Doctrine of Double Effect: Consequentialism Essay

The Doctrine of Double Effect states that it is a morally relevant difference between those bad consequences we aim and intend to bring about, and those that we do not intend but still foresee as a likely outcome of our actions. Under certain circumstances, it is morally acceptable to risk certain outcomes that would not be acceptable to intend. Though it is always wrong to kill innocents deliberately, this doctrine says, it is sometimes permissible to allow certain actions to occur understanding that some side effects will be negative. Considering that some side effects involve death, we need to consider the question of whether it is ever morally permissible to use people as a means to one’s end. Warren Quinn attempts to present a deontological way of viewing the Doctrine of Double Effect. The configuration of Doctrine of Double Effect prepared by Quinn makes distinctions on moral assessments. In proportion to consequentialist moral theory, the distinction the Doctrine of Dou ble Effect comprises between intended and merely foreseen consequences does not matter for moral evaluation with the exception of factors that are consequential for production of better outcomes. In Deontology edited by Stephen Darwill, Deontology is a element of ethical teachings centered on the idea that actions must be guided above all by adherence to clear principles. Thomas Nagel suggest that the core idea in deontological thinking is the Doctrine of Double Effect and the innermost idea is one ought not in one’s actions aim at evil and in this way to be guided by evil (177). Quinn suggests that there are two major problems dealing with the rationality and discrimination between cases when it comes to the Doctrine of Double Effect. In the following exert from Deontology, Quinn gives examples of contrasting cases from modern warfare: In the case of a strategic bomber (SB), a pilot bombs an enemy factory in order to destroy its productive capacity. But in doing this he foresees that he will kill innocent civilians who live nearby. Many of us see this kind of military action as much easier to justify than that in the Case of the Terror Bomber (TB), who deliberately kills innocent civilians in order to demoralize the enemy. Another pair of cases involves medicine: In both there is a shortage of resources for the investigation and proper treatment of a  new, life-threatening disease. In the first scenario doctors decide to cope by selectively treating only those who can be cured most easily, leaving the more stubborn cases untreated. Call this the direction of resources case (DR). In the contrasting and intuitively more problematic example, doctors decide on a crash experimental program in which they deliberately leave the stubborn cases untreated in order to learn more about the nature of the disease. †¦Guine a Pig Case (GP). Another pair of medical examples is found in most discussions of Doctrine of Double Effect. In the Craniotomy Case (CC) a woman will die unless the head of the fetus she is trying to deliver is crushed. But the fetus may be safely removed if the mother is allowed to die. In the Hysterectomy Case (HC), a pregnant mother is allowed to die. In the Hysterectomy Case (HC), a pregnant mother’s uterus is cancerous and must be removed if she is to be saved. This will, given the limits of available medical technology, kill the fetus. But if no operation is performed the mother will eventually die after giving birth to a healthy infant. (Darwell 195) In the above case I obviously see that there is a significant difference between the cases. The fetus is not yet a person, and the mother has a right to seek defense from anything that is hazardous to her health. Quinn makes the distinctions that the doctor in Craniotomy Case does not intend to actually kill the fetus; he probably would be happy if it survived. In this case it is little difference between the Hysterectomy Case and the Craniotomy Case. Quinn produces a projected way to revive the Doctrine of Double Effect. He recommend that the Doctrine of Double Effect should be reiterated in the following way: One to make possible a differentiation between agency in which injury comes to a quantity of victims, at least impart, from the agent’s deliberately connecting them in something in order to further his purpose specifically by way of their being so involved and harmful agency in which either nothing is in that way intended for the victims or what is intended does not contribute to their harm. The overhaul of the Doctrine of Double Effect will produce the result that in the Terror Bomber and  Craniotomy examples, the agency involved is the less customary kind, whereas in strategic bomber, Diversion of Resources , and cancerous uterus, the agency is involved is more acceptable kind. This works alongside with the original understanding of the Doctrine. The majority of military actions would be morally out of the question if the killing of civilians were absolutely forbidden. When factories, naval dockyards, and supply lines are bombed, civilian carnage is inevitable. In these cases, the philosophy of the Double Doctrine of Effect comes into to play. When it comes to this, there is a huge and undeniable gray area; for instance, could it be permissible to bomb a hospital in which Osama Bin Laden is lying ill. In the doctrines most precise form, it holds that if an action has two effects, one good quality and one unpleasant, then the action is morally permissible. The following questions must be asked: is the action good in itself or not evil; is the good effect the only one aimed for; the good follows as immediately from the action as the evil effect, and the reason for performing the action was as important as that for allowing the evil effect. Are the consequences good on balance? It is important that it is; the goodness of the goo d must outweigh the evil of the evil effect. Walzer goes as far to say that the actor should seek out ways to lessen the evil effect, accepting risk to his or her self. â€Å"There is obviously leeway for military judgment here: strategies and planners will for reasons of their own weigh the importance of their targets against the importance of their soldiers’ lives. But even if the target is very important, and the number of innocent people threatened relatively small, they must risk soldiers before they kill civilians† (Walzer 157). Still if the noncombatants are in harm’s way due to direct actions of the enemy, or due to the adult noncombatants own choice, the agent is duty-bound by jus in bello’s highlighting on distinction to alter his campaign from those otherwise recommended, if those tactics will foreseeable result in noncombatant casualties. Could one claim that the bombing campaign America set out over Kosovo did not meet the Double Doctrine Effect? Yes, the campaign failed to meet Walzerâ €™s extra requirement because pilots flew high to guard themselves and dropped bombs imprecisely, which resulted in greater civilian casualties. In Just and Unjust Wars, Walzer claims, â€Å"Double effect is a way of reconciling the absolute prohibition against attacking non-combatants with the legitimate conduct of military activity† (153). These non-combatants are placed in the category of innocence. Indeed, it is unjustified to kill the innocent, but these victims aren’t entirely innocent. It can be said that they are beneficiaries of oppression; they enjoy the contaminated fruits. In certain cases, it could be understandable but not justifiable. Those who are opposed to this notion would claim that the children among them, and even the adults, obtain every right to look forward to a long life like anyone else who is not actively participating in war. This is the whole notion of noncombatant immunity, which is not only crucial to war but of any decent politics. Anyone who renounces this policy for a moment is not simply making excuses for terrorism, but they are joining the lines of terror’s supporters . The act of terror incorporates the deliberate killing of noncombatants as a means to an end; therefore, it is not accepted by the Doctrine of Double Effect. â€Å"The question of direct and indirect effect is complicated by the question of coercion. When we judge the unintended killing of civilians, we need to know how those civilians came to be in a battle zone in the first place. This is, perhaps, only another way of asking who put them at risk and what positive effects were made to save them† (159). Do intentions really validate this doctrine? Could it be possible to leave out the intentions and simply judge the rightness or wrongness of an act by its consequences, the way a consequentialist would do? Consequentialist will only choose to perform actions with the best consequences, which ignores our prima facie duties to others. In this case, the answer would not be sufficient enough for the Doctrine of Double Effect because this doctrine encompasses deontological constraints. Quinn shows in the following account how the doctrine reflects a Kantian ideal of human community: This ideal is given one natural expression in the language of rights. People have a strong prima facie right not to be sacrificed in strategic roles over which they have no say. They have a right not to be pressed, in apparent violation of their prior rights, into the service of other people’s purpose.  Sometimes these additional rights may be justifiable infringed, especially when the prior right is not terribly important and the harm is limited, but in all cases they add their own burden to the opposing moral argument. (207) The Doctrine of Double Effect gives each individual value, which is not based on the majority of people. Gives individuals rights against being used as means to any end. In the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski, Between 120,000 and 250,000 civilians were killed. The decision to use this deadly weapon for Americans was allegedly not for revenge but to bring an end to this dreadful war. I would like to believe former president Harry Truman was under the impression that the evil performed would not surpass the greater good that would come out of the action. At that time it was believed that the Japanese were fighting an unjust and aggressive war. In the following exert in Just and Unjust Wars, Walzer has part of commits made by Truman after the decision to drop the Atom bomb in the following: â€Å"We have used [the bomb] against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war† (Walzer 264). The shortening of the agony of war was the justification of the use of the atomic bomb. President Truman claimed that the alternative, an invasion, would have cost countless American lives. In his justification, he shows evidence that he believes American lives are more important than the lives of others; I definitely do not believe this is the way the Doctrine of Double Effect was suppose to be executed. Now if he was specifically to state that one half of a million American lives would have been taken if the war was not stopped, he then can claim the net savings from the terror amounted to around a quarter of a million lives. In the case of valuing American lives more and theirs less, it looks somewhat obvious that the Doctrine of Double Effect was not used properly. Under any circumstances, the use of such a lethal weapon against Americans on American soil could never be justified. Many moral philosophers are not pleased with the Doctrine of Double Effect; Jim Holt gives an account of some of their objections in the following: If you ask the terror bomber why he is killing civilians, he will say, â€Å"to win a just war might even say that he does not need the civilians actually to be dead, but only to be thought to be dead until it is over to demoralize the other side. If his victims could be miraculously brought back to life after the end of the struggle, he would not object. In this sense, he does not really intend their deaths†¦. If I can kill Saddam Hussein only by shooting him through innocent human shield, do I intend harm to the innocent shield or not? (Holt) Is the difference among directly intended effects and inevitable effects a contrived one? The point he is trying to make is that the incidental fatalities of a calculated bomb are just as dead as the intended victims of a terror bomber. This objection brings up another point made by Quinn in relation to the closeness of these situations. â€Å"†¦it surely matters how close the connection is between that which is, strictly speaking, intended and the resulting foreseen harm. If the connection is close enough, then the doctrine should treat the harm as if it were strictly intended. And the reply might go on, the connection is close enough in the cases I have used to illustrate the doctrine’s negative force (196). In reference to the meaning of closeness, an illustration of closeness was supplied through an example of a glass. Someone could violently heat a glass just for the purpose of hearing the noise made from the initial impact. In cases involving force against something as fragile as a glass, the shattering is to be expected immediately after the action. These two actions form a causal relationship, so the connection seems intangible opposed to conditional. It is morally acceptable to risk certain outcomes that would not be acceptable to intend. The Doctrine of Double Effect has prima facie reasoning in its make-up; therefore, it has a strong responsibility to do what is morally acceptable to our own standards. Proponents of Doctrine of Double Effect coincide more with deontological views opposed to consequentialist theories. Even though the Doctrine in some cases allows  harm among individuals, they recognize that in real life cases there are events that have sufficient reasoning behind them. Though it is always wrong to kill innocents deliberately, this doctrine says, it is sometimes permissible to attack a military target with the understanding that some civilians will die as a side effect. Even a dog knows when it is intentionally or accidentally kicked; therefore, We can not deny that intentions are of some importance. The question is whether or not the difference can be held up as morally acceptable. â€Å"For causal critics of the doctrine sometimes seem to suppose that its defenders must be ready to allow killings or harmings simply on the ground that the agency is indirect. But nothing could be further from the truth. The doctrine in no way lessons the constraining force of any independent moral right or duty† (203). The Doctrine of Double Effect is centered among the impression of acceptable actions. The quest of good is less appreciated where a significant harm is intended as a means than where it is merely foreseen. The deontologists grasp the idea that one or both of the distinctions between doing and allowing and intended and merely foresee effects scientifically affect what morality approves and condemns. Lying on this outlook, it is of importance morally not just what outcomes we bring about or fail to bring about, but the structure of our agency in this regard. The deontologist theories conflicts in the company of the act consequentialist, who holds that one morally ought always to do an act that leads to an outcome that is not worse than the outcome that would be reached by any other act. Quinn gave an excellent account of the deontological view of the Doctrine of Double Effect, but his theory has flaws. What if the American government for an upright decent reason terrorizes the city of Berlin, and they can do this effectively by dropping bombs over Toronto? Our government does not strictly intend to include the people of Toronto for the reason that their attachment does not advance our objective; if all of the residents were out of town and survived, and our purpose still would have been served. In his reconstruction of the Doctrine of Double Effect, Quinn excludes our acts as indirect agency; therefore, the slaughter of the inhabitants of Toronto is  parallel to a merely foreseen consequence. I don’t believe this exemption is one that he anticipated to make, but it is a loose end that needs further explanation. Works Cited Darwell, Stephen. (2003). Deontology. Malden, MA: Editorial material and organization. Holt, Jim. Terrorism and the Philosohers. Can The Ends ever justify the means?2 June 2004.http://slate.msn.com/?id+2064544. Walzer, Michael. (1977).Just and Unjust Wars. A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations. 3rd ed. Basic Books..

