratio of female to male education which is 45 to 69 is not good too. The situation is worse in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Baluchistan in which female literacy rate is 31% and 23% respectively. The ratio of female to male education in these provinces is 31/69 and 23/62. The situation is alarming in the country especially in the provinces mentioned above. According to Pakistan educational statistics 2006-2007, there are total 64,309 and 46,270 schools for boys and girls respectively. The number of mixed schools is 36,112. While the situation of Khyber pukhtoonkhwa and Balochista n is especially worse. There are only 8,016 girl schools in KPK while the number of girls school is 2,898 in Baluchistan. The statistics shows that the situation is highly alarming for the development of Pakistan we should improve the situation otherwise the dream of success of Pakistan will not be fulfilled. There are some problems occurring in the way of female education in Pakistan. Religious misinterpretation is one of them. Some people consider female education against religion so they do not let their daughters get education. They are afraid that girls will become liberal when they are educated. In some areas of Pakistan extremism (so called Islamic extremists) badly affected female education. Many girls school were destroyed in the current wave of extremism in the country. Girls were not allowed to go to schools and colleges. Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year girl who raised her voice for the education of girls was attacked by the extremists. Lack of knowledge about the importance of female education is another obstruction. People dont consider education important for woman. They dont feel woman can take part in social life after getting education. They consider the job of woman limited to home. In some areas culture does not allow woman to seek education. For example, the tribal areas o f Pakistan where woman are not allowed even to go out of their home. Society does not allow girls/women to develop their human capabilities by precluding them from acquiring education. Lack of emphasis on the importance of womens education is one of the cardinal features of gender inequality in Pakistan. Chaudhry, I. Rahman, S. (2009). As for as Islam is concerned, it is the most accused religion about gender inequality. Dr. Raheeq Abbasi, secretary general Minhajul Quran International states that this is a sad accusation made upon Islam while knowledge is one of the basic pillars on which the building of Islam is raised. This is a fact that the first revelation upon the holy prophet contained the word read. There is no disagreement within Islam regarding the seeking of knowledge being binding and obligatory. He states that the there are more than five hundred verses in the Holy Quran which highlights the importance of seeking of knowledge. ( Abbasi, 2009 ). Islam has its clear concept about education. According to the Holy Quran, Say: Can those who have knowledge and those who do not be alike? So only the wise do receive the admonition. [Al-Zumar, 39:9.]. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said, Acquisition of knowledge is binding on all Muslims (both men and women without any discrimination). [Narrated by Ibn Maja in al-Su nan, 1:81 224.]. It is evident from the Holy Quran and Hadiths that there is no gender discrimination in seeking knowledge. Also study of the life of Holy Prophet shows that he made special arrangement for the education of women. But there are some conditions that Muslim women should follow while going out for education. In Islam woman is not allowed to go out without pardah. As stated in the holy Quran. And direct the believing women that they (too) must keep their eyes lowered and guard their chastity, and must not show off their adornments and beautification except that (part of it) which becomes visible itself. [Al-Nur, 24:31.]. In another place Allah says, O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters and the women of believers that, (whilst going out,) they should draw their veils as coverings over them. It is more likely that this way they may be recognized (as pious, free women), and may not be hurt (considered by mistake as roving slave girls). And Allah is Most Forgiving, E ver-Merciful. [12 Al-Ahzab, 33:59.]. Many organizations are working for the development of female education in the country. In government sector Federal and Provincial ministries are active to develop female education. Schools are being constructed for girls in the areas where needed. Some schemes are being evolved in girls schools to persuade girls to seek education. For example, books are distributed free of cost up to high schools. But this is not fulfilling the need. The announcements are often not brought to action. Education has only 2% in the total budget of the country. Moreover some Non-government organizations are also working. These NGOs are arranging seminars and functions all over the country in order to make people aware about the importance of female education in Pakistan. They are also distributing free textbooks, other general knowledge books, sports equipments and even food for in the school girls in order to persuade girls to schools. There are some difficulties for them to them. Some local religious leaders do not allow them to work in their areas. They think their policy is to make people away from religion. Therefore people are directed not to contribute with them in the cause as they are carrying people away from the religion. Some local organizations are also working for cause Alkhidmat foundation, a local Islamic NGO is working for female education. It gives scholarships to the needy students all over the country. The situation of female education can be improved if some bold steps are taken. First of all teachers and students should play their role in the cause. This may be done by making people aware about the importance of female education by arranging seminars and function around the country especially in the rural areas. Secondly religious scholars should take part in this cause. As religious misinterpretation is one of the major obstacles in the way. People do not have clear idea of religion about female education. They should tell the clear idea of religion about education especially female education and also the conditions for female to go outside home to seek education. Next, Government should take some steps to improve the situation. Government has to make awareness in people regarding female education. It should construct girls schools in the areas where there the number of schools is very low. As many people do not let their girls get education in co-education system. There should be complete separate schools and also female staff for the girls. As Education has only 2% in the annual budget. Government should spend more on education in their annual budgets. The non-government organizations working for female education also have to play their role in the cause by making awareness in such a way that people would not consider it against their religion. Special attention should be given to the areas where the situation is alarming. It is obvious from the above discussion that the situation of female education in Pakistan is much lower than the need of the time. Females are not given the right of seeking education. There are many obstructions in the way of female education which include religious misinterpretation, current wave of extremism in the country and lack of knowledge about the importance of female education, many organizations are working for the improvement of situation in government as well as non-government sectors. The situation can be improved if every individual play its role with responsibility. Teachers, students, religious leaders and scholars, government and non government organizations can make it better if they know and fulfill their responsibilities. Abbasi, DR. Raheeq, (2009). Women Education In Islam. 1st ed. Pakistan: Minhaj Ul Quran International. Chaudhry, I. Rahman, S. (2009). The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education on Rural Poverty in Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, Issue 15, 2009.

