Americas Equality is our Shared Reality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Americas Equality is our Shared Reality - Essay Example Without these equalities, there could be no freedom. Fuchs clarifies the unique relationship we have with freedom and equality when he testifies, "Liberty was grounded in what they called the equality of every person under God, a belief asserted in the Declaration of Independence". Equality is not a myth; it is an idea and concept that our law, culture, and freedom is rooted in. It is a reality that we continue to struggle to attain and vigilantly guard to preserve as much today as we did in 1776. Jefferson's immortal words, "all men are created equal", were meant to be an ideal to aspire to, and that ideal is as real today as it was then. They were not stated as an accurate reflection of the current state of affairs in 1776. Jefferson did not imply that there was absolute equality and that all men would forever be treated fairly. He was keenly aware of the injustices facing the infant Nation as well as he understood the long road that lie ahead towards true liberty. Jefferson, a slaveholder all his life, was against the institution of slavery and looked forward to the day of its abolishment. As if looking into the future with crystal clear vision, Jefferson understood the grave issues at stake for America and the looming threat of violence and destruction if the people failed to accept his words. Writing of the necessity of a movement toward eventual emancipation, he writes in his Autobiography, in the year 1820, It was found that the public mind would not yet bear the proposition, nor will it bear it even at this day. Yet the day is not distant when it must bear and adopt it, or worse will follow. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free []. The reality of Jefferson's notion of equality is further evidenced by the slow, yet steady, progress America has made towards these concepts. When drastically altering our culture, laws, and society, change must necessarily proceed at a deliberate pace. While for many change has not come quick enough, we can view America's commitment to Jefferson's words and the reality of the idea by comparing 1776 to today. When the Declaration of Independence was written, there was an entrenched system of slavery that affected a single race. Women were not allowed to own property and only a minority of the population were allowed to vote. The issue of the displaced Native Americans still loomed in the future. Sixty years after the revolution for equality, women were granted the right to own property. Every generation since then has seen more equality affecting more people than their parents had witnessed. The next generation saw these immortal words reaffirmed at Gettysburg, P.A., when Lincoln proclaimed that America was, "[] conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". Equality was no myth to Lincoln as he tackled the difficult task of freeing the slaves and playing out the prediction that Jefferson had made forty years earlier. Ensuing years would be graced with the monumental Fourteenth Amendment, which once again framed Jefferson's words as it reads, "[] nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal

Human Genome Project Essay Example for Free

Human Genome Project Essay One of the most challenging questions that have been left unanswered to this date is that regarding human evolution and geography. From the sociological point of view, it has long been known that specific populations can be differentiated from each other based on their religious backgrounds. On the other hand, forensic science employs language in grouping human population. In the field of human genetics, there is currently credible information that facilitates the understanding of how the entire human population evolved through time. The recent completion of the Human Genome Project resulted in the generation of the actual deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence of a human cell, with the hope that every disease could be associated to a particular gene in the sequence. Alongside this discovery, other genetic features have been uncovered in the DNA sequence, including small nucleotide polymorphisms which serve as signatures to specific biological phenomenon. In Olson’s chapter entitled â€Å"God’s people: A genetic history of the Jews,† the evolution of this population was described in terms of selection, environmental factors, adaptation and migration (Olson 107). The chapter supported this description with reports generated from haplotype reconstruction and tracing of Aaron’s Y chromosome. Through DNA sequencing analyses, it is now possible to reconstruct the origins and migrations of specific populations based on the presence or absence of genetic markers in the human genome sequence. The most interesting part of the chapter is that genetic changes in the Samaritan population can be correlated to their historical account, including the time when these individuals were under persecution by