Impact of Internet & Online Community Networking Application Essay

Web 2. 0 internet Technology allows users to interact and cooperate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community. There are various Community Networking Application platforms provided by the social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter to the marketing of products and services for the hospitality industry. Social network offers media technologies that can enable online functionality and monitoring perspectives wherein the data gathered can be used to improve their services for customer satisfaction. The hospitality industry can market themselves in social media and networking thus it can be use social media to engage customers and clients in dialogue and recognize their needs & wants. Through these networking sites, hospitality industry Web 2. 0 internet Technology allows users to interact and cooperate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community. There are various Community Networking Application platforms provided by the social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter to the marketing of products and services for the hospitality industry. Social network offers media technologies that can enable online functionality and monitoring perspectives wherein the data gathered can be used to improve their services for customer satisfaction. The hospitality industry can market themselves in social media and networking thus it can be use social media to engage customers and clients in dialogue and recognize their needs & wants. Through these networking sites, hospitality industry could interact with new & loyal guests before, during, and after of the guest staying experience. Social media is relatively new and the advantages are abundance such as it is affordable (no cost), it is viral and has the potential to spread brand awareness rapidly and far and it is said to be able to develop link baits, attention and massive amounts of webpage traffic flow. The purpose of this study is to evaluate Impact of Internet & Online Community  Networking Application (Web 2. 0 internet Technology) based on Budget Hotel in Klang Valley Introduction Hospitality industry play significant role in the world in terms of the numbers of employees and its effect on the community and economical development of a region or country. Hospitality means providing service to others, as well as demonstrating consistent excellence and quality. It should also mean profitably providing value at any price level, while demonstrating your own unique points of distinction. Most of all, hospitality should be a â€Å"place†, where people can still be exceptional individuals and they can extend their own personality and style (Hogan, 2008). The use of internet & networking application for basic functions for instance conferences, business meetings in distant places, training, designed routes and airlines, reservations and tickets purchased through computer systems, tourist shops, restaurants is becoming typical in hospitality industry. The hotels depend progressively on the resources of new information technology to follow and update the tools which allow an efficient development of activities in each section of the company, leading to better results for its management (Mendes-Filho & Ramos, 2003a). To Phillips and Moutinho (1998), information technology (IT) is one of the critical factors of success in the hotel industry. The debate over â€Å"high-tech† or â€Å"high-touch† is largely a thing of the past in the hospitality industry as emerging technologies drive unprecedented change in the way hotels operate and serve customers. It is clear that investments in technologies can generate greatly improved operating efficiencies, higher hotel revenues and enhanced guest services. The pace of change, however, has been so extreme as to leave many hotel organizations uncertain about what types of technology to adopt and the best ways to create a seamless integration of systems company-wide. In addition, investments made by many hotel owners and operators during the last five years have lagged as a result of the serious downturn weathered by the industry. Many hotel organizations are using technologies so outdated as to place their companies at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace. (dchosenone, Jun 2009) The arrival of the Internet has increased the opportunities to boost the accommodation industry. Recently, hoteliers are fully aware of the benefits that the Internet can calaborate to their business. Well-informed of the far reaching importance of the web, they are motivated to create more awareness of their industry, on top of getting more bookings online. This had driven website development for hotels and resorts, the online reservation booking system, the increased number of reviews and redesigning of accommodation websites, as well as other tourism related online enterprises. As a matter of fact, there is a steady, daily growth of the web strategies for hotel and hospitality. The IT trends in the accommodation industry improve every day. Online marketing renewed the hospitality industry. Social bookmarking, mobile marketing (Runritz application), Web 2. online communities and all others have all added up to the change in the impact of the hospitality industry. The traditional booking system of hotels and resorts has been changed by the Internet. Thus potential guests can easily compare several hotel rooms & facilities and its rates offered by various hoteliers. Then there is the advancement of computer graphics and web photos that hoteliers had utilize to display their hotels’ pictures. In this way potential guests can take a virtual tour to feel the interiors and exteriors of their hotels and resorts. It has also become simple for clients to acquire info on hotels’ Rooms and Rates, amenities, facilities and promos. The emergence of Web 2. 0, allows one with unlimited amount of things the individual can do on the internet these days. The individual is not just restricted to emails or passively absorbing the static information that is available on the web pages when browsing. It used to be one-way but now the web is the platform where people can share information, hold a decent dialogue, build both social and business connections. Social media has recently been adopted by a small group of organizations’ integrated marketing plans. There by infusing a mix of advertisement, public relations, their sales promotion to produce a customer focused message. With the evolution of platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we have the golden opportunity for exceptional access to the guest (Lanz, Fischhof, & Lee, 2010). Since social media is so available to anyone with an internet connection, it should be a platform that can be recommended to the ospitality industry to increase their brand awareness and facilitate direct feedback from their customers. A business that understands the advantage of social media is well aware that social media is essential in developing new business in the current competitive and online driven marketplace. Marketing is an important aspect for any company involved in business. As such, it is a competitive world out there, and social media marketing is the ‘new kid in town’ and it can reach out to the people accessing these social media platform regularly. Communication is essential for any corporation and business, therefore either they change the way information is conveyed or be prepared to lose some of the audience. It is imperative for marketing managers to continuously find a solution to appeal, keep new and current consumers (Schneider, 2009). Social network is the ideal platform for communication that applies perfectly with marketing in the virtual world. Social networks are groups of individuals who 3 prefer to communicate with one another through a preferred site based on the profile created for themselves (Laudon and Traver, 2007).

Treetop Forest

Statement of the problem The packaging team at Treetop Forest is experiencing many problems. Their productivity is decreasing and affecting the rest of the departments negatively. The unsupervised employees are slacking off, are not motivated and are adopting norms that are not fitted with the company. Inventory costs and the risk of damaged stocks are also increasing. The quality of the appearance of the finished products is also decreasing, resulting in a loss in the market share in the industry, hence being unable to compete with other companies. Cause of the problem Social loafing is causing the decrease in productivity in the packaging team. This tendency to withhold physical or intellectual effort when performing a group task[1] represents the slacking behaviours of the employees in that department. The lack of supervision is also one of the main causes of most of the problems stated. The group’s cohesiveness is causing them to behave in similar manners, as additive tasks, even though the behaviours adopted are not in line with the norms of the rest of the company (taking longer breaks etc). Because this department’s location is further than all the other ones, the employees feel isolated and excluded from the company, causing their lack in motivation. The group’s poor performance is causing an overstock which results in high inventory costs and risk of damaged stocks since they have to be stored outside ultimately causing the poor appearance of the finished product which affects the buyer’s decision. It can be assumed that it is a larger group due to the tasks that need to be performed, which affects the group in many ways. In larger groups, friendships develop, participation decreases and disengagement increases resulting in process loss: a group performance difficulty stemming from the problems of motivation and coordination in larger groups. [2] Solutions and Consequences 1. To counteract the social loafing the company should: Increase feelings of indispensability. Doing this within the group would motivate the employees. Increase performance feedback, so that employees will know how to improve themselves as well as knowing what they did well. Reward group performance. Pros: Highly motivated in what they are doing †¢ They would feel belonging to the company since they would know what the company’s goals are. 2. To have a more structured environment, Treetop should hire and train a new supervisor only for the packaging department. Pros: †¢ This solution will decrease inventory costs and increase the production and quality of the finished products. †¢ Effective communication betwe en the other departments to balance the productivity levels Cons: †¢ The salary and training of this new employee will increase the company’s costs. 3. To reduce the overtime costs, limits should be put on the amount of overtime hours an employee is allowed to use, along with a deadline for a specific amount of products. Pros: †¢ This would decrease the overtime salary costs †¢ This would increase productivity due to the fixed goals. †¢ This would decrease the extended break and lunch times. Cons: †¢ Because these goals are imposed, the employees may be reluctant to achieve them. To avoid this situation, the goals could be discussed therefore increasing the probability of their achievement. Recommended Solution It would be recommended to implant supervision since it is the main cause of all the problems the company is faced with and because of the many effects it would have on the situation. The group needs structure and a supervisor would therefore help resolve most problems. Implemented Solution Immediately, communication should be improved between the departments to stop the unbalanced productivity. This would resolve part of the inventory costs problems. Upper management should also put someone in charge of the packaging team. If costs of hiring a new supervisor are too high, an existing supervisor could be given more shifts. Although hiring and training costs are high, the company will benefit from this addition in the long-term. The new supervisor would counteract the social loafing the company is experiencing. The supervisor could be trained to focus on the motivation of his group (rewarding good performances etc). This supervisor is also the one who should limit the employees to a certain amount of overtime hours they are allowed to. The supervisor would reinforce the company’s norms, eventually eliminating the self-imposed ones in the group (longer breaks†¦). The supervisor would also promote group cohesiveness and a pleasant working environment. In the short term, upper management could host a meeting or assembly between all departments to make them feel interrelated and important to the company. This could be a great motivation for the employees. In the long term, group evaluations could be necessary to measure the group’s performance and to see if the actions taken are resolving the problems. ________________________________________ [1] Johns,G, & Saks, A. M. (2008). Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, Toronto: Addison-Wesley-Longman. [2] Johns,G, & Saks, A. M. (2008). Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, Toronto: Addison-Wesley-Longman.