Cablevision Term Paper :: essays research papers

Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the past twenty years my family has been subscribed to Cablevision for cable services. I have enjoyed the eighty channels and special movie channels that they offer. The excellent service they have provided for many years only gets better. When Cablevision came out with IO digital cable my family upgraded. I no longer have to go out and rent movies. Instead I now order them from the television. Instead of eighty channels there are now hundreds of channels to choose from. The variety of things to watch on my television is unlimited. Many of neighbors that used to have satellite television were unhappy with the service. I recommended them to switch over to Cablevision. When they made the switch they were extremely pleased with the service. My family also uses their service of Optimum Online for our computer. We used to have a dial up service that took forever until we upgraded to Optimum Online. The internet is now extremely fast on my computer, and I have never had to wait for anything to load ever since. We also use Optimum voice which has so many options to use. There is enhanced voicemail, call waiting, and caller ID helps making phone calls better. I am a fan of the New York Rangers and the New York Knick’s in which Cablevision owns. Ever since I was a little kid I would wear jerseys of the Knick’s and Rangers and go to some of their games. Although I wish I had season tickets for both teams, I was still able to watch them play on television. Many people do not have the privilege of Cablevision’s services. Instead they have satellite television which they think is much better than Cablevision. However, they are extremely wrong in making that statement. My neighbor had satellite television for three years and was fed up with it after those years. The best time to watch a good movie is when it is raining outside and there is nothing to do. The only problem is that whenever it is raining or there is a storm outside, the satellite does not work properly. This causes everyone to be unable to watch television. With Cablevision you can watch you TV anytime you want without any interruptions. As you watch TV you can watch the Knick’s and Rangers play and call up your friends using Optimum Voice and tell them about the great service Cablevision offers.

Prison Policy Recommendation Essay

There is currently a bill in the legislature that would double the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery. As a criminologist advisor to a state legislator, I have been tasked with proposing a recommendation on whether or not the current bill on the table will be good for the government and the communities it represents or detrimental. The proposed bill would double the current maximum prison term for any individual convicted of armed robbery. The thought behind such a bill is that a longer prison term will deter people from even attempting, or committing a crime in the first place. This bill would also, in hopes, keep offenders from re-offending for the same crime. As a result of these hopes, the bill has gained much popularity within the legislature. As appealing as the possible resulting lower crime rates sound, there are certain costs that must be considered. The bill proposes longer prison terms for offenders. These longer terms will also come with a higher price tag. The cost of keeping inmates for a longer period will rise exponentially. Another cost, though not monetary, should also be considered; that is the risk of even more violent crimes being committed. If the prison terms for armed robbery were to be doubled and is close to that of the crime of attempted murder, what’s to say an offender would not go all the way if the sentence would be virtually the same? There may be possible solutions for the bill that can be appealing to both the government and the community. The first would be to increase the maximum term served before parole could be offered. For example, instead of a ten-year sentence, with parole after three years; increase it to six or seven years before parole can even be considered. Another option would be to put in place a work program within the prison system. This will be somewhat similar to the outside world, in that if the prisoner does not work, they will not eat or receive rec time. We do not get handed a meal simply because it is supper time. If we don’t work, we don’t eat. Same premise for prisoners. It is my recommendation that the bill not  be approved as it stands but that it is rewritten to reflect changes to the current prison terms. The prison term does not need to be lengthened, but the offenders do need to be made to serve more of their current term before coming up for parole. It is my opinion, and based on crime rates that offenders are often not rehabilitated in such a short period, time, term in prison, and often get paroled and re-offend. This is an endless cycle. If terms were lengthened, it would cost more to house and feed a prisoner, but the costs would outweigh that of releasing them, having them reoffend, costs of trial and a second prison term. Also, the implementation of the work program would help them to realize that prison is not just a free ride, with meals and rec time without hard work and consequences. The parole system must also be overhauled. Parole officers often cannot keep good track of their parolees, and offenders receive too many chances. Perhaps, requiring prisoners to learn a trade would be equally helpful to them outside of prison. The proposed bill for doubling the maximum prison term should not be approved. It cannot succeed as it is. Simply doubling a prison term without further consequences will be a hindrance to the justice system as a whole. A crime is a crime, and an offenders background should not be taken into account. Instead of threatening offenders with a longer possible sentence, change the current rules and statutes for prison terms. Make them serve the majority of their sentence, make them work for basic needs in prison, and educate them. Give them a skill, so that the possibility of reoffending goes down. As popular as the bill may seem, it does not mean that it is the right choice for the government or the communities it represents. All of the options must be considered and weighed carefully before a decision can be made. Instead of creating new laws, perhaps we should first look at ways to enhance and make the current ones better. Only then, can we hope to move forward and create a better nation. References South, T. (2010, June 8). Bill would keep armed robbers in prison longer. Retrieved from timesfreepress.com: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jun/08/bill-would-keep-armed-robbers-in-prison-longer/ What are positives & negatives to maximum prison sentences? (2011). Retrieved from Yahoo Answers: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index Would doubling the maximum prison term for anyone convicted of armed robbery be a good idea or a bad one, why? (2007). Retrieved from Yahoo Answers: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index