the Roman government. This historical event resulted in a significant decrease in their population size. In response to the change in population size, the Samaritans underwent what is genetically termed inbreeding, which is simply the action of consanguinity. Despite common notions that consanguinity results in serious health risks, this population survived through thousands of years. One major observation among the Samaritans is that these individuals physically appear similar and this is mainly due to inbreeding. Interestingly, the expected medical diseases that are commonly brought about by intermarriages did not develop in the next generations and this may be due to the selection against these defective genotypes. Another process that could be associated with this scenario is the bottleneck effect, which selectively retains the beneficial genes to the next generation. Today, it has been estimated that approximately 13 million Jews are living in the Middle East. The contemporary Jews are technically grouped into Ashkenazi or non-Ashkenazi, based on their ancestry through regions around Europe. These individuals are a good population to follow in terms of genetic history, since this population carries a natural history of migration and evolution through time. The non-Ashkenazi Jews are considered as the highly migratory subpopulation, resulting in a diverse culture. On the other hand, the Ashkenazi Jews generally remained in the same region, thus preserving their genetic makeup. This geographical history thus resulted in the identification of specific genetic mutations and diseases that are inherently observed among members of this population. The chapter also attempted to describe the effect of founding mutations, which are initial mutations that have occurred early in time during the migratory and settling era of the population. The subsequent generations of this population resulted in the presence of the same diseases and mutations, the most possible explanation for this is that these formerly de novo mutations have been fixed in the genome sequence of the offspring. It should be understood that genetic mutations occur in germ cells, as well as in somatic cells, and these have the propensity to be passed on to the next generation through the genetic laws of independent assortment and segregation. The analysis of sequences derived from mitochondrial DNA have also revealed that the founder mutations reported among the Jews were transmitted through a matrilineal route (Behar 2062). Using mitochondrial DNA tracking, genetic analysis can generate estimations of the time of fixation of a specific genetic mutation in this population. The continuous geographical changes of the members of this population further exert its impact on the genetic fixation and phenotypic frequencies of these mutations, resulting in the current genetic conditions of this group. The genetic pool of the Jews thus reflects a microenvironment wherein genetic changes, alongside environmental effects and migration could be correlated with each other. There is still great debate with regards to the genetic history of the Jews. As Olson has indeed mentioned in his writing, all human beings are similar in the genetics aspect and being a Jew is simply based on how an individual feels about himself. This maybe true, yet in time there will still be more information that will be gathered from genetic assays on different populations around the world. The current information that has been established is that there are three founding mutations that have been identified in the Jews and each mutation reflects the origin or migratory pattern of each subgroup. However, the exact direction or genetic drift of each migratory pattern still needs to be further investigated. There is a need for a comprehensive genotyping of more individuals of each human population in order to fully understand the historical, as well as geographical account of human evolution and speciation. Each existing population must have been derived from an original group of individuals that existed in time. 2. The article entitled, â€Å"Jewish legacy inscribed on genes† authored by Karen Kaplan describes the account of Gregory Cochran regarding the genes of Jewish individuals (Kaplan 3). One of his claims is that Ashkenazi Jews are more prone to serious medical disorders due to the common mutations that afflict this specific population. One of the highly publicized medical disorders that commonly occur among Ashkenazi Jews is Tay-Sachs disease, a neurological childhood condition that leaves an individual disabled and complications result in difficulty of these individual’s to lead normal lives. Another common genetic disorder affecting Jews is Canavan disease, which involves the deterioration of the brain tissues, resulting in both morbidity and mortality in young Ashkenazi Jewish children. Niemann-Pick disease is another serious medical condition that is often reported among this specific human population and this disease is associated with the significant accumulation