Are plastic bags posing a great threat to our environmentsolutions to Dissertation

Are plastic bags posing a great threat to our environmentsolutions to plastic bags recycling - Dissertation Example The material from which plastic bags are made, in particular polyethylene, is toxic and contaminates soil and vegetation when improperly disposed of. Making matters worse, recycling plastic bags is problematic because they cannot be recycled together with other recyclable material and when they are recycled they can only be recycled into non-recyclable products. It would therefore appear that the solution to the environmental threats posed by plastic bags is to ban them altogether. However, when one considers the low cost of producing plastic bags and their convenience to shoppers together with the economic opportunities for plastic bag producers, it is worth considering whether or not more resources and efforts should be put into recycling plastic bags. This research study conducts a cost-benefit analysis of the feasibility of recycling plastic bags. Thus this research study will analyze the environmental threats posed by plastic bags, the feasibility of banning or recycling plastic bags and other feasible waste management alternatives. A survey is conducted in which 50 shoppers over the age of 18 participate in a questionnaire calculated to determine how often they receive plastic bags, what they do with them and whether or not they are amenable to purchasing and using reusable bags. The results of the survey are discussed. Table of Contents Abstract 2 I.Introduction 4 II.Research Questions 5 A.Primary Research Question 5 B.Secondary Research Questions 5 III.Statement of the Problem 6 IV.Significance of the Study 6 V.Aims and Objectives of the Study 7 VI.Research Methodology 7 VII.Literature Review 8 A.The Environmental Threats associated with Plastic Bags 9 B.Appropriate Policy Responses to the Environmental Threats of Plastic Bags 11 C.Recycling as a Solution to the Environmental Threats Associated with Plastic Bags 12 VIII.Data Results and Analysis 14 A.Results 14 B.Analysis 15 IX.Conclusion 18 List of References 23 Are Plastic Bags Posing a Great Threat t o our Environment?: Solutions to Plastic Bags Recycling I. Introduction Trillions of plastic bags are used globally each year (Ramaswamy & Sharma, 2011). Plastic bags are made of polymer polyethylene and are non-biodegradable (Sharma, 2007). Plastic together with polyethylene waste is accumulating at an alarming rate and is increasingly threatening the environment in a variety of ways (Usha, Sangeetha, & Palaniswamy, 2011). Complicating matters, when plastic bags are recycled, they lose some of its strength and release toxins so that recycled bags have limited use once redistributed (Sharma, 2007). However, researchers have found that polyethylene, specifically low density polyethylene used in the production of plastic bags can be recycled into petrochemicals and used to produce new types of plastic products or turned into â€Å"refined fuels† (Achillas, Roupakias, Megalokonomos, Lappas, & Antonakou, 2007). Even so, plastic bags cannot usually be recycled with other recyclabl e material. Therefore resources must be committed to segregating plastic bags from the general recyclable trash. This takes time, money and manpower over and beyond that which is necessary for recycling the ordinary recyclable trash. In addition, when plastic bags are recycled into usable material, they can only be recycled into non-recyclable products (Reddy, 2011). Sustainable waste management of plastic is a growing global concern because some plastic and polyethylene take thousands of years to

Hamlet act V Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hamlet act V - Assignment Example Hamlet’s character was more that of a thinker before than a doer but in this scene, Hamlet was a doer in place of a thinker. He had made up his mind to do what was due on him. He likes to know about Claudius as a king through the views of Hamlet. After his asking, Hamlet reports him about everything he has been thinking long ago such as his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, his kingship and Claudius’s attempt of killing him. Hamlet tells Horatio that he will participate because he wants to uncover Claudius’s person before the people. He has no fright for death. He knows that he can be trapped because of this fight but still, he is ready to fight because he wants to revenge Claudius. Hamlet’s mother dies because of the poisoned drink prepared for Hamlet. Claudius only forbids the queen once to drink but he does not prevent her because of the threat of his being exposed before the people. Moreover, he also thinks that Gertrude is supportive for her son, so, she can be set aside. The play also has recognition. It occurred when Hamlet organized a play in the play, in which, the actors played as to what occurred in originality to Hamlet’s father. Hamlet has this recognition when he gains knowledge about his father’s murder because of Claudius’s running from the

No specif topic, check assignment criteria for details Essay

No specif topic, check assignment criteria for details - Essay Example Work Motivation Motivation is an organizational behavior concept that has long been studied by various practitioners. Martires & Fule (2000) proffered motivation in the work setting as referring to â€Å"the whole set of drives, needs, and similar forces that prompt a person to act in a certain way or to develop a tendency for specific behavior† (p. 2). Accordingly, motivation has been revealed to be the why and cause of behavior. Motivation energizes behavior and gives it direction. It is the drive and strength toward an action. When managers motivate subordinates, one structures the work environment in such a way that their drives and needs are brought into play, instead of being neglected. This environment is made conducive to the satisfaction of those drives and needs so that workers act in desired ways. There have been enumerable motivational theories and models that were proffered: from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1954), McClelland’s model that foc uses on three motives of achievement, affiliation and power (McClelland, 1961); Alderfer’s existence, relatedness, and existence model (Alderfer, 1969), and Herzberg’s motivation – hygiene theory that suggests two separate factors: hygiene and motivational, as leading to either job satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Herzberg, 1966). More contemporary motivational theories continue to emerge, such as goal-setting, equity theory, and expectancy theory (Campuzano & Flores, n.d.) that aim to determine presently influencing factors that motivate people in the workplace. Leadership Concurrent and closely linked with motivation is leadership in terms of the power that designs and evaluated factors that drive human resources to work towards the accomplishment of defined goals. Bennis averred that â€Å"leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own l eadership potential† (Christian Leadership, n.d., par. 7). It is the process of influencing people so that they will seek defined objectives enthusiastically. Tannenbaum & Massarik describe the relationship between leadership and influence by saying that leadership is †interpersonal influence, exercised in situations and directed, through the communication process, toward the attainment of specified goal or goals. Leadership always involves attempts on the part of a leader (influencer) to affect (influence) the behavior of a follower (influence) or followers in a situation† (Tannenbaum & Massarik, 1957, p. 3). As there are diverse motivational theories, leadership concepts and models likewise abound: McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y that explains the nature of leadership style and assumptions about the nature of people; Fred Fiedler’s contingency model where leadership is seen as contingent on the leader’s style and the situation; as well as Bl anchard’s situational model that suggests that the choice of appropriate leadership style depends on the development level of subordinates (Martires & Fule, 2000, pp. 159, 169 & 173). Likewise, there are contemporary theories that emerge: servant leadership, transformational leadership, transactional leadership, charismatic, and symbolic leadership, among others

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

Somalia - Essay Example The international community has on many occasions tried to establish a democratic Somali, the most recent being the Transition Federal Government(TFG) that was overrun by the Union of Islamic Courts(UIC) in 2006. Just as in the previous administration, TFG was plagued by intense power struggles among the different factions and clans that eventually undermined its objectives of democratizing the country. Since then, Somali remains a failed state characterized by unstructured rules by Islamic factions and more piracy in the high seas (Samatar, 1991, p9). In order to transform the country from the current state to a democratic country, high sense of patriotism and nationalism among all Somali clans should be established so that they can tolerate each other and respect the rule of law. According to Laitin (1977, pp26-29), establishing a constitution that has the support of the majority people is a fundamental requirement for establishing democracy in a country. Equally important, the con stitution should be enforced by independent and strong institutional framework where rule of the land reigns over personal or specific groups.