My Progress in Writing

My Progress in Writing As a non-native speaker who immigrated to the U. S. two years ago, English is a big obstacle for me in communication. I have had many difficult times speaking and understanding English when talking to others. Writing an essay was almost impossible for me to think of. Realizing how difficult it was to experience these linguistic difficulties, I then decided to go back to school to improve my English skills. Therefore, English became especially essential for me to succeed in my educational goals. I was determined to earn an Associate’s degree then transfer to a university for a Bachelor’s degree.I started going to ESL classes and studied English very hard to make progress in my speaking, reading and writing skills. After spending one year in ESL classes, I qualified for English 43. I learned lots of grammar and how to write paragraphs efficiently during these classes. I noticed that writing an essay was more challenging when I got into English 49. H owever, since then I’ve learned how to write a five-paragraph argumentative essay which was one of my weaknesses in academic writings. I have made a lot of progress in writing skills since I started studying English 49.I now think that I’m ready to go on to English 101 due to the fact that I have learned useful strategies to follow a writing process and develop coherent paragraphs effectively. A writing process is the most important step that I learned in this class. First of all, before writing a complete essay, I need to come up with the pre-writing which consists of free writing and brainstorming. I found this step essential because free writing helps me find as many supports and examples as possible and brainstorming allows me to organize and strengthen the structure of the essay.Moreover, writing everything related to the topic during prewriting steps helps me find more supporting details to put into the next step. I then use the step of brainstorming to map main ideas for an essay’s body and help myself avoid skipping and putting my ideas disorderly in each paragraph. The next important step of a writing process is an essay outline which is a most valuable way to form and develop the structure of my essays. This step allows me to list all the required information I plan to include in my essay. In fact, preparing an outline essay is very important to organize all of my thoughts in terms of major and inor details to support the central points of my thesis. I also noticed that a strong outline essay makes a solid essay because it helps me build the structure of my paper and its logical flow. A writing process is completely new to me because I had never learned this skill in my country. Nevertheless, I found this step to be helpful for me all the time before I start writing thorough essays. My scores were also significantly improved after I learned those steps in a writing process. Throughout this class I’ve learned useful strateg ies such as how to structure a five-paragraph essay and develop coherent paragraphs effectively.At first, I had no idea what a thesis statement was because the introduction is like a hook and there is no thesis as I learned in my country. Since I got into English 49, I’ve learned how to make a strong and clear thesis statement at the end of introduction paragraphs, that is, to inform the readers of three main points that need to be addressed to write the entire essay. Because English 49 requires me to create specific argumentative essays, the readers must expect to see clear major points of thesis statement from my position.Consequently, I did a really good job on coming up with a clear thesis as I made in my revised argumentative essay and writer’s choice in the portfolio. In addition to organizing and developing effective paragraphs, I learned that introduction and conclusion paragraphs play a special role in my essay, and they usually demand much of my attention as a writer. A good introduction has to identify the topic and provide essential context, and needs to engage the readers’ interest while a strong conclusion helps me reflect and restate the significance of what I’ve written by using my critical thinking.The second and third essays I included in my portfolio, for example, can demonstrate the huge progress I’ve made. In these two essays, I came up with interesting statistics and my background information in introductions to illustrate the seriousness of the issue I discussed. Additionally, at the conclusions, I broadened my central ideas and tried to convey my closing thoughts about the larger implications of my whole argument. Another strategy that I learned to develop body paragraphs effectively was to use topic sentences at the beginning of paragraphs.By using a topic sentence, I can state my central points in each paragraph explicitly as a map for my ideas to guide readers through my reasoning. This was a most u seful skill I learned in this class because I noticed that topic sentences serve as a mini-thesis for paragraphs and help readers follow along my logical ideas easily. Back to the time when I first came to the U. S. , I had so many problems with essay writing. I now feel much better since I have made a huge improvement of organizing and developing essays in a structured way.Finally, the wonderful strategy I enjoy studying in English 49 is learning how to use sources to support my ideas and strengthen effective discussion of my points in each paragraph. The main goal of my essays is always to make sure readers clearly follow the topic and my major points throughout essays. Knowing how to use various sources, such as examples, researched evidence, statistics and quotes is the most powerful tool that helps me greatly enhance my academic writing skills. Reading through my third essay, â€Å"Are Human Activities Contributing to Climate Change ? , you could see that I’ve shown pro of by integrating facts, concrete supports, statistics and factual details into each body paragraph to support my argument. However, being aware of how not to plagiarize is highly important for me when using sources. In this essay, there are a variety of ways I’ve learned how to introduce my sources to avoid plagiarism when I integrate quotations into my essay. I finally learned how to let readers know exactly where I found the sources for the quotations.As a non-native speaker who has been through ESL classes to English 49, I found that learning English is more interesting. English 49, in my opinion, has not only helped me build up and enhance my academic writing skills, but also gave me more opportunities to broaden my knowledge by researching, reading and writing on a variety of different topics . Despite the fact that English 101 will be much more challenging for me than this course, the obstacles of academic writing skills will inspire me to work harder to achieve succes s.

Amylase, Catalase and Invertase Enzyme Labs Essays - Nutrition

Amylase, Catalase and Invertase Enzyme Labs Essays - Nutrition Amylase, Catalase and Invertase Enzyme Labs IB Biology SL Y1 22 April 2014 Amylase, Catalase and Invertase Enzyme Labs Introduction Catalase Catalase is responsible for converting hydrogen peroxide1, which is harmful within living organisms, into water and oxygen molecules. This experiment investigates the effect of hydrogen peroxide on boiled and raw materials such as potatoes, liver, yeast cells, etc. If boiled materials were put into hydrogen peroxide, there would be no significant enzymatic reaction because the boiling temperature would already denature catalase in those materials, preventing any enzymes from functioning properly. Invertase Sucrose is hydrolyzed into monosaccharide form of fructose and glucose by invertase that catalyzes the hydrolysis1. Invertase can be obtained from yeast, which will be used in this experiment. The yeast suspension solution will show positive result to Benedicts solution test that indicates the presence of sugar. Amylase Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch into glucose through the process of hydrolysis2. It initiates the breakdown of starch to glucose in seeds during germination. To identify the presence of starch, iodine test will be used. If the result shows no color change into deep purple, that indicates the absence of starch and implies the presence of glucose that is broken down from starch. Boiled corn seeds would show least amount of color change in agar plate (from dark purple into transparent) because the high temperature would have already denatured amylase in seeds. Aim of experiment These three enzyme experiments aim to investigate each enzymes role in breaking macromolecules into simple molecules of smaller units. Data collection Table 1.0 Qualitative observation of catalase lab Material/extract being testedBoiled extracts reaction on H2O2Raw extracts reaction on H2O2 Liver X (No apparent reaction occurring) Solution quickly fluffed up with fine bubbles; the lower section of solution that was not fluffed was relatively transparent. Corn leafSubtle reaction of tiny bubbles slowly rose; solution remained dominantly clear. Ground meatSolution reacted and created fine, creamy bubbles while lower part remained clear. Yeast Solution was dominantly clear with tiny bubbles rising rapidly from the bottom. PotatoSubtle reaction of tiny bubbles slowly rose; solution remained dominantly clear. Table 2.0 qualitative observation of invertase lab Sucrose solution being testedGlucose strip testBenedicts solution Yeast suspensionLight green spots of 100mg/LLight yellow orangish solution that is translucent and milky Distilled waterLight green shades of 100mg/L but are spread out in a smoother mannerNegative result: dark greenish brown color Table 3.0 qualitative observation of amylase lab Types of corn seedsReaction after applying iodine on agar plates Soaked seedsPlates contained spots of transparent area where soaked corn seeds were place. Overall, there were tiny dots and large patches of dark blackish purple color on agar plate. Boiled seedsNo large patches of dark color, except similar tiny dots that were all over the agars surface. There were transparent spots where seeds were placed. Dry seedsTraces of dark blackish purple color surrounded the areas where corn seeds were placed (transparent). Agar plate was filled with tiny black dots. Agar plate had the darkest shade of color compared to the rest. Conclusion Catalase lab The extracts that were experimented to investigate the enzymatic reaction of catalase on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) included liver, corn leaf, ground meat, yeast, and potato. All the boiled extracts of these materials yielded no apparent enzymatic reaction when tested with H2O2. This proves how temperature, which is one of the factors that can impact enzymatic reaction, is responsible for chemical reactions not happening. Catalase in these materials were boiled at 100, apparently it exceeded each of their optimal temperature. Consequently, catalase within each material was denatured and not able to perform its function properly when tested with H2O2. On the other hand, all the raw extracts reacted to H2O2 at different degrees. Catalase in liver and ground meat extracts caused apparent reactions to H2O2 while catalase in corn lead, yeast, and potato extracts created less apparent enzymatic reaction to H2O2. Their differences in amount of reaction might be explained by various factors su ch as how pH level in raw meat and liver may be closer to the optimal pH level for catalase to catalyze. Invertase lab This lab involves observing effects of adding yeast and distilled water to sucrose solution, which is an example of disaccharide. Despite the poor ability of glucose strips to indicate glucoses presence, the use of Benedicts solution allowed more reliable proof of glucoses presence