of fats in the particular organs such as the brain. Unfortunately, these aforementioned medical disorders result in mortality of an Ashkenazi Jew at a very young age. Another medical disorder that occurs frequently among Ashkenazi Jews is torsion dystonia, which is a movement disorder that involves changes in the tissue consistency of the brain. The accumulation of plaques in the brain results in the involuntary jerking and twisting of parts or even the entire body of the afflicted individual. Cochran claims that these common medical disorders affect Ashkenazi Jews in particular through a specific genetic makeup that still has yet to be uncovered. It is also of interest to know that these common disorders are of neurological origin, which means that the central nervous system of an individual is affected. Thus, these disorders can either affect the brain, the spinal cord, or any of the smaller neural cells that are connected or associated with the nervous system. In order for the public to better understand his claim, Cochran even compared this association to that of sickle cell anemia, which is a severe blood disorder that is commonly observed among African Americans. This genetic blood disorder results in the difficulty to transport oxygen to the rest of the parts of the body, as the red blood cells are distorted in shape, from the normal ovoid shape to that similar to a sickle. Comprehensive scientific research has established that a specific mutation is responsible for the generation of a sickle cell-shaped red blood cell, which in turn is commonly present in individuals of African American descent. Another claim of Gregory Cochran is that despite such serious medical disorders that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, a positive observation is also significantly present in this human population. Cochran claimed that Ashkenazi Jews are highly intelligent, as shown by intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of children of this ethnicity. He thus proposed that the predisposition of Ashkenazi Jews to mutations in gene associated with brain conditions also results in a high level of intelligence. Kaplan’s article further supports Cochran’s claim of intelligence and gene mutations with the historical accounts of how Jews lives through the centuries. The activities mainly involved migration, trading and other forms of business, all of which were highly successful. Kaplan supported Cochran’s claim by saying that these business transactions can only survive if the individuals involved were highly intelligent and since most of the activities were led by Ashkenazi Jews, then it is also likely that the intelligence â€Å"phenomenon† may have existed early on. Unfortunately, the claims of Cochran still need to be tested on a large population of Ashkenazi Jews before this can be proven and accepted. As Kaplan accounts in her Los Angeles Times article, the report of Cochran was an outright reject in the first journal that he and his collaborator, Harpending, submitted to. However, another journal that supports theories without substantial experimental evidence, Journal of Biosocial Science, published their claim. The claim of high intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews needs to undergo comprehensive investigation first before it can be fully accepted in the field of science. Similar to the genetic establishment of the neurological diseases that commonly affect Ashkenazi Jews, this claim was further strengthened after several years of scientific research in genetic laboratories. Patients positively diagnosed with the neurological disease were checked with regards to other clinical features. In addition, their DNA was extracted and the specific genes responsible for generating the disease were sequenced. In case a DNA mutation was identified in the genes, these were compared to other patients’ DNA sequences. Any other common features among thousands of patients were correlated and compared, thus resulting in what has now been established as a predisposition of the disease in this human population. It is thus important that the same meticulous type of investigation be conducted with regards to intelligence. However, the search for the answer to this claim may be more difficult because intelligence has been established to be influence by several factors. Scientists and psychologists have earlier established that the multi-factorial origin of intelligence makes any effort in tracing the source of intelligence to be ultimately difficult. Intelligence can not simply be generated through the genes because environmental factors can also affect an individual’s condition, including his mental state. There are a number of twin studies that have been conducted for several decades that employ the procedure of separating each of the twins are bringing each individual up in a different environment. Since the genetic makeup of twins is entirely the same, then any claims on intelligence genes can be validated in such experimental conditions. Unfortunately, twin studies