Blog Reflection Post for personal branding Research Paper

Blog Reflection Post for personal branding - Research Paper Example Lewis presents five classification in conformity as far as branding is concerned. They are: Fearing Breed conformity, Buck the norm, questioning everything, Running away, and lastly, embracing risks (Lewis, 2014) Conformity has affected the way marketing is carried out in this age. Customers indulge purchase practices to the acceptable groups in society. Many business ventures opt to follow this practices and this has played a role in eradication of the innovative spirits in entrepreneurs. Personal branding therefore steps in to make a careful study and manage such consumer perceptions to ensure success in marketing. (Rampersad, 2009). According to Lewis 2014, of which is true, his idea of ‘screaming louder’ is very costly. It will require lots of funds to finance. The world of marketing has also become so competitive and personal branding should embrace unique ways which ought to be less costly. Hence it’s a key factor to do a careful analysis on consumer preference. Business ventures should embrace ways to stand out as unique but not drifting away from the expectations of their customers. Montoya 2002, notes that personal branding is an asset to the business venture and ensures excellence. Conformity is still a major setback to customization. Lewis 2014 quotes that three-quarters of the individuals in a group conform to a phenomenon at the first instance. This presents a critical viewpoint that marketers ought to take so as to achieve their sales targets without compromising their customers. Lewis presents three tips, which are agreeable to me: first is to make a comprehensive analysis of industry’s best performers, then to analyze market norms and lastly to take in the aspect of rick and insurance. The business can then be confident to take a different route cautiously having in mind that its customers will ‘feel better’ going in that direction. Effective branding in a corporate environment seeks to

Reasons why Immigrants Fail to Learn English Essay

Reasons why Immigrants Fail to Learn English - Essay Example Some take shorter time to understand than others, while others really have a hard time even grasping basic terminologies. From the onset, it is the teacher who initiates all communication and this can be a very frustrating experience. Obviously, at the start not all the students have equal mastery over the English language. Some will take a bit longer to grasp the introductory advances. To this effect, new teachers are usually barely well – equipped to handle multi – cultural students at once. No matter how many languages the teachers know and speak, there is always the chance that some student will come in whose language the teacher has not grasped. Furthermore, most teachers invest in learning mainstream foreign languages only e.g. French, German and Spanish. So when a Hindu speaking student joins the class for example, the teacher has to reanalyze his / her initial approach to teaching. Even after the basic salutations and pleasantries have been mastered by the stude nts, the accent issue still dominates the learning environment. In some instances the teacher has to repeat the words severally before the students can grasp the pronunciation. Another problem that teachers encounter is dealing with the students’ varying motivation during the lessons. Naturally, the students will have enrolled due to different ambitions. While some undergo the lessons as a compulsory requirement, others enroll just for the sake of familiarizing themselves with a foreign language (in this case, English). In such a scenario, not all students will have the same level of motivation as the lesson proceeds. Shifting focus to the immigrants, most of them portray some reluctance to apply themselves to the learning process when they encounter the initial difficulty in familiarizing with the English language. One would notice some subtle resistance to learning the language. Then again there is the erosion of English in the United States. Dominance of slang confuses the foreign students. In the classroom, the students are taught one thing. When they step out into the street, they hear something entirely different. At some point the students will be bound to get disillusioned. With the language itself, English has very many idioms and other figurative styles of language. Expecting the students to apply and relate to such linguistic features when they are barely grasping the basic language is an uphill task. English literature has a heavy influence in the curriculum and therefore students are expected to familiarize themselves with hundreds of classic literary pieces during learning. They end up complicating matters and students have a hard time registering what they are taught. A student would find it hard to grasp the aspect of symbolism when he / she can barely distinguish between tenses. Rules of exception also act as obstacles to the learning process too. Foreign students take time to establish syntax, sentence structure and word order. Regiona l dialects in the United States also heavily affect the student’s mastery of the language. For instance, a student living in a Latino neighborhood will be affected by the dialect spoken in that area. Some immigrant students have a phobia for resident students because they feel inferior when their English is not as polished as their hosts. Chapter 2 Immigrants

Causes of Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Causes of Climate Change - Essay Example Greenhouse gases are crucial in sustaining life on earth. They allow rays from the sun to enter but stop them from escaping to outer space. However, individuals cause the release of more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere making the greenhouse effect stronger. As a result, the earth’s climate begins to change because more heat is trapped (Directgov 2012). Changes in the energy output of the sun cause the climate to change. This is because the sun is a vital source of energy that drives the climate system. This effect is referred to as solar irradiance. Research has indicated that variability in solar energy has played a major role in the previous climate changes. However, there is not sufficient evidence to support the effect of solar irradiance on the current global warming (NASA 2012). The earth’s climate is changed and influenced by natural causes such as ocean currents, volcanic eruptions, solar variations, and changes in the earth’s orbital. For instance, volcanic eruptions produce gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, causes climate change but its effects are minimal compared to the emissions caused by humans (Climatechangechallenge.org 2012). In conclusion, there are two causes of climate change, human and natural causes. Human causes have led to the increase of greenhouse gases in the air which causes a change in the climate. Natural causes also lead to changes in climate, but their effects are minimal compared to the human causes. The effect of solar irradiance on the climate is also

Sticks and Stones Essay Example for Free

Sticks and Stones Essay The text Sticks and Stones is written by Trezza Azzopardi in 2006. It’s about a young man named Lewis. He is a teacher and becomes witness to collective bullying; he tries to talk with the headmaster to help these problems between the kids. Seeing the bullying bring flashbacks inside of his head, reminding him of his own childhood. When Lewis was a kid he got bullied and in the text we indirectly get to know, that he had many traumatic experiences. Lewis tries helping the boy Paul Fry who gets bullied, but doesn’t succeed. We don’t get to know why. The main theme in this text is bullying and the following consequences. In the text we get an insight in how bullying can affect a person for the rest of his life. Lewis is really traumatized, and we can see that he is affected by his childhood experiences in everything he does. Bullying is now a worldwide problem, and bullying often results in self harm, eating disorders, anxiety or, in worst case, suicide. Children, youngsters and adults all over the world are experiencing bullying, and it is safe to say, that something must be done. Lewis is the main character in the story. He experiences great trauma, since he was bullied in his childhood. He is an adult now, and a schoolteacher. He moved into his mothers house about a month ago, because he had many problems, and got something like a depression that caused him to not be able to live a normal life. Lewis has beforehand escaped into the city of London to live his adult life, because he has traumatic experiences from the countryside. But when he experiences the scenery with Paul Fry, it bothers him in an unimaginable way, and he moves back into the house of his mother. It is safe to say that Lewis is emotionally unstable, and it is not possible to predict wether he’ll ever fully mentally recover. Paul Fry is a child and a student on the school where Lewis teaches. Paul gets bullied by some of the other children. His situation deeply affects Lewis, because Lewis sees himself and his childhood in Paul Fry. Paul has a very important role in the story, because he reflects Lewis’ childhood. He has a central importance in the outcome of the story, since his case results in Lewis losing his mind, and leaving his job. Azzopardi uses flashbacks throughout the entire story. They are used to create the entire image of Lewis’ life, with all of its trauma and consequences. There seems to rule some kind of calmness in the last couple of lines in the story. Lewis realizes that there’s nothing he can do, nothing he should so. When Lewis lies down on the ground, he is in contact with the same ground witch he hit several years ago. But this time, it is in calm surroundings, and it is something he has chosen himself. He also mentions how he listens to the humming earth, where he before only could hear the noise of the crashing waves that he feared. In the end, everything goes quiet, and you get the feeling that Lewis will be all right after all.

Family Relationship in Movie the Descendant Essay Example for Free

Family Relationship in Movie the Descendant Essay The King’s family depicted in the movie â€Å"The Descendant† reflects the family live style and dynamic in many of the typical middle income families. The core values that the King’s family fostering, such as love the nature, honest to each other and the united of the family, are in rooted with their heritage as the Hawaiian. The tragic incident of the main character Matt King’s wife Elizabeth provides an opportunity for Matt to review his relationship with his seventeen-years-old daughter Alexandra and ten-year-old daughter Scottie. During the coma of Elizabeth, Matt learned how to be a real father. He is growing with his daughters and building a strong relationship within his family. The author believes the King’s family in this movie set an adequate role model for families to learn how to reestablish a dysfunctional family to a healthy family. Primary Relationships Matt King is a lawyer specialized in real estate transaction. He is also a sole trustee of 25,000 aces of Kauai virgin land passed from his ancestor. He lives with his wife Elizabeth, older daughter Alexandra, who is 17 years old and a younger daughter Scottie, who is 10 years old in Hawaii. Matt is too concentrated to his work. He has very little time to be with his family members. He neglected his wife, he has not seriously talk to his wife for years, in fact, he hasnt talk to his wife three days before she had the boating accident and dying in the hospital. He doesn’t involve much with his daughters; he thinks that taking care of the daughter is her wifes responsibility. Since Matt hardly has time to Elizabeth, she has spend many her time in playing motor boat racing; parting with her friends, and heavily drinking. Until 23 days ago, she had an accident on her boat which was driving by her friend. Alexandra is in a boarding school because her parents want to discipline her with alcoholic and dating with older man issues. She loves her family members, however, she refused to talk to her mother after last Christmas because she found out that Elizabeth was dating another man, and she was angry with her for betraying her marriage. Scottie was a lost young girl. She has difficulty to make friends at school; she often uses inappropriate body language and profanity language when talking with people during she was angry. She likes to put on Alexandras under dress to express her eagerness of being a big girl. All the behavior of Scottie is try to get peoples attention. She wants people to care of her feeling and interact with her more. She revealed that all the behaviors and languages were learned from Alexandra. Scott is Elizabeths father. He loves Elizabeth dearly. In his eye, Elizabeth is a strong and thoughtful girl; she devoted one hundred percent to her family; and takes good care of the daughters. No one can compare with her, even the granddaughters. Familys Developmental Stage Kings family was living in a nuclear family with adolescent girl and young girl before the wife, Elizabeth was comatose. The absent of mother in the family, turned Matt, the father from a backup parent to in charge. The daughters have to adapt their fathers new role and live with a single parent; while all of the family members have to accept the death of Elizabeth. Before Elizabeth was hospitalized, this family was a dysfunctional family already. With Elizabeth alcoholism and life risk motorboat racing hobby, workaholic Matt, alcoholic recovery Alexandra, and left alone Scottie; the family was in the movement of centrifugal. It seems that Matt and Elizabeth did not have a parents system in the family. They did not set the clear boundaries to their daughters. Their daughters do not respect them and they do not have authorities. When Matt started to take charge of the family, he self-examination the familys development, and decided to change from a distance father to be a caring father. He constantly reminding his daughters to use the appropriated language and talking with people with respect, event the mother was not able to listen, they still need to talk to her the was to pay their respect. He draws a very clear boundary for their daughter of being respect to parents and grandparents. The family crisis of losing the mother provided a chance for them to be more closed to each other. Alexandra reflected from Scotties behavior and started to be a better role model for her young sister; she is lso a main support for her father to recover from the hurtful feeling of wifes infidelity, and defending her grandpas incorrect accusation of her father treating her mother. Scotties behavior is getting less dramatic. Matt and Alexandra spend time with her and educate her about selecting the right friend and avoid the bad influence her friends. Without the mother in their life, the structure of the family changed. Alexandra alliance with the father and they make the family reac ted to the crisis more positive and reduced the negative impact to the minimum. The family slowly moves toward the centripetal. Familys style of communication The family had a poor communication system before the tragic incident of Elizabeth. Matt neglects her wife; he had not talked with her for three days before the comatose and had not talked with her for serious matter for ten years. Matt also not communicate with his daughters well neither. He did not talk with her younger daughter since she was three years old. When Matt and Elizabeth found out the problem of her older daughter, they put her in boarding school. There were frequent verbal fighting in the family; Matt with Elizabeth, Elizabeth with Alexandra, and Alexandra with Scottie; for the issues of what they want. When Matt took charge of the family during Elizabeth was hospitalized, he often gave order to the daughters and the daughters often ignored him and kept to do things their way. At the last stage of the movie, the family life cycle has changed and they must to learn how to communicate better in order to live in a functional and health family. The non-verbal communication style in the last scent indicated that they are moving toward that direction. Strengths, Weakness and Clinical Problems The strength of the family is they love each others; they treasure the family as a whole and against anyone who try to break their unity. The weakness of the family is they lack of communication skill, they don’t devote enough time to each other as a family. Matt and Elizabeth have challenge on parenting their daughters. Matt complaining Elizabeth for not being a good role model and Elizabeth complaining Matt for neglecting her and the daughters only bought the high tension in the family, but not solve the problem. The couple has marriage issue and Matt may better take Elizabeths advice to seek professional help together. For their daughters behavior issues, they could go to family counseling together. Matt was being accused by Elizabeth about his out of touch of his own feeling; he could talk to the therapist how to feel about this accusation. Therapist could help Elizabeth find a better way to handle the drinking issue and the feeling of being neglect by Matt. Therapist could discuss with Alexandra what is the underneath cause to her drinking problem and wanted to data the older person. Therapist could talk to Scottie and help her to see the cost and benefit of using profanity language and inappropriate body language. As a whole family, therapist could guide them using effective language to address their concerns and avoid any angry complains. Have each of the family members to agree on getting a regular family time to bond their relationship. Relevant Gender Concerns Matt and Elizabeth were growing up in the Hawaii, and Matt has the blood of the indigenous royalty of Hawaii. The met in the law school and established their family later. The only relevant cultural concern would be the male supremacy. This reflected from the Elizabeth who had to stay home to take care of the daughters with a law degree, but Matt is devoted hundred percent of his effort and time to his law firm. Conclusion In the family development, it is normal to have family structure change and experience some different degree of family crisis. Some families can survive from the change or crisis; they adapt the new situation and move on to form a healthy family relationship. Some families cannot sustain the impact of the change or crisis; they fell apart and each of them develop a different kind of symptoms and hard to stay as a family anymore. With Kings family illustration, the author believes, if every family members willing to take their responsibilities, setting a goal for helping each other to living a better life, remaining family unity and love each other as their core value, having effective strategies, such as making clean boundaries from parent to children and making new alliance to a subsystem, then, such family will be not only survive but evolve from the crisis and living in a much healthier and functional family.