Research Methods CASE5 Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Methods CASE5 - Research Paper Example It is most commonly applied if the statistical result of the research follows a normal distribution. Additionally its usage is only applicable when the scaling term of the data is known. Incase this is unknown, it is advisable to replace the term with an estimate from the data thereby making t test computation possible (Yule,1897). Analysis of variance or ANOVA on the other hand is a statistical tool used to analyzed research finding that uses the process of partitioning the research variance into components attributable to various sources. This tool provides a statistical test used to determine whether or not the means of a number of groups are all equal. In doing this, this analysis tool generalizes t-test to more than two groups in a particular research. A qualitative research unlike a quantitative one bases its study on the analysis of qualitative phenomenon of the research subjects. Such studies are concerned with the subjective assessments of attitudes, opinions and behaviors of a research group. Regression analysis is the best tool used in analyzing the research findings of a qualitative research (Kutner, Nachtsheim &Neter, 2004). This tool clearly displays the relationship between two or more variables. If effectively used the tool clearly depicts the relationship between dependent and independent vari ables in a

ACCT202 - DVHA - Accounting II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

ACCT202 - DVHA - Accounting II - Essay Example This means that the buttons are stitched onto the right half and the buttonholes are on the left. There could be two or three buttons, which factor has an interesting role to play as I shall show later. Purely as a matter of interest, the item of male clothing that has the maximum number of manufacturing operations done on it is the coat, twenty-seven separate operations (www.stitchworld.net). The best way to put on a coat is to have an assistant standing behind you holding the coat at the level of your neck. He clasps both shoulders of the coat, one in each hand. Using his right hand, he opens up the front half of the right side, so that the armhole is clearly visible and positioned slightly below your right hand. After you slide your right arm fully into the right sleeve, he opens up the left half with the buttonhole slightly above your left arm, so that you have to reach upwards to slide your left arm into the sleeve. I will stop here, as all subsequent actions are the same as those carried out by you without an assistant. When you have to put on your coat by yourself, the best method is to start by laying the coat on its back on a bed. With your left hand, hold the collar facing you (the right collar when worn) between your thumb and the other four fingers and slide your right arm into the sleeve, gathering the coat as you stand up. Bring your bunched left fist up to touch your right cheek, fold your right arm so that you can use the fingers on your right hand to replace the left. Now move your fist backwards towards the center of your neck. This will help you to locate the left armhole with your free left hand. Slide your left arm in. The most widely used method is when you have just a coat and nothing else. Again, with your left hand, hold the collar facing you between your thumb and the other four fingers, but at the spot directly above the center of the armhole. The armhole should be visible to you at a

International Business Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Business Economics - Essay Example ts as neighboring countries overlooked there selfish restrictions and focused on a rather mutual beneficial ground in exchange of resources (Zhang, 2012). Furthermore, regional economic integration draws its attention from global economic integration in that they both envision and harvest same benefits. They establish free trade areas where member countries engage in free exchange of resources between themselves. This promotes trade as goods within bloc regions are available and affordable. On the other hand, the member countries are independed to formulate trade policies with non member countries. Long term benefits of free trade areas are creation of customs union and establishment of a common market (Zhang, 2011). A recent study reveals that regional economic integration has significantly improved economic status of developing countries. This is evident as removal of economic restrictions has not only expanded job opportunities within member countries due to free movement and exchange of labor but also created a flat ground where a common understanding between member countries has been established to promote political consensus. According to Zhang (2011) regional economic integration has its advantages, just as it promotes trade; it leads to trade diversions as member countries trade more with each other than non member countries. In essence it means that trading will go on despite if the partner is expensive or inefficient just because they belong to the same economic bloc. It has resulted in creation of trade barriers between member states and non member states. Moreover, production process can shift to member countries with cheap labor and workers may migrate to gain access to good employment opportunities. These sudden shifts can result in increased taxation of resources of member countries. Lastly with continuous discussions and agreements within the flat ground countries may feel that they are giving up more of their economic and political right just

Crime of their child Essay Example for Free

Crime of their child Essay The argument here is whether parents play a significant role in the formation of self control towards committing a crime of their child. Well, psychologically, this is still debatable. This is a matter of â€Å"nature or nurture†. The problem is whether the child’s personality is influenced by the environment’s upbringing, the genetic composition of the child, or both. We can not merely say that the formation of self-control towards committing a crime is environmentally motivated—which in most cases the parent’s discipline to their children. There are a lot of parentless people out there and are doing well in the society. In fact, some of them are more responsible and self-disciplined. The person’s personality is not merely dependent on how he is molded when he is a child but also on how he interacted with the environment he is situated. People have free will and are liberated on how he will decide on his life—what to choose, left or right, black or white, good or bad. Let us now talk about genetic composition alone. Do you think that every person has different levels of self control? For me, it is yes. But we can not directly say that personality is solely influenced by the person’s genetic composition but also the shaping by its environment—the parents. There are some people that are used to be bad but have managed and chose to be good. It’s what we call personal autonomy—we have the control to our lives. To conclude, I personally believe that a person’s character is motivated and influenced both genetically and environmentally. The two factors contribute to the formation of the person’s personality, specifically the formation of self control which we are discussing right now.