have proven that a child who was brought up in an environment filled with violence and anger tend to be poorly developed in intelligence. On the other hand, the twin sibling who was raised in an environment that was filled with love and support grew up into a very intelligent and mature individual. It is thus difficult to prove Cochran’s claim that Ashkenazi Jews are far more intelligent than other human populations, because there are so many factors to consider before one can claim that a specific entity influences that state of thinking. Another issue that would emanate from such claim is that other cultures and ethnicities would perceive such proposal as a form of discrimination or indifference to other human populations. Claiming or even proving that a certain human population is highly intelligent does not help in the global cooperation between countries. In addition, the establishment of this claim will not save lives, just like the other efforts that employ genetic technologies in screening for specific mutations that would tie a particular phenotype to a particular genetic sequence. Proving the high levels of intelligence among Ashkenazi Jews will only spark anger and outrage from other cultures. It is thus good that Cochran feels that there is no need to prove his claim through the use of experimental evidence. It would also be safe and for the best of the rest of the world to leave Cochran along with his claim and let other people speculate on his unsupported claim. The application of genetic analysis on human population has been regarded as a novel and revolutionary addition to the methods in studying human evolution and speciation. The information that can be generated by this technology can be very sensitive and effective, yet there is still a need to employ human intervention and compassion with regards to which specific questions need to be addressed. Genetic analysis in connection to medical disorders can be very helpful in diagnostics and treatment, as well as for saving lives, but genetic screening other social factors such as intelligence will only spark bias among individuals around the world. Works Cited Behar, D. M., Metspalu, E. , Kivisild, T. , Rosset, S. , Tzur, S. , Hadid, Y. , Yudkovsky, G. , Rosengarten, D. , Pereira, L. , Amorim, A. , Kutuev, I. , Gurwitz, D. , Bonne-Tamir, B. , Villems, R. and Skorecki, K. â€Å"Counting the Founders: The Matrilineal Genetic Ancestry of the Jewish Diaspora. † PLoS ONE 3 (2008): 2062-2087. Kaplan, K. â€Å"Jewish Legacy Inscribed on Genes? † Los Angeles Times 18 April 2009. Olson, S. Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins. San Francisco: Harcourt Publishers, 2003.

The Scarlett Letter Review :: essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter is a movie that has changed many times and in this summary I will try to stick to this one movie, even though I may compare it to the novel. As you already know, The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne dealing with the times of the Salem witch trials and puritan life. It is said that Hawthorne was very focused on these times because he felt guilty because his ancestors sent many men and women through various trails including burning and drowning them. Hawthorne is a great writer and one of my personal favorites, he writes in such a way that a vision is formed in your mind and he shows the feelings of those in his stories, real or imagined.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For preset the movie is told from Pearl’s eyes as if looking back on the lover her mother and father shared and their trials to be together. It begins with Mistress Hester Prin coming to the colonies without her husband, which many viewed as odd anyway. Hester finds her a nice cottage on the coast and precedes to buy help and live fairly normal. Many look down on her because she is alone and they expect something terrible of her. There is a group of women that take her in because they too are shunned from society, this group includes Harriet, she is very helpful and friendly to Hester throughout the movie. One day while Hester is gardening she sees a red bird and follows it to where she sees a young man swimming in the nude. On the Sabbath on her way to church her carriage gets stuck in the mud, and the nude swimmer helps her and admits that he has been trespassing on her property. The two get to town and he disappears before she can get his name. Then she enters and sits and he enters the pulpit. After the service they are properly introduced and he finds out that she is married. You can see in his eyes that this truly hurts him especially since many, many women introduce her to him as Mrs. Roger Prin. The two a obviously very intrigued with each other and eventually their passion is freed on a chance meeting. Hester then realizes she is pregnant and one of the ladies that also joins her at Harriet’s told the elders, because she had saw Hester throw up in the morning hours. Hester refused to reveal the father and lie in prison until her child was born. Rev.