The Role of the Bank of England

The Role of the Bank of England The United Kingdom’s central bank is the Bank of England. It is also known as the â€Å"Old Lady† of Threadneedle Street. The Bank of England was established in 1694 amid a founding contract that stated its principle was to â€Å"promote the public good and benefit of our people†. (About the Bank, 2015) Today, The Bank of England’s purpose is the sign of that vision or agenda first articulated by its founders. Their mission as stated in their official website is â€Å"to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.† The bank was originally founded as a privately-owned organization. After the Second World War, the Bank of England was nationalised, but kept hold of its broad though largely informal unrestricted or public service mission. (About the Bank, 2015) This focus somewhat changed during 1997, when Parliament voted to provide the Bank functioning independence with a comprehensible remit to practise price stability, which was the most important challenge the macroeconomic policy makers were facing for the last two decades. This financial crisis revealed the necessity for a new move towards to financial parameter in the United Kingdom. This change has resulted in a foremost expansion in the Bank’s duties and responsibilities, which came into action since April 2013. In some way, this represented a come back to the broader task that the Bank practiced in the past. However, though the Bank’s pledge to providing the public good is recognisable by its seventeenth century organizers but its responsibilities are currently defined by the Parliament. Financial Policy Committee: The Financial Services Act of 2012 founded an autonomous Financial Policy Committee (FPC) as a subsidiary of the Bank which will work as a new prudential regulator. This created new duties for the management of fiscal market infrastructure providers. This particular committee is responsible for taking steps to reduce or remove general risks with an analysis to protect and enhance the flexibility of the country’s financial system. The FPC also has a secondary purpose to maintain the economic course of action of the Government. Prudential Regulation Authority: The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has the responsibility to supervise the banks, credit unions and building societies, insurers and key investment firms. This regulation authority controls almost 1,700 financial firms. Its role can be defined in two legal objectives. They are- (1) To promote the safety and security of the firms, (2) to ensure the insurers contribute in securing the proper degree of security to the policyholders. While promoting the safety of the firms, the Prudential Regulation Authority focuses mainly on the problem that the firms can create to the steadiness of the country’s financial system. A steady financial system means it is one in which firms can keep on providing significant monetary services to the economy which is a prerequisite for a strong and successful economy. (About the Bank, 2015) Monetary Policy Committee: Having monetary stability means constant prices and confidence in the money or currency. Stable prices can be defined by the Governments inflation objective which is what the Bank aims to meet by the assessments done by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). In the United Kingdom the monetary policy generally operates through the interest rate meaning the price at which money is lent. Since March 2009, this committee also started to input money directly into the economy in addition with setting Bank Rate. It injects money by buying financial assets which are often known as â€Å"quantitative easing†. Quantitative easing (QE) is an unusual type of monetary policy where a Central Bank makes new money by electronic means to purchase monetary assets, like government bonds. The aim of this process is to directly enhance the spending of the private sector in the economy and return the inflation to the intended target. (Monetary Policy, 2015) In August 2013, the Monetary Policy Committee gave some clear guidance regarding the future performance of monetary policy. The committee plans to at least maintain highly stimulative monetary policy until economic laggings have been reduced substantially given this will not put any material risks to price constancy or financial stability. (Monetary Policy, 2015) Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee: The London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FX JSC) was founded in 1973 under the support of the Bank of England. It was established mainly as a medium for banks and brokers to talk about broad market topics. The aim of the Committees regular work is concerned with issues of frequent concern to the diverse members in the foreign exchange market. The Chairman and Secretary of this committee is provided by The Bank of England and its senior staffs are from many of the key banks functioning in the foreign exchange market in London, as well as from voice- and electronic-brokers, corporate users of the foreign exchange market, as well as delegates from the British Bankers Association, the Wholesale Market Brokers Association, and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. One of the main duties of the Committee is to keep up the Non-Investment Products Code. This code is a type of voluntary code of good market functionality that covers wholesale deposits as well as the Foreign Exchange market. Bank’s function in the foreign exchange market: The Bank functions in the foreign exchange market mainly for two reasons: Managing the UKs foreign currency and gold reserves on behalf of the government’s economic and finance ministry (HM Treasury). Organizing the Monetary Policy Committees (MPC) comparatively smaller band of foreign currency reserves. In addition to these main objectives, the Bank of England also controls general foreign currency transactions for the many departments of the government and also a small quantity of its customers. In the past year, quite a few members of a subgroup of the London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee which is known as the Chief Dealers Subgroup, have either been suspended by their employers or dismissed because of having association with the global inquiry into probable manipulation of the currency market. (Albanese, 2014) The $5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ °trillion-a-day worldwide foreign exchange market is used by governments and multinational companies to buy and sell notes, as well as hedge against the danger of currency instability. The Bank of England plays an important role as both the participant and regulator of the market as it maintains the UK government’s currency transactions. In the market they use a benchmark which is known as the 4pm â€Å"fix†. If this benchmark is by any way manipulated by traders then it can cost UK firms millions of pounds and affect everything operating in the market from business accounts to the worth of investments. (Quinn John, 2 014) The London 4pm fix which is now a joint venture was initiated in 1994. It notes down the exchange rate among foreign currencies at the 4pm closing value and then these rates are then used for transaction in the foreign exchange deals all over the world. This benchmark aster its initiation was rapidly followed by many clients looking for a universal reference point. However, the currency traders who have the knowledge of currency rates and their client orders can have a major advantage. According to Chris Towner, a foreign exchange dealer, â€Å"Currency dealers will start buying before the client and then complete the client’s order at the higher 4pm rate.† (Quinn John, 2014) Thus, the central bank plays a vital role in keeping the foreign market in balance. If the price rates of currencies are shared beforehand then market imbalance is certain. Recently the bank is going through speculation on its benchmark policy as one trader who was suspended by his employer has provided the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom a handwritten note from a private meeting which was help on April, 2012 at the bank. The note proves that the central-bank officers were given the instruction that the practice of sharing and collecting client orders was common. (Albanese, 2014) The recent allegations over the manipulation of currency markets in UK came into focus after the Libor scandal. The Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is an average interest rate which is calculated by submissions of interest rates by key banks in London. Libor scandal pointed out the possible manipulation of other financial markets such as gold and silver because they were mostly loosely monitored before the financial crisis. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England has been facing hearings on the court regarding probably manipulation in the foreign exchange market. The manipulation of foreign exchange markets is estimated to become a criminal offence. (Treanor, 2014) The central bank plays an important role in terms of maintaining the inflation and exchange rate of a country. Since, they have the responsibility to monitor the entire market and control the private banks; any manipulation by the central bank can cause serious damages in the national financial market as well as the foreign market. The recent financial crisis has put the Central Bank of England come under serious scrutiny.