Conceptual Art Movement Characteristics

Conceptual Art Movement Characteristics Conceptual art is based on the concept that art may exist solely as an idea and not in the physical realm. For supporters of this movement, the idea of a work matters more than its physical identity. While having its roots in the European Dada movement of the early 20th century and from the writings of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, conceptual art emerged as a recognised art movement by the 1960s. When the expression concept art was coined in 1961 by Henry Flynt in a Fluxus publication, it was also adapted by Joseph Kosuth and the Art and Language group (Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin, Harold Hurrell, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Philip Pilkington, and David Rushton) in England, in which the term took on a different meaning. This group saw conceptual art as a reaction against formalism and commodification and believed that art was created when the analysis of an art object succeeded the object itself and saw artistic knowledge as equal to artistic production. The term gained public recognition in 1967, after journalist Sol LeWitt used it to define that specific art movement. Conceptual artists began the theory by stating that the knowledge and thought gained in artistic production was more important than the finished product. Conceptual art then became an international movement, spreading from North America and Western Europe to South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, China, and Japan. All these movements came to a major turning point in 20th century art, when the theory that art is idea was reaching a summit debate, challenging notions about art, society, politics, and the media with the theory that art is ideas. Specifically, it was argued that this form of art can be written, published, performed, fabricated, or simply an idea. By the mid 1970s many publications about the new art trend were being written and a loose collection of related practices began to emerge. In 1970, the first exhibition exclusively devoted to Conceptual Art took place at the New York Cultural Centre. It was called Conceptual Art and Conceptual Aspects. Eventually the term conceptual art came to encapsulate all forms of contemporary art that did not utilize the traditional skills of painting and sculpture. Conceptual art also had roots in the works of the father of Dadaism, Marcel Duchamp, the creator of the ready-made. Duchamp had a key influence on the conceptualists for the way he provided examples of artworks in which the concept takes precedence. For example, Duchamps most famous work, Fountain (1917) shows a urinal basin signed by the artist under the pseudonym R.Mutt. When it was submitted to the annual exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists in New York it was rejected under the argument that traditional qualities of art making were not being reflected. It was a commonplace object and therefore exceedingly ordinary and not unique. Duchamps focus on the concept of his art work was later defended by the American artist Joseph Kosuth in his 1969 essay Art after Philosophy when he wrote All art (after Duchamp) is conceptual (in nature) because art only exists conceptually. Between 1967 and 1978 Conceptual art rose to its golden age, enabling distinguished conceptualists such as Henry Flynt, Ray Johnson, Robert Morris and Dan Graham to emerge on the art scene. During the influential period of conceptual art, other conceptualists such as Michael Asher, Allan Bridge, Mark Divo, Jenny Holzer, Yves Klein and Yoko Ono also established names for themselves. Conceptual art was intended to convey a concept to the viewer, rejecting the importance of the creator or a talent in the traditional art forms such as painting and sculpture. Works were strongly based on text, which was used just as much if not more often than imagined. Not only had the movement challenged the importance of art traditions and discredited the significance of the materials and finished product, it also brought up the question at the nature of the art form whether art works were also meant to be proactive. Conceptual art was the forerunner for installation, digital, and performance art, more generally art that can be experienced. In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art. Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art (1967) Conceptual art is art formed by ideas. It is a form of modern art of which the idea or ideas that a work conveys are considered its crucial point, with its visual appearance being of minor importance. As Sol Lewitt says, What the work of art looks isnt too important. No matter what form it finally have it must begin with an idea. It is the process of conception and realization with which the artist is concerned. Sol Lewitt Paragraphs on Conceptual Art (1967) Conceptual art challenges the validity of traditional art, the existing structures for making, publicizing and viewing art. Moreover it claims that the materials used and the product of the process is unnecessary. As the idea or ideas are of major significance, conceptual art consists of information, including perhaps photographs, written texts or displayed objects. It has come to include all art forms outside traditional painting or sculpture, such as installation art, video art and performance art. Because the work does not follow a traditional form it demands a more active response from the viewer is made to engage the mind of the viewer rather than his eye or emotions., in other words it Marcel Duchamp Fountain 1917 could be argued that the Conceptual work of art in fact only exists in the viewers mental participation. It doesnt really matter if the viewer understands the concepts of the artist by seeing the art. Once out of his hand the artist has no control over the way a viewer will perceive the work. Different people will understand the same thing in a different way. Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art (1967) Conceptual artists deliberately produced works that were difficult if not impossible to classify according to the old traditional format. Some consciously produced work that could not be placed in a museum or gallery, or perhaps resulted in no actual art object which hence emphasize that the idea is more important than the artifact. Conceptual art is not necessarily logical. The ideas need not be complex. Most ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple. Successful ideas generally have the appearance of simplicity because they seem inevitable. In terms of idea the artist is free to even surprise himself. Ideas are discovered by intuition. . Sol Lewitt, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art (1967) Echoing the difficulty in classification as mentioned above, conceptual art cannot be defined in terms of any medium or style. Rather, it can be defined in the way it questions what art truly is, a piece of conceptual art is recognized in one of the four forms: a readymade, a term devised by Duchamp through his piece Fountain. (photo) Joseph Kosuths One and Three Chairs 1965 Traditionally, an ordinary object such as a urinal cannot be thought to be art because it is not created by an artist or possesses any meaning of art, it is not unique, and it possesses hardly any probable visual properties of the traditional, hand-crafted art object; an intervention, in which image, text or object is positioned in an unpredicted context, hence rousing awareness to that context: e.g. the museum or a public space; written text, where the concept, intention or exploration is presented in the form of language; documentation, where the actual work, concept or action, can only be presented by the evidence of videos, maps, charts, notes or, most often, photographs. Joseph Kosuths One and Three Chairs (photo) is an example of documentation, where