Teenagers and Use of Contraceptives

Teen pregnancy has been a great issue that has been widely discussed about and seen to increase in the United States. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy one-third of girls in the US get pregnant at least once by the age of 20 and most of the pregnancies are unplanned (2011). Teen pregnancies have been increasing due to the fact that teens are not using contraceptives to prevent any pregnancies and society does not do a good job on informing teens of the importance of contraceptives and protecting themselves when they engage in sexual activity, especially at a young age.Psychological and socio-economical issues can also play a role in teen pregnancy, some girls decide to intentionally get pregnant because of their low self esteem, not having any goals for the future, having problems at home or even if their mother or sister were teen mothers. Teens should have more knowledge on protection and the importance of contraceptives because not only can it prevent pregnancies but also prevent sexually transmitted diseases.As previously mentioned teen pregnancies are at a high once again and teens who engage in sexual activity do not use the proper forms of protection and society does not highlight the importance of birth control. Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy stated that the magic formula for the decline of teen pregnancy is having less sex or using more contraceptives (PR Newswire). Most teens are unaware of the importance of having protected sex it can change their life dramatically. Half of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned–about three million each year (NCPTUP).Unplanned pregnancies result from unprotected sex; therefore, the use of birth control should be highly motivated in order to prevent any pregnancies. In their public opinion survey the NCPTUP concluded that 46% of teens wished young people were getting more information about abstinence and contraception. Rekha Daver, professor of gynecology at the grant Medical School in JJ Hospital states that there needs to be more reproductive health education among children to teach them about safe sex and proper methods of contraception.Teens should be taught at a younger age to think about their future and how being pregnant can transform and affect their whole life, as well as teaching them the value of safe sex and what can be taken to prevent unwanted pregnancies or abortions. More health education in schools should be emphasized to acknowledge students the risks of becoming teen parents and the importance of preventing pregnancies by the use of birth control. Teens should have easy access to these contraceptives in order to protect themselves during sexual intercourse and should not be ashamed to seek these resources since it is for their well-being.The media can play a prominent figure in teen pregnancy and the use of contraceptives; it has its positives and negative outlooks on it. Many people are skeptical about TV series that are popular among adolescents because some believe that it teaches them to practice safe sex or not practice sex at all to prevent any unwanted pregnancies, but on the other hand some believe that it lionizes teen parents that are on shows like Teen Mom and it gives them a higher status since they are now popular and highly seen throughout the nation.Some teens may want to follow their footsteps and believe that if they become teen parents they might also become recognized like the teen moms on the show. Another TV series that is very popular and seen among teens is The Secret Life of an American Teenager, it informs the audience how not using protection during sex can cause a serious life changing effect and becoming a teen parent is followed by many psychological, socio-economic and social issues such as becoming alienated from friends, not being able to financially sustain and care for a baby and believing that others think they are infer ior now that they have had a baby.In a poll conducted by the National Campaign to prevent pregnancies concluded that seven in ten young adults between the ages of 18-29 would support a campaign that would educate women and teens about all the birth control that can be accessed (2011). Many people support the use of the media to educate young teens the importance of protection and the wide range of birth control that can be used in order to prevent pregnancies, this will help decrease the high rate of teen pregnancies in the future. It also highlights the significance of using protection to prevent any further health risks such as sexually transmitted diseases.Each year, approximately three million cases of sexually transmitted diseases occur among teenagers according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Not only does protection prevent pregnancies but it protects the health by preventing the transmission of sexual diseases among partners; according to the mentioned statist ic, many teens are becoming victims of these diseases and most of the teens could have prevented this by using a condom, but most teens are not informed how to prevent these diseases so it is very important for them to become educated on the topic in order to decrease the rate of sexually transmitted diseases.Another factor that plays a prominent role in teen pregnancy and knowledge of birth control comes from the teen’s psychological issues and how their parents raise them. Some teens may face difficult issues at home or at school and feel depressed and alone, some may have a low self-esteem and do not have a set goal for their future. Andrea Parrot, a Cornell women’s health and human sexuality expert said that girls intentionally get pregnant because they do not see any life goals in their future other than becoming a mother.She also mentions that teens do not have anything to strive for and have no one to look up to for admiration or affection so they believe that a baby may be a source to receive unconditional love. Parrot believes that more programs that would help young girls acquire skills to achieve life goals, increase their self esteem, relationship with family and education on sex and protection would dramatically decrease teen pregnancy; although, these programs should be more effective if it targets girls at an early age in order for them to be informed at a younger age and not commit these mistakes later on in their life.The way the teen was raised also is important because teens who were raised in a single parent household are often left to learn life lessons and sex on their own or through peers, and a teen whose mother was a teen mother or whose sister was a teen parent as well, is more likely to become a teen parent themselves. Parents influence their children’s decisions, so parents should inform their children more on safe sex and the importance of it.In a survey by The national Campaign states that 46% of teens say par ents influence their decision about sex, eight in ten teens say it would be much easier for teens to delay sexual activity if they were able to openly talk to their parents about sex, and six in ten teens agree that they do not use contraceptives because they fear that their parents will fond out. It is the parents’ responsibility to inform their teens about safe sex and contraceptives in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies at an early age and prevent diseases.Parents should be more open about the topic and feel comfortable to cover the issue with their children so their children can openly talk about sex with their parents. Teen pregnancy is a major issue in the US, psychological issues such as self esteem, sociological issues like relationship with peers and parents and social problems like society’s role on informing teens on sex and birth control play a prominent role in teen pregnancies.Informing teens at a younger age on the importance of safe sex and protectio n does not only decrease the rate of teen pregnancies but also decrease the rate of sexually transmitted diseases. Having a greater knowledge on sex education is the key factor for teens to make a dramatic decision in their lives to take precaution and think about their future before acting upon a simple consequence that can change their life such as not taking precaution.