Emma - Romantic Imagination :: essays research papers fc

Jane Austen’s Emma and the Romantic Imagination "To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour." —William Blake, ‘Auguries of Innocence’ Imagination, to the people of the eighteenth century of whom William Blake and Jane Austen are but two, involves the twisting of the relationship between fantasy and reality to arrive at a fantastical point at which a world can be extrapolated from a single grain of sand, and all the time that has been and ever will be can be compressed into the space of an hour. What is proposed by Blake is clearly ludicrous—it runs against the very tide of reason and sense—and yet the picture that the imagination paints of his verse inspires awe. The human imagination supplies the emotional undercurrents that allows us to see the next wild flower we pass on the side of the road in an entirely different and amazing light. In Austenâ₠¬â„¢s Emma, the imagination is less strenuously taxed because her story of sensibility is more easily enhanced by the imagination, more easily given life than Blake’s abstract vision of the great in the small because Emma is more aesthetically realistic. However, both rely on the fact that "[t]he correspondence of world and subject is at the center of any sensibility story, yet that correspondence is often twisted in unusual and terrifying shapes," (Edward Young, 1741). The heroine of Austen’s novel, Emma Woodhouse, a girl of immense imagination, maintains it by keeping up with her reading and art because, as Young contends, these are the mediums through which imagination is chiefly expressed by manipulating the relationships between the world and the subject at hand. However, even in this, Emma’s imagination falls short. "The soul might have the capacity to take in the ‘world’ or the ‘atom’ if it weren’t for the b ody’s limitations getting in the way," (Joseph Addison, 1712). As Addison supposes, the limitations of Emma’s body keeps her from seeing the truths that her soul, if let free, would show her. One of these is that Frank Churchill, a handsome and well-bred man, is insincere and fake, while Mr. Knightley truly loves her like no other. In Emma’s love theme, Austen shows us how emotions and imagination can augment each other. "[I]t was†¦sensibility which originally aroused imagination;†¦on the other hand†¦imagination increases and prolongs†¦sensibility," (Dugald Stewart, 1792). Emma - Romantic Imagination :: essays research papers fc Jane Austen’s Emma and the Romantic Imagination "To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour." —William Blake, ‘Auguries of Innocence’ Imagination, to the people of the eighteenth century of whom William Blake and Jane Austen are but two, involves the twisting of the relationship between fantasy and reality to arrive at a fantastical point at which a world can be extrapolated from a single grain of sand, and all the time that has been and ever will be can be compressed into the space of an hour. What is proposed by Blake is clearly ludicrous—it runs against the very tide of reason and sense—and yet the picture that the imagination paints of his verse inspires awe. The human imagination supplies the emotional undercurrents that allows us to see the next wild flower we pass on the side of the road in an entirely different and amazing light. In Austenâ₠¬â„¢s Emma, the imagination is less strenuously taxed because her story of sensibility is more easily enhanced by the imagination, more easily given life than Blake’s abstract vision of the great in the small because Emma is more aesthetically realistic. However, both rely on the fact that "[t]he correspondence of world and subject is at the center of any sensibility story, yet that correspondence is often twisted in unusual and terrifying shapes," (Edward Young, 1741). The heroine of Austen’s novel, Emma Woodhouse, a girl of immense imagination, maintains it by keeping up with her reading and art because, as Young contends, these are the mediums through which imagination is chiefly expressed by manipulating the relationships between the world and the subject at hand. However, even in this, Emma’s imagination falls short. "The soul might have the capacity to take in the ‘world’ or the ‘atom’ if it weren’t for the b ody’s limitations getting in the way," (Joseph Addison, 1712). As Addison supposes, the limitations of Emma’s body keeps her from seeing the truths that her soul, if let free, would show her. One of these is that Frank Churchill, a handsome and well-bred man, is insincere and fake, while Mr. Knightley truly loves her like no other. In Emma’s love theme, Austen shows us how emotions and imagination can augment each other. "[I]t was†¦sensibility which originally aroused imagination;†¦on the other hand†¦imagination increases and prolongs†¦sensibility," (Dugald Stewart, 1792).

Eighties Cyberpunk :: Science Fiction Literature Essays Papers

Eighties Cyberpunk In the early 1980's, cyberpunk was used as a label to describe a new form of science fiction written by a group of five writers, which challenged the traditional genres associated with science fiction (Shiner, 7). SF used highly imaginative ideas to project scientific phenomenas, resulting in dreamy, stylized stories of space colonies and flying space crafts. This new science fiction was different, because it incorporated present global, social and technological situations to help induce the future of the world. It generated new outcomes for the future's high technological, society and global environment that would help categorize it into a specific form of writing known as cyberpunk. William Gibson, one of the five writers associated with the cyberpunk genre, is credited by critics and peers for typifying the cyberpunk writing form in his popular novel Neuromancer. Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Lewis Shiner, the other four writers who helped launch the movement, agree that Gibson's Neuromancer influenced the categorization of the new science fiction as cyberpunk. Therefore, Gibson's novel can be used as a reliable source for defining the cyberpunk genre. With this in mind, we can analyze the high-technology used in Neuromancer and its importance to the cyberpunk form of writing. Gibson creates an advanced technological machine called Flatline's construct, which is a "hardwired ROM cassette replicating a dead man's skills, obsessions, knee jerk responses" (Gibson, 20). This futuristic device that brings back human personalities from the dead, can be viewed as a result of the present fascination with bringing dead people back to life. This fascination is evident in hospital emergency rooms and in game boards like the Ouija board. Both examples are similar the use of he Flatline's construct, in the sense that all three bring life back to the dead. This incorporation of high-technology with society's present interests in mind, is a frequent form recognizable in Neuromancer and in the cyberpunk fiction of Sterling, Rucker, Shirley and Lewis. A common element of genuine cyberpunk writing found in Neuromancer, is Gibson's depiction of the futuristic society and the people who live in it. Once again, Gibson uses the present issues of government and nuclear tension to predict society's future. In Neuromancer, this results in a world ruined by nuclear war. However, the people living in the society continue to survive in the world for personal benefit, or just for the sake of living. Gibson shows an example of this with his characters in Neuromancer. Eighties Cyberpunk :: Science Fiction Literature Essays Papers Eighties Cyberpunk In the early 1980's, cyberpunk was used as a label to describe a new form of science fiction written by a group of five writers, which challenged the traditional genres associated with science fiction (Shiner, 7). SF used highly imaginative ideas to project scientific phenomenas, resulting in dreamy, stylized stories of space colonies and flying space crafts. This new science fiction was different, because it incorporated present global, social and technological situations to help induce the future of the world. It generated new outcomes for the future's high technological, society and global environment that would help categorize it into a specific form of writing known as cyberpunk. William Gibson, one of the five writers associated with the cyberpunk genre, is credited by critics and peers for typifying the cyberpunk writing form in his popular novel Neuromancer. Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley and Lewis Shiner, the other four writers who helped launch the movement, agree that Gibson's Neuromancer influenced the categorization of the new science fiction as cyberpunk. Therefore, Gibson's novel can be used as a reliable source for defining the cyberpunk genre. With this in mind, we can analyze the high-technology used in Neuromancer and its importance to the cyberpunk form of writing. Gibson creates an advanced technological machine called Flatline's construct, which is a "hardwired ROM cassette replicating a dead man's skills, obsessions, knee jerk responses" (Gibson, 20). This futuristic device that brings back human personalities from the dead, can be viewed as a result of the present fascination with bringing dead people back to life. This fascination is evident in hospital emergency rooms and in game boards like the Ouija board. Both examples are similar the use of he Flatline's construct, in the sense that all three bring life back to the dead. This incorporation of high-technology with society's present interests in mind, is a frequent form recognizable in Neuromancer and in the cyberpunk fiction of Sterling, Rucker, Shirley and Lewis. A common element of genuine cyberpunk writing found in Neuromancer, is Gibson's depiction of the futuristic society and the people who live in it. Once again, Gibson uses the present issues of government and nuclear tension to predict society's future. In Neuromancer, this results in a world ruined by nuclear war. However, the people living in the society continue to survive in the world for personal benefit, or just for the sake of living. Gibson shows an example of this with his characters in Neuromancer.

Ancient Corinth Essay -- Greece Ancient History Historical Papers

Ancient Corinth ?Unlike most other cities in the ancient world, Corinth was a city destined for prosperity and longevity no matter who occupied it or how it was governed.? It is as old, or older, than any other ancient Greek city, with origins that lie only in myths and legends that are more than two thousand years old.? Little is known of who established the city or when it was actually founded.? What we do know is Corinth was a very important city and it became a major player in ancient Greek and Roman history.? ?The main reason for the existence of Corinth is the same reason for its greatness.? The ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean world produced this city out of geographical and commercial necessity.? The southern most part of Greece is very nearly an island, attached to the main landmass by only a four mile wide isthmus, with the Corinthian Gulf to the west, and the Saronic Gulf to the east.? Corinth sits along this narrow isthmus, making itself one of the most important trading and commercial centers of the ancient world.? Corinth was positioned perfectly between the two greatest political city-states in ancient Greece, Athens to the north and Sparta to the south; because, any traffic from these two cities, as well as anywhere else to the north and south, had no choice but to pass through Corinth.? The east and west traffic, on the other hand, had a choice to pass or not pass through Corinth, though limited as that choice was (Barclay 1).? The only way to sail east to west in th e Mediterranean was all the way around the southern tip of Greece, known as Cape Malea.? Cape Malea was considered the most dangerous Cape in all the Mediterranean due to its high seas, contrary winds, and difficult navigation (Engel... ...hey knew they could not keep such a gold mine lying in ruins.? So Corinth did not die, instead it was a cultural hubbub for over a thousand years. Bibliography Barclay, William. The Letter to the Corinthians, Revised Edition. The Westminster Press,? Philadelphia.? 1975 Engels, David. Roman Corinth, An Alternative Model for the Classical City. University? of Chicago,? Chicago, 1990. Papahatzis, Nicos. Ancient Corinth, The Museums of Corinth, Isthmia and Sicyon.? Ekdotike Athenon S.A.? Athens, 1981. Papakyriakou/Anagnostou, Ellen. ?History of Corinth?.?www.sikyon.com/Korinth/history_eg.html Parada, Carlos. ?The Seven Sages of Greece, Between Legend and History.? http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/SevenSages.html#Periander Strabo. ?Geography, 8.6.20-23? (Late 1st Century BCE-Early 1st Century)?www.abu.nb.ca/courses/Pauline/images/StraboCor.htm