the real work is the concept What is a chair? How do we represent a chair? And hence What is art? and What does it represent?. The three elements that we can actually see (a photograph of a chair, an actual chair and the definition of a chair) are secondary to it. They are of no account in themselves. It is a very ordinary chair, the definition is photostatted from a dictionary and the photograph was not even taken by Kosuth it was untouched by the hand of the artist. If a work of conceptual art begins with the question What is art? rather than a particular style or medium, one could argue that it is completed by the intention This could be art: this being presented as object, image, performance or idea revealed in some other way. Conceptual art is therefore reflexive: the object refers back to the subject, it represents a state of continual self-critique. Being an artist now means to question the nature of art The function of art as a question, was first raised by Marcel Duchamp The event that made conceivable the realization that it was possible to speak another language and still make sense in art was Marcel Duchamps first unassisted readymade. With the unassisted readymade, art changed its focus from the form of the language to what was being said. Which means that it changed the nature of art form from a question of morphology to a question of function. This change one from appearance to conception was the beginning of modern art and the beginning of conceptual art. All art (after Duchamp) is conceptual (in nature) because art only exists conceptually Artists question the nature of art by presenting new propositions as to arts nature. Kosuth, Art After Philosophy (1969) Hence runs the famous passage of the serial essay first published in Studio International in 1969 in Art After Philosophy, in which Kosuth set out his stall for purely conceptual art. In it we find transition from the negative questioning inherent in the aesthetic indifference of Duchamps readymades to the positive investigations of Kosuths distinct brand of Conceptual art: a transition from the wide-eyed surprise of This is art? to a new way of claiming This is art. Before standing a chance of entering into the general vernacular, art first must be conceived, then executed and lastly presented to a public, however small. In the 19th century, in France, the Impressionists were all innovative artists imposing themselves on reluctant audience. The same applies to the great art movements of this era. They consisted of artists producing works that the public for art neither wanted or anticipated, but were forced to gulp down because it posed issues of innovation which could not be avoided. The reluctant audience included collectors and critics, and even older artists, who inevitably feel their own pre-eminence being threatened. Who, after all, is not made to feel uncomfortable by the unknown art form, as for the matter in all things? It is normal and effortless to fall in love with what is preconceived to be good, beautiful, right and proper. We now all love the Impressionists because we have come to acknowledge and therefore feel comfortable with th em. But the first and foremost task of the new art is to instigate a sense of comfort. In autumn 1997, the show Sensation subtitled Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection was mounted at the Royal Academy. It was one of the first to focus on shock art. According to the publicity leaflet, Sensation was both an attempt to define generation and to present Charles Saatchis singular vision in an established public forum. On display were 100 works by 42 artists selected from the Saatchi collection. Works that evoked powerful visual and emotional reactions were selected. With the figure of attendance going over 285,000 Sensation undoubtedly created sensation. Among all the artists shown, Damien Hirst was undoubtedly the most successful and sought after at present. Having several records of the highest ever paid living artist, Hirsts works creates a phenomenon in the current art market. Hirsts work falls into seven categories. The first group are his Natural History series, the tank pieces which he calls incorporates dead and sometimes dissected creatures such as, cows and sheep as well as sharks preserved in formaldehyde. Hirst describes these as suspended in death and as the joy of life and inevitability of death. A pickled sheep, said to have sold for 2.1 million, followed by the first shark. The second group is Hirsts long-running cabinet series, where he displays collections of surgical tools or pill bottles usually found in pharmacy medicine cabinets. The Blood of Christ, was paid $3 million, consists of a medicine cabinet installation of paracetamol tablets. In June 2007 a record was set at Sothebys London for the highest price paid at auction for a work by any living artist, $19.1 million for Hirsts Lullaby Spring, a cabinet containing 6136 handcrafted pills mounted on razor blades. Spot paintings were Hirsts third long-running production. Usually named after pharmaceutical compounds, these paintings consist of fifty or more multicoloured circles painted onto a white background, in a grid of rows and columns. The reference to drugs refers to the interaction between diverse elements to create a powerful effect. The spot paintings were produced by assistants. Hirst tells them what colours to use and where to paint the spots, and he does not touch the final art, only to affirm it as a finished product of art with his signature. In May 2007 at Sothebys New York, a 76 x 60in spot painting sold for $1.5 million. The fourth category, spin paintings, are painted on a spinning potters wheel. One account of the painting process has Hirst throwing paint at a revolving canvas or wood base, wearing a protective suit and goggles, standing on a stepladder, shouting turpentine or more red to an assistant. Each spin painting represents the energy of random. The fifth category is butterfly paintings. In one version, tropical butterflies mounted on canvas which has been painted with monochrome household gloss paint. In another version, collages are made from thousands of mutilated wings. The mounted butterflies are intended as another comment on the theme of life and death. Some of Hirsts art incorporates several categories; together with publicity-producing titles, like Isolated Elements Swimming in the Same Direction for the Purposes of Understanding, a cabinet of individual fish in a formaldehyde solution combines stuffed creatures with the cabinet series, but has the same intention as the spot paintings, to arrange colour, shape and form. The sixth category was a collection of 31 photorealist paintings, first shown at the Gagosian Gallery in New York in March 2005. Most canvases depicted violent death. Hirst pointed out that the artworks were, like the shark and the spot and butterfly paintings, produced by a team of assistants. Each painting was done by several people, so no one is ever responsible for a whole work of art. Hirst added a few brushstrokes and his signature. The seventh category was the much-publicized project a life-size cast of a human skull in platinum, with human teeth, from an eighteenth-century skull. Encrusted with 8,601 pave-set industrial diamonds with a total weigh of 1100 carats, the cast is titled For the Love of God, the words supposedly uttered by Hirsts mother on hearing the subject of the project. It was sold for  £50 million. Hirst says that For the Love of God is presented in the tradition of memento mori, the skull depicted in classical paintings to remind us of death and mortality. And most recently, the collection of 25 works, known as The Blue Paintings, are predominantly white images painted on dark blue and black backgrounds, with pictures featuring iguanas, shells, beetles and a still life of a vase of roses, entitled Requiem, White Roses and