The Negative Consequences of Deforestation

Earth without forests is a picture that most of human-kind presently could not conceive. Forests cover much of the planet†s land area. They are extremely important to humans and the natural world. However, deforestation has been consuming our forests. Deforestation brings about a lot of unexpected effects on the earth and results in many negative consequences. â€Å"If the current rate of deforestation continues, the world†s rain forests will vanish within 100 years-causing unknown effects on global climate and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet,† according to NASA†s Earth Observatory. Deforestation increases the greenhouse effect and accelerates global warming. It also causes erosion, and the silting of lakes or rivers is caused by soil erosion. The same source claims that deforestation is very hard to be stopped because â€Å"the causes of deforestation are very complex. † There are several reasons why this current trend exists. Deforestation occurs in many ways. People destroy or degrade forests because, for them, the benefits seem to outweigh the costs. Underlying causes include such issues as poverty, unequal land ownership, women†s status, education and the explosive growth of the population. Immediate causes are often concerned with a search for land and resources, including both commercial timber and fuelwood. One of the main indirect causes of deforestation is poverty, particularly poverty in rural areas. Although poverty is not a â€Å"principal cause† of deforestation, it is a living condition that the majority of people in this world must endure. While greed and power can be the motivations of some groups in society that deforest, survival and the desire to escape from poverty is what drives most people. Poverty is not only the socioeconomic environment that limits people†s economic options, damages health but also reduces income generating opportunities. It is an underlying condition that facilitates deforestation. There is some evidence from the industrialized countries of the North that suggests as societies become more economically secure they reach a point where the economic development pressures that drive deforestation are replaced by a growing environmental concern and a greater appreciation of environmental values. However, for most developing countries that point is off in the far distant future. Most tropical countries are very poor by U. S standards, and farming is a basic way of life for a large part of the population. According to NASA†s article, in Brazil, for example, â€Å"the average annual earnings per person is U. S. $5400, compared to $26,980 per person is the United States (World Bank, 1998)†, and in Bolivia, â€Å"which holds part of the Amazon rain forest, the average earnings per person is $800. † The rural poor have very few options. There are few prospects of off-farm employment in either the urban centers or the rural areas. Illiteracy further limits the options of many because they do not have the basic tools needed to pursue other economic alternatives to subsistence farming. With few alternatives available to them, the rural poor consider forests as a short-term solution to their economic problems. Deforestation happens as a result of poverty. More important than that, commercial logging is considered as the major direct cause of deforestation. NASA†s Earth Observatory asserts that â€Å"logging can occur selectively-where only the economically valuable species are cut or by clearcutting, where all the trees are cut. † The forces of large global markets for wood and wood products drive the scale of logging activities. Logging in the tropics does not in any way resemble scientific forestry and is often characterized by a â€Å"cut-and-get-out† mentality in logging companies. Forestry uses science and management skills to manipulate the natural vegetation to favor the long term production of a selected number of goods and services. In contrast, most tropical logging involves the short term exploitation of only industrial wood products with no eye to the future of the forests. The intensity of logging in Asia†s forests is much higher than in the forests found in America or Europe. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates: â€Å"About half the land area of South America and Europe is covered by forest, but only one-sixth of Asia's land is forested. † And â€Å"a study in Indonesia found that when only 3% of the trees were cut, a logging operation damaged 49% of the trees in the forest,† as the article from NASA has noted. In addition, at the national level, governments sell logging concessions to raise money for projects, to pay international debt, or to develop industry. The logging companies seek to harvest the forest and make profit from the sales of pulp and valuable hardwoods such as mahogany. They use heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders, to remove cut trees and build roads, â€Å"which is just as damaging to a forest overall as the chainsaws are to the individual trees,† according to the same source from NASA. Logging is done because of profits. Not only individual lumberjacks but also logging companies seek material advantage. Therefore, any country that does not have a suitable forest management will gain a higher level of deforestation by commercial logging. As we have seen, the causes of deforestation are very complex. Knowing the main indirect and direct causes help us improve our understanding of the causes and also the effects of climatic and environmental change, so that we may become more effective and efficient managers of our natural resources, as well as mitigate potential impacts from natural disasters.