Mastering Audio

The History of â€Å"Mastering† Music, in most of its styles and forms that is targeting commercial distribution now undergoes a final process of transformation and quality verification known as Mastering. For those working within the audio industry, this process is an unavoidable step to pass through. The role of the mastering engineer is almost unknown and often unheard of.This status of the mastering process has over the ears gathered itself an almost mythical status in the industry. The art itself is quite often misunderstood and in certain cases considered unimportant. Through this essay I hope to explore further into the role of the mastering process and the position it has held over decades with changes in styles, technology and mediums of media distribution. â€Å"Mastering is the set of activities in the audio chain between the final production of the music on an intermediary format and its transfer to a distribution format. (Dominique Bassal, 2005) During the early days, the process of mastering was not a separate discipline that as followed by a different engineer. A recording engineer's profile would involve recording onto a disc cutting lather. Before the year 1925, the tools used to cut records was unsophisticated and worked in a fairly mechanical manner without the use of electricity. By the 1930's the advent of electricity in the audio industry like many other markets changed the way media was recorded, processed and finally distributed.The rise of the radio stations, microphones and the amplification of the stylus that was previously driven Just by a diaphragm into an acoustical horn has changed the way mastering works. The discs cut onto wax were used as stampers to press 78rpm discs using shellac-composite. This was the method of cutting/ producing records before the advent of tape. Mastering/cutting Engineer Post the second world war, the recording ot tape and micro groove LP were tlrst introduced. The introduction of tape recording changed the norm of master recordings almost always being cut direct to disc.This was the beginning of a separate engineer being in charge of using the session tapes to cut master discs. This person was not initially known as a mastering engineer but a â€Å"dubbing ngineer† or rather â€Å"transfer engineer†. â€Å"mastering was a black art practiced by technical curmudgeons who mysteriously made the transfer from the electronic medium of magnetic audio tape to the physical medium of vinyl. † – (Owsnski, 2007) This change brought about the industrial belief that the process of cutting the master discs from recording session tapes was not a very different technical skill than the vinyl pressing operation.The biggest problem as such with vinyl has been to safeguard the largest possible part of the audio fidelity of the master tape, by troubleshooting and working around he numerous downfalls and obstacles brought about by the medium itself. The technology o f cutting vinyl from tape came with its own set of limitations to a huge degree. To explain the groove on the record, the thickness of the hair carries pitch and tonal information laterally and the amplitude information vertically. The problems brought about by this system was that the bass frequencies would drastically affect the total width of the groove.This in turn would affect the determined length of the information being cut onto the vinyl. the thickness of the vinyl similarly affected the dynamic range available for each cut. The recording onto analog tape helped with these flaws to a certain extent through having a tendency to roll off the distinctly sharp high intensity transients. This tendency was due to the saturation that occurred when hit with too much level, which would result in the stylus Jumping out of groove or often burn the disc cutter head itself.Around this time larger record companies dealing with pop music were prioritizing the automation of the tape to dis k transfer as much as possible in the interest of production efficiency. One of the biggest advancements this brought about was the ossibility to determine the thickness of the grooves using analog computer circuitry. It eventually brought about the possibility of having record sides of up to, and in some cases beyond, 30 minutes. The equipment being used for the mastering process also had to be specifically developed for use in record production.The idea behind this was to protect the companies from the expensive cutter heads blowing up as well as to ensure a more quality consistent product.! The birth of the Mastering Plant It was not long betore a tew engineers in this industry realized that there might me a arket out there for mastering that is done with superior care and skill. This brought about the birth of the first independent mastering lab in Los Angeles during the late 60's. The art of mastering became more about the attention to detail, skillful use of the highest grade equipment available and a devotion to artistic satisfaction.This trend soon grew into a business where a master tape sent to a mastering plant run by a credible engineer such as Bob Ludwig, Doug Sax or Bob Katz would result in a disc that sounded phenomenal. lt was during this time that the name of the astering engineer was listed on to the credits of the albums. Mastering trivia: ! â€Å"A significant step in this extension of the role of the mastering engineer, even if ephemeral and exclusively linked to a specific musical style, was the dance mix fad, today devolved, in a modified form, to the D].A rhythmic pop song is delivered to the mastering studio with, along with its official mix, a series of excerpts, sub-mixes of rhythm sections, solo voices, etc. The mastering engineer constructs an extended version of the song, destined for, among others, nightclubs, adding as required upplemental effects and even sounds from other sources. † (Dominique Bassal, 2005) Mastering to day Mastering is still very much a part of the industry, although most of them no longer cut master discs from analog reel tape. The CD generation has definitely caused a huge change in the mastering process.This process is now known as mastering where the recording in its final stage is brought in recorded on to a digital medium and is then sent for pressing. In the older days, each record company would have its own in house engineers working to a pre determined standard set by the company itself. These standards ere for the calibration of recorders, level and metering standards, interfacing and conversion equipment, etc. A number of engineers would also custom build some of the equipment used in their studio. This time saw that the tapes that were sent to these mastering studios could have a consistency to quality and fidelity.The order of the songs on the record, short pauses between tracks and equalization would have already been dealt with. ! Today the mastering business is a v ery different market compared to back then. The material for an album made these days could have been sourced from a variety of ifferent places, ranging from large studio rooms to a bedroom studio. The mixing on the record could have been done using Just a computer and sometimes by the artist themselves. These changes make it a completely contrasting market to when the big record companies were around.It opens a new realm of artistic space to play with as well. This treedom however also attec ed t the technical aspects ot the production. ! It is due to these reasons that mastering engineers began to expect their clients to provide them the recorded and mixed product with certain measures taken into account. The client is requested to not finish aspects of the process such as song spacing, fades and final master levels for each song. It is in the benefit of the client to trust the mastering engineer to take care of such detailed aspects with the necessary skill set and experience.A f undamental point to remember in todays technological free market is that technical competence cannot be taken for granted. Todays mastering engineers are expected to take a body of work that is recorded, produced and mixed and transform it into a sonic piece that is well balanced and is aurally pleasing to listen to. It involves a meticulous binding, processing and reinforcing of sound to translate the artistic vision onto various forms of playback. Mastering Equipment The equipment used in the process of mastering is a range of extremely high quality units that perform very specific tasks in the overall chain.The most important tool however is and will always be the attention to detail through years of experience and critical listening. Equipment used at this stage today is very relative to what is being achieved through the process itself. The aspects that are of prime importance through mastering are he conversion of audio information from analog to digital domains, the consisten t but not squashed dynamic range, equalization and balance of the songs with respect to each other and the intricately combined amplification done using consoles, compressors and limiters.Acoustics: Mastering is the last and final stage between the product and its dispatch for replication and distribution. This is where the sonic fidelity of the album or any other work is Judged technically to suite the various listening conditions and environments that audiences consume music in. Acoustics is amongst the most important tools to chieving a neutral space where the engineer can fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the pre master. Monitors: Reference monitoring systems for mastering plants are very different from the ones used in the mixing and play back stages.Monitoring systems for mastering rooms can be two way or three way systems that divide the trequency ranges to separate drivers so that they are individually emphasized to then pay special attention to. Plants usuall y run two or three sets of references. Adam audio, Barefoot sound and Earthworks are some of the biggest names in Audio reference monitors for astering. Amplification: Amplification is an important stage in the mastering chain and is integral to driving the sound clean and transparent through and out of the monitors.Another reason for amplification is to have a palette of colors to pass the audio through. There are usually at least two different amplification systems in a mastering plant. Console: The console is the heart of the mastering chain where everything comes together. It is the Hub for the audio that is passing through the outboard equipment, convertors and the DAW. Manley, TK Audio and Maselec are highly renowned mastering console anufacturers. DAW: DAWS are the software environments within which the Audio is contained and worked with.There is a wide variety of programs that specialize in different need of the mastering process, For example – Pro tools HD, DDP creat or Pro, Sequoia. EQ's: Equalization is the process of treating specific ranges of the audio to strike a smooth balance that will translate the music onto systems that may not always reproduce the entire spectrum from 20Hz to 20KHz such as earphones and car audio systems. Buzz Audio, Prism Sound and GML are amongst the biggest names for EQ's with regards toDynamics processors: Dynamic range is an integral part of preparing music and audio to a level of industry standard distribution. These processors are categorized into Compressors, Limiters, Exciters, Expanders and Gates. They are used to gradually make the audio translate with a benchmark RMS and Peak level that varies in ratio across music, film, television and radio broadcast. Manley, Cranesong, API and Tubetech make extremely high grade Hardware Dynamics processors for mastering. Convertors: Convertors are arguably the most important tools in the mastering chain today.The amount ot media that is generated completely in the digi tal domain is significantly huge. Converting this information to analog in order to be processed and worked with requires precision based high quality convertor components that can be very expensive. The conversion process also plays a huge factor in converting analog to digital considering the fundamental differences that exist between them such as hardware circuitry and software coding. Lavry Engineering and Apogee is at the forefront of building high quality convertors for mastering. Digital Processors:An integral part of todays Mixing and Mastering is Digital Signal Processing. The tools available for use within a computer are much more cost effective and pretty close to replicating the results of analog gear and circuitry. The biggest names that have been developing the tools of this digital era are Universal Audio, Waves and McDSP, using modern technology and specifically designed chipsets to treat audio without losing its fidelity. Conclusion: The art of Mastering as a discip line was first considered to be a technical process within the larger process of making a record.Over the decades this art form came to recognition when its artistic impact was noticed by people from the industry such as the artist and producers themselves. This brought about the Mastering Plant Revolution. The skill set and aesthetic value brought into the production process by mastering engineers have grown to be invaluable in this day and age of digital distribution. It is through this evolution across almost five decades that todays mastering studio serves as the last and final stage of technical and artistic quality control for most recorded media. References: Aud, R. (n. d. ).http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/resourceDetail/109.htmlhttp://www.recordingmag.com/resources.htmlhttp://www.macmusic.org/articles/view.php/lang/en/id/91/The-Practice-of-Mastering-1-Historyhttp://www.mixonline.com/news/profiles/issues-modern-mastering/365757http://www.mixonline.com/news/recordinghttp ://www.mixonline.com/