Butterflies. The collection also includes two self-portraits, two triptychs and several paintings featuring skulls, one of Hirsts favourite motifs. All the paintings were produced by Hirst himself, without the help of assistants who created some of his most famous pieces. The illustrious Australian art critic Robert Hughes, however, isnt buying the hype. This is partly because Hughes who presents The Mona Lisa Curse, a one-off polemic broadcast on Channel 4 this Sunday considers Hirsts work flashy and fatuous. Indeed he has described Hirsts formaldehyde tiger shark, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a tacky commodity, and the worlds most over-rated marine organism. The critic said commercial pieces with large price tags mean art as spectacle loses its meaning and identified the British artists work as a cause of that loss. The idea that there is some special magic attached to Hirsts work that shoves it into the multimillion pound realm is ludicrous, Hughes says. [The price] has to do with promotion and publicity and not with the quality of the works themselves. It is not the first time that Hughes has made public his contempt for Hirsts art. Four years ago making a speech at the Royal Academy of Arts annual dinner, he said: A string of brush marks on a lace collar in a Velazquez can be as radical as a shark that an Australian caught for a couple of Englishmen some years ago and is now murkily disintegrating in its tank on the other side of the Thames. Brian Sewell, art critic of the London Evening Standard, was appalled by Hirsts Turner prize-winning work. I dont think of it as art, he said. I dont think pickling something and putting it into a glass case makes it a work of art It is no more interesting than a stuffed pike over a pub door. Indeed there may well be more art in a stuffed pike than a dead sheep. I really cannot accept the idiocy that the thing is the thing is the thing, which is really the best argument they can produce. Its contemptible. Even at his most recent show of his Blue Paintings at the Wallace Collection early reviews for the show were not good. The Guardian said that at its worst, Hirsts drawing just looks amateurish and adolescent, and The Independent dismissed the paintings as not worth looking at. Hirsts work has drawn criticism from all quarters. Predictably, his work has been ridiculed in the tabloid press. When Hirst won the Turner prize in 1995 with Some Went Mad, Some Ran Away, an exhibition he curated and which featured many of his works including Mother and Child Divided (cow in formaldehyde) and Away from the Flock (sheep in formaldehyde) the Conservative politician Norman Tebbit wrote in the Sun: Have they gone stark raving mad? The works of the artist are lumps of dead animals. There are thousands of young artists who didnt get a look in, presumably because their work was too attractive to sane people. Modern art experts never learn. The Daily Mails verdict on the 1999 Turner Prize also referred to Hirsts work: For 1,000 years art has been one of our great civilising forces, the newspaper commented. Today, pickled sheep and soiled beds threaten to make barbarians of us all. Reviewing Hirsts works and the criticisms made on them engage us in discussion about whether the art work he produced command the power and high prices deserved because it is good, or because it is branded? Is the artist famous because of his work, because the public was awed by the shock value of his work, because Charles Saatchi first made him famous with the high price reported in Physically Impossibility, or is he famous for being famous? Another question is perhaps if Hirst is famous because he, as an artist, or took on the role as a social commentator, who offers a profound meditation on death and decay? All these questions clearly imply that Hirsts work and his talent for marketing and branding cannot be ignored. His brand creates publicity, and his art attracts people who would never otherwise view contemporary art. What must not be overlooked is the originality of Hirsts concept. He shaped shared ideas and interests quickly and easily, his work developing during the decade to reflect changes in contemporary life. He made important art that contained little mystery in its construction by relying on the straightforward appeal of colours and forms. His work is striking at a distance and physically surprising close up. Hirst understood art in its most simple and in its most complex. He eliminated abstractions mystery by reducing painting to its basic elements. During the time when art was a commodity, he made spot paintings saucer-sized, coloured circles on white ground that became luxury designer goods. His art was direct but never empty. In the later spin paintings, Hirst emphasized a renewed interest in hands-on process of making, which is referred as the hobby-art technique, drawing attention to the accidental and expressive energy of the haphazard. Like the spot paintings, the cabinet of ind ividual fish suspended in formaldehyde worked as an arrangement of colour, shape and form. Overcoming an initial distrust of its ease of assembly, the work came to be seen in the popular mind as a symbol of advanced art, people were mesmerized by how stunning and beautiful ordinary things of the world could be created and seen. Hirst creating paintings brought together the joy of life and the inevitability of death. A scene of pastoral beauty became one of languid death: in A Thousand Years, flies emerged from maggots, ate and died being zapped by the insect-o-cutor; in In and Out of Love, newly emerged butterflies stuck to freshly painted monochromes. Soon the emphasis changed from an observation of creatures dying to the presentation of dead animals. A shark in a tank of formaldehyde presented a once life-threatening beast as a carcass: it looks alive when its dead and dead when its alive. Hirst was at his most inventive by elevating the ordinary, the typical and the everyday with his fascination. Art is about experimenting and ideas, but it is also about excellence and exclusion. In a society where everyone is looking for a little distinction, its an intoxicating combination. The contemporary art world is what Tom Wolfe would call a statusphere. Its structured around nebulous and often contradictory hierarchies of fame, credibility, imagined historical importance, institutional affiliation, education, perceived intelligence, wealth, and attributes such as the size of ones collection. Great works do not just arise; they are created not just by artists and their assistants but also by the dealers, curators, critics, and collectors who support the work. Todays rapid pace of [artistic] innovation encourages short-term speculation, and speculation, in turn, enables the market to absorb new directions in art. Artistic innovation feeds speculation and vice versa. Moulin, The French Art Market Why has art become so popular? In the first place, we are more educated than before, and weve developed appetites for more culturally complex goods. Ironically, another reason why art has become so popular is that it is so expensive. High prices command media headlines, and they have in turn popularized the notion of art as luxury goods and status symbols. In a digital world of cloneable cultural goods, unique art objects are compared to real estate. They are positioned as solid assets that wont melt into air. Auction houses have also courted people who might previously felt excluded from buying art. And their visible promise of resale has endangered the relatively new idea that contemporary art is a good investment and brought greater liquidity to the market. But the art market also affects perception. Many worry that the validation of a market price has come to overshadow other forms of reaction, like positive criticism, art prizes, and museum shows. Art needs motives that are more profound than profit if it