Rousseau and the General Will †Government (300 Level Course)

Rousseau and the General Will – Government (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Rousseau and the General Will Government (300 Level Course) The general will is defined by Jean Jacque Rousseau as the common good of all of the people that live in the state. While this explanation of general will is vague, Rousseau does in fact delve deeper into a working definition of it by expressing its crucial role in the creation of a strong and fair government. Yet merely defining the term does not give justice to its meaning. One may ask where general will is indeed cultivated, in other words, from where did it come? Also, is it in fact necessary in a society to promote freedom to its people? These questions require a simple analysis of Rousseau’s work, which has had and will continue to have lasting impressions on modern political thought. For Rousseau, the general will is not just important, it is crucial for the existence of a strong and fair government. Though it is defined easily as the good of all, when instituted in the world it becomes much more than that. The general will therefore are the overall welfare of the whole (state) at any given time and the source of all governing laws. And while it pertains to all of the members of the state, that is where it stops, as it does not apply to those living outside of the lines of that society. Interestingly, it is not a tangible thing that can be grasped and unraveled, it is more of an evasive presence that is present always and acknowledged by those living with it and around it. In this way, Rousseau dodges a literal definition of general will. It must then exist more in the readers mind than in a physical sense. These characteristics suit the general will more appropriately. Knowing the meaning of the general will does not explain where the theory was cultivated. While the general will is implemented and adhered to by the government, it never really exists in their hands. It is the citizen’s actions together that create the existence of this will. Rousseau states that virtue is achieved through a combination of general will and particular will, still it seems as if at times the two overlap. Furthermore, it is stated that to will at all a citizen must be free and must will between public liberty and the authority of government. This would mean that the citizen find a happy medium somewhere between total freedom and the restrictions that government places upon their actions. Once the will is established it must be followed for there to be any hope of a popular and legitimate government existing. And in this government, the legislator, who makes the laws, must do so in a way that they reflect benefit to the general will and in any case where th e law may fail, the general will would be consulted for a quick resolution. The best for all in the state is the ultimate goal of the general will be both cultivated and implemented. This leads to the question of whether or not the state needs to adhere to this general will in order to promote freedom. Even after long deliberations no clear answer comes to mind for this perplexing question. It is clear that the general will is dependent on those that are free to create it, but that is not the question at hand. When thinking about promoting freedom, Rousseau clearly states that the general will is always on the side most favorable to the public interest, and it is known that general will exists as a pervasive force and that is a direct product of the individual and their thoughts and contributions to society as a whole. So it can be broken down even further so as to say what if there was no general will, if there is no concern for the good of all, or worse yet, no general good? Not only will the citizens run amok, but also the government could be in a position to impose limitations on its citizens and the state would resemble a dictatorship. Likewise, a situ ation could in fact arise in which the state does adhere to a Rousseauian general will, yet the people are constantly asking themselves to distinguish between good or bad, or even right and wrong. That would be a case in which the general will placed constraints on the people and thus they would not truly be experiencing freedom. Therefore both situations could easily exist and while it may be fair to say that many citizens that enjoy freedom were both assisting and enjoying the general will it does not guarantee freedom. So as no