Tikal

With its plethora of palaces, altars, shrines, and soaring temples, Tikal may be the premier Maya site. For over 1,100 years, the Maya built here, expanding the site until it covered an area of 25 square miles. In its heyday, the city may have had 100,000 residents, and it was ruled by a single dynasty of over 39 successive rulers. The heart of the site is the Great Plaza, which is surrounded by the Central Acropolis, the North Acropolis, and Temples I and II.In the North Acropolis alone, 100 buildings lie piled atop one another. Temple I is 145 feet tall, but it is dwarfed by Temple IV. At 212 feet, Temple IV, built around A. D. 741, is the tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Western Hemisphere. Champey is located 11km to the south of Lanquin, in a valley with steep walls, surrounded by tropical humid forest. There is a 300m long limestone bridge, on top of which there are several natural pools of different sizes, filled with crystalline mountain spring water.The pools are 3-14 f t. deep. Underneath the bridge is the Cahabon River. At the end of the bridge, the water from the pools falls rejoining the river, forming a 40ft waterfall. The color of the water changes during the year depending on the season, sun and other natural factors, making for unique picture-taking opportunities. It is a beautiful place, often called idyllic. Copan is located in northern Honduras. The first descriptions of Copan appeared in a letter to King Philip II of Spain dated March 8, 1576.Home to the longest text in Precolumbian America, the stairway provides a history of Copan written in stone. More than 2,200 blocks rise from steps that recorded the history of the 16th ruler Yax K’uk Mo’. Carved out of greenish andesite makes this even more fascinating. Alter Q shows Yax K’uk Mo’ transferring power to the final ruler of Copan, Yax Pac. During Holly Week, Antigua Guatemala hosts the most beautiful religious celebration in the America, when huge processio ns wind their way through the town’s streets.The Spanish Colonial style permeates every part of the town: its houses, churches, squares, parks and ruins, also its traditions and folklore as well Copan Ruinas, a small and beautiful town just a few minutes from the Copan Mayan Ruins. It is a peaceful town that offers you all basic services you need to make your visit an enjoyable experience, such as hotels, restaurants, museums, handicrafts, and many other amenities. Just a few minutes away, the Copan Archaelogical Park, declared by UNESCO a Patrimony to Humanity, is waiting for you.Copan Ruinas is located on the Western side of Honduras, very near the border with Guatemala. It is only 12 km from the border crossing point of El Florido, and about 240 km from Guatemala City and 160 km from San Pedro Sula, which is the main Honduran gateway into Copan. http://www. semucchampey. com/en/semuc-champey. html https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt. html http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/maya/media/copa_01_q. html http://www. lonelyplanet. com/guatemala/practical-information/money-costs http://mayaruins. com/yucmap. html

Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are all reflections on each other Essay

â€Å"The world is a looking glass. † This synecdochic statement of 19th century English novelist, William Makepeace Thackeray, encapsulates the idea of reflections of ourselves being evident all around us in different aspects of the world. Whether in the words, actions or attitudes of others, we tend to see something of ourselves. Shakespeare employs this theme of reflection in his works such as in Antony and Cleopatra where Caesar recognises that Antony is, as stated by Maecenas, â€Å"a spacious mirror set before him† and this reflects to Caesar both the dimensions of he and his fellow triumvir, leading Caesar to the realisation that the world is not big enough for the two of them as can be interpreted from â€Å"†¦ we could not stall together/ In the whole world. † Reflection is thus a recurrent motif in Shakespeare’s works, and is a key issue which arises in the course of the play Hamlet. Hamlet is a play which involves a lot of reflection and mirroring in various ways. One of the most notable is the ‘play within a play’ or ‘The Mousetrap’ which mirrors the relationship King Hamlet had with Gertrude as well as the manner in which King Hamlet was murdered. Hamlet himself sees performance as a way of reflecting inner corruption; holding â€Å"the mirror up to nature. † The idea of mirroring or doubling can further be seen in Shakespeare’s use of literary techniques like hendiadys such as in Hamlet’s reflective ‘To be, or not to be’ soliloquy where he says, ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ and ‘whips and scorns of time’ or later in the play where Hamlet says to Horatio, â€Å"Fortune’s buffets and rewards. † Shakespeare’s use of hendiadys helps to place emphasis on the message he is trying to get across as the words mirror each other and act as a sort of parallelism, creating a balance in the phrases. But even more notable in the play with regards reflection, is the manner in which the characters of Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras reflect on each other. These three characters are all young men who, at some point, have lost or will lose a father. Hamlet has returned to Denmark from school in Wittenberg to mourn his father’s death and is so much in grief that he says, â€Å"How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable/ Seem to me all the uses of this world! † The use of lists and exclamation marks emphasises the extent of his grief and make us sympathise with him. Young Fortinbras has also lost his father, Fortinbras, as we come to know from Horatio’s speech that King Hamlet â€Å"Did slay this Fortinbras. † Laertes, in the course of the play, also returns from France to Denmark to find that his father, Polonius has been killed. They thus reflect on themselves in that they have all lost their fathers, but furthermore in that they all seek to avenge the deaths of their fathers. Hamlet is charged by the ghost of King Hamlet to â€Å"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder! † The exclamation mark and use of striking adjectives highlight that this is an order, a duty which Hamlet has to carry out, and he expresses his feelings about this in the heroic couplet, â€Å"The time is out of joint: O cursi d spite,/ That ever I was born to set it right. † Fortinbras, likewise, is seeking to avenge the death of his father, King Fortinbras of Norway by regaining the land lost by his father in war, and waging war on Denmark. When Hamlet sees Fortinbras leading his army through Denmark to Poland, he draws parallels between his cause and that of Fortinbras. Similarly, Laertes, on finding out about his father’s death, declares, â€Å"I’ll be revenged/ Most throughly for my father. † Hamlet recognises the similarity between his cause and that of Laertes and states later on in the play, â€Å"For by the image of my cause, I see the portraiture of his. † However, it is open to interpretation whether or not Hamlet was referring to revenge as his ’cause’, for as Philip Edward argues, Harold Jenkins points out that Hamlet simply does not recognise himself as a proposed victim of Laertes’ revenge, and thus Hamlet simply meant, when he made that statement, that as a son grieving his father, he should have realised that grief makes one act strangely. Nevertheless, Hamlet does recognise an aspect of himself reflected in that of Laertes. Thus, Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras all seek to avenge the death of their fathers, but they each work towards this end with varying methods. Whilst Hamlet is the vacillating, hesitant one searching for proof and taking his time, and Fortinbras is the calculating but quick-acting, resolute one, Laertes is the more aggressive typical revenge hero. Hamlet spends so much time dithering and searching for proof that the ghost has to reappear to â€Å"whet thy almost blunted purpose. † The use of words associated with knives or daggers, that is ‘whet’ and ‘blunted’, remind us that Hamlet’s purpose is to kill to avenge his father, rather than his inactivity. Hamlet says of Fortinbras, on the other hand, that his â€Å"spirit is with divine ambition puffed† and thus he is able to lead the Norwegian army to fight over a ‘little patch of ground’. Laertes’ brutal, aggressive approach can be seen not only in the way he breaks into the Danish palace to confront Claudius over his father’s death but also how he says of Hamlet that he would â€Å"cut his throat I’th’church† The aggressiveness in this statement is emphasised by the use of alliteration in ‘throat’ and ‘th’church’. Thus, their varying methods are comparable, so that we can identify from one to the other the preferred path or more successful path to have taken. Whilst Laertes and Fortinbras are thus more typical Aristotelian tragic heroes, in that they have ‘consistency’ as once their personality and motivations are established, they continue throughout the play. Hamlet, on the other hand, falls short of this as he dithers and almost loses sight of his goal. This sheds light on a reason for which Shakespeare appears to have made use of reflections in his work- that of revealing shortcomings. Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras reflect on each other in such a manner that they highlight the shortcomings of each other. As Shakespeare states in his Sonnet 77, â€Å"Thy glass will show thee how thy beauties wear. † The whole idea is that our reflections make us more aware of our flaws, and this can be seen where Hamlet, having seen Fortinbras march his army through Denmark, says, â€Å"How all occasions do inform against me,/ And spur my dull revenge! † He is reminded, by the reflection of his cause in that of Fortinbras, that whilst Fortinbras is active and resolute, his revenge is ‘dull’. This idea of reflections showing our flaws or shortcomings is also employed by Shakespeare in Richard 11 where the deposed king hopes to see his sorrows etched in his reflection and states, â€Å"Give me that glass, and therein will I read. /No deeper wrinkles yet? † The alliteration in ‘give’ and ‘glass’ as well as the use of rhetorical question help to highlight the king’s desperation to see his sorrows in his reflection. Reflections also act, in Shakespeare, as a trigger or a call to action. When Hamlet sees Fortinbras and his army, it ‘spurs’ his revenge so that he is led to say in a rhyming couplet, â€Å"Oh from this time forth,/ My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth. † His use of the graphic adjective ‘bloody’ emphasises his resolution and is rather reminiscent of the sort of decisiveness that we would expect from a typical revenge hero. Furthermore, when Hamlet sees ‘the portraiture’ of Laertes’ cause in the image of his, he is led to regret his outburst to Laertes at their battle at Ophelia’s grave and to ‘court’ Laertes’ ‘favours’. Ophelia, in the course of the play, refers to Hamlet metaphorically as â€Å"The glass of fashion. † He appears to have been the reflection of what noblemen should be; the one to be emulated. All noblemen in Hamlet’s Denmark, like the society of Shakespeare’s England, were expected to remark and imitate the manners of the prince. Thus, we can understand why Hamlet is, in the words of Claudius, ‘loved of the distracted multitude’ and why Fortinbras speaks of him so highly. Nevertheless, following his act of madness and outburst at Ophelia, Ophelia mourns that this noble mind, this ‘glass of fashion,’ is ‘quite, quite down! † The repetition of ‘quite’ relays to us how greatly Hamlet has changed from the reflection of nobility that he used to be. It is also interesting to note that Hamlet sees a reflection of his cause in that of Fortinbras and Laertes towards the end of the play in a form of anagnorisis. However, at the start of the play, he seems deeply sceptical about the ability of anything to reflect him truly. According to Philippa Kelly, he mocks verbal and physical display as having the incapacity to ‘denote me truly’. In his mocking summation of Laertes even in the final act of the play, he appears sure that nothing and no one could reflect Laertes â€Å"he his semblable is his mirror, and who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more. † His argument is that words fall short of describing Laertes’ greatness, but earlier on we know that he has declared that he sees a reflection of his cause in that of Laertes. Thus, although Hamlet, ab initio, comes across as one who feels that nothing can reflect him, nothing can denote him truly or body him forth as would the dissection of his organs, he comes to realise that reflections are indeed everywhere as can be interpreted from William Thackeray’s statement, â€Å"The world is a looking glass. † In the actions, words, causes and attitudes of others, particularly Laertes and Fortinbras, he sees a reflection of his own self and is, from these reflections, made aware of his shortcomings and spurred to action in eventually avenging the death of his father.