is to maintain its difference from and position above other cultural forms. Nevertheless, collectors demand for new, fresh and young art is at an all-time high. But as Burge (Christopher Burge, Christies chief auctioneer) explains, it is also a question of supply: We are running out of earlier material, so our market is being pushed closer to the present day. We are turning from being a wholesale secondhand shop to something that is effectively retail. The shortage of older goods is thrusting newer work into the limelight. Another Sothebys specialist explains, Our lives are constantly changing. Different things become relevant at different times in our lives. We are motivated by our changing sensibilities. Why can that not be applied to art as well? Art used to embody something meaningful enough to be relevant beyond the time at which it was made, but collectors today attracted to art that holds up a mirror to our times and are too impatient to hang on to the work long enough to see if it contains any timeless rewards. Experts say that the art that wells mos t easily at auction has a kind of immediate appeal or wow factor. On one level, the art market is understood as the supply and demand of art, but on another, it is an economy of belief. Art is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it is the operating clichà ©. Although this may suggest the relationship between a con artist and his mark, the people who do well believe every word they say at least at the moment they say it. The auction process is about managing confidence on all levels confidence that the artist is and will continue to be culturally significant, confidence that the work is a good one, confidence that others will not withdraw their financial support. Amy Cappellazzo from Christies explains what kind of art does well at auctions. Firstly, people have a litmus test with colour. Brown paintings dont sell as well as blue or red paintings. A glum painting is not going to go as well as a painting that makes people feel happy. Second, certain subject matters are more commercial than others: A male nude doesnt usually go over as well as buxom female. Third, painting tends to fare better than other media. Collectors get confused and concerned about things that plug in. Then they shy away from art that looks complicated to install. Finally, size makes a difference. Anything larger than the standard dimension of a Park Avenue elevator generally cuts out a certain sector of the market. These are just basic commercial benchmarks that have nothing to do with artistic merit. With such constraints from the art market, artists would tend to make art that fulfills the criteria to appeal in order to do well in auctions. Collecting is a powerful tactic for making sense out of the material world, of establishing trails of similarity through fields of otherwise undifferentiated material. The drive to acquire more things contains, orders and arranges peoples desires, creating an illusion of mastery through delineating a knowable space within that apparently endless universe of materiality. At whatever scale, collecting is informed by the desire to insure the owner against the inevitability of loss, forgetting and incompletion. (Cummings, N. Lewandowska, M., The Value of Things) Works of art, which represent the highest level of spiritual production will find favour in the eyes of the bourgeois only if they are presented as being liable to directly generate material wealth. Karl Marx on the notion of surplus value in Book IV of Captial When a branded collector like Charles Saatchi purchases an artists work in bulk, displays the work in his gallery, loans the work for display in other museums, or exhibits it in Sensation, the cumulative effect is to validate both the work and the artist. Each stage serves to increase the value of Saatchis own art holdings. Being described both as a supercollector and as the most successful art dealer of our times, Charles Saatchi himself responded, Art collectors are pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. What matters and survives is the art. I buy art that I like. I buy it to show it off in exhibitions. Then, if I feel like it, I sell it and buy more art. As I have been doing this for 30 years, I think most people in the art world get the idea by now. It doesnt mean Ive changed my mind about the art that I end up selling. It just means that I dont want to hoard everything forever. Nevertheless, his practice of buying emerging artists work has proved highly contagious and is arguably the single greatest influence on the current market because so many others, both veteran collectors and new investors, are following his lead, vying to snap up the work of young, and relatively unknown artists. He was also said to be capable of making or breaking an artist. However, his passion for art is not to be overlooked. In pursuit of established and new artists, Saatchi makes a point of visiting both mainstream and alternative galleries, artists studios, and art schools. Moreover, he did fall in love with works that were not saleable but still purchased them, for example, Hirsts A Thousand Years big glass vitrine holding a rotting cows head covered by maggots and swarms of buzzing flies and installation art like Richard Wilsons oil room [both purchased by Saatchi in 1990]. Perhaps Saatchis greatest legacy will be that he, more than any other, have been responsible for pitching modern and contemporary art into the British cultur al mainstream which he set out to achieve from the start. In 2005, British Artist Damien Hirsts work titled The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone living(photo) sold for $12 million dollars. People were asking the same question Why would anyone even consider paying this much money for a shark? Another concern was that while the shark was certainly a novel artistic concept, many in the art world were uncertain as to whether it qualified as art. The problem with conceptual art is that everyone has their own way of imagining it, based on their own fantasies, but perhaps it is not what they thought it is, it is relevant as long as it escapes the strict rules of painting, sculpture, and photography as they prevailed in the past. It thus takes paths that have no rules, where the principle of valorization is not or is only very slightly, based on art history. (Benhamou-Huet, The worth of art, 2008, p.95) But why so much money? What drives these collectors to invest astronomical sums of money as much or more than a working-class man earns in a lifetime in order to possess objects of intrinsic, nonmaterial value? American psychoanalyst Werner Muensterberger explored this quandary in his book Collecting: An Unruly Passion, in which he hints that these avidly amassed objects are like security blankets for grown-ups. The collector, not unlike the religious believer, assigns power and value to these objects because their presence and possession seem to have a modifying usually pleasure-giving function in the owners mental state. The unconscious reasons, then, for what we might call collectors security blankets are manifold. For some, the idea may be that the value of objects they buy will rub off on them. In this way, they may convince themselves that they can be somebody. Money itself is meaningless in the upper classes of the art world everyone has it. What impresses others is the o wnership of precious work. What the rich seemed to want to acquire is what economists call positional goods; possessions that prove to the world that they are really rich. And above all, art distinguishes you. Another part of the answer is that in the world of contemporary art, branding can substitute for critical judgment, and lots of branding was involved here. You are nobody in contemporary art until you have been branded. Saatchi Saatchi believes in global marketing, i.e., the use of a single strate