clear-cut answer arises immediately, by creating a scenario it can be deduced that the general will can produce freedom but a state does not have to adhere to the general will in order to assure it. Thus while the general will may have a number of meanings, the reader can interpret it as the common good of all. Not only can it be known as this common good, but also it is the source of laws and when those laws are not effective, the general will acts as the mediator that can settle any differences. The free citizens that have to execute it and place it somewhere between their own personal liberty and the authority of the government that rules them cultivate the will. And ultimately while it may lead to freedom of people a strict adherence to the general will may not automatically result in the enjoyable peace of all those citizens of the state. For that it seems that a balance is needed to create success in the general will. This balance must be somewhere between the private will and the general will of all those that live and work the state. That is what Rousseau meant by his general will. 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Making A New Deal essays

Making A New Deal essays Lizabeth Cohen wants to prove that Chicago workers created a working class during the depths of the Great Depression. Unfortunately, the means she chooses to prove her case do not completely convince me. In Cohens hefty Making a New Deal she posits a transition of Chicagoans from ethnic, employer-loyal workers in 1920s to members of a common culture who articulated a class consciousness in the 1930s. She asserts that workers needed to overcome ethnicity before they could realize class, but then backs away from this claim. In the end, Cohens ambivalence, the rosy picture she paints of the New Deal era, and her overemphasis of class consciousness all weaken the book. The books central theme holds that ethnicity had to be overcome if working-class unity was to be attained. Cohen plants seeds of theoretical discontent within this framework that undermine her basic argument. For instance, in Chapter 3, Encountering Mass Culture, Cohen argues that mass culture and consumption standardized American life in the 1920s. But then she retreats from this sweeping generalization, equivocating that the impact of mass culture depended on the social and economic contexts in which it developed and the manner in which it was experienced (101). Despite the prevalence of mass culture it did not make working-class Chicagoans feel any less Polish, Jewish, or black or any less of a worker (158). Yet Cohen shows that even as ethnic workers listened to radio programs and shopped at chain grocery stores that were not supposed to influence them (in Cohens opinion), they began to have more in common with their co-workers of different ethnicity and race (157). Either ethni city or class has to prevail here, and I am not sure Cohen knows which one she prefers. I admire Cohens effort to present a positive picture of ethnic and black cultures by presenting their resiliency, but she understa...

Spanish Adjectives of Quantity

Spanish Adjectives of Quantity Unless you can answer with numbers, to respond to questions like how many? youll probably need to use one of the Spanish adjectives of quantity. An example of an adjective of quantity in English is many in the phrase many dogs. The adjective comes before the noun and tells how many. It is the same in Spanish, muchos perros where muchos is the adjective of quantity. Like most other non-descriptive adjectives, adjectives of quantity usually come before the noun they refer to (just as in English), or they can come after a copulative verb. And like other adjectives, they must match the nouns they refer to in number and gender. Here are the most common adjectives of quantity with examples of how they are used: algà ºn, alguna, algunos, algunas- some, any- Alguna vez, voy al centro. (Some time, I will go downtown.) Pasaron algunos coches de policà ­a. (Some police cars passed.)  ¿Tienes algunos zapatos? (Do you have any shoes?) Nearly all the time, the English any in sentences such as the example is left untranslated into Spanish. For example, Are there any watermelons? becomes  ¿Hay sandà ­as?ambos, ambas- both- Ambas compaà ±Ãƒ ­as crearn una empresa internacional. (Both companies will create an international enterprise.)bastante, bastantes- enough, sufficient- En mi ciudad hay bastantes iglesias. (In my city there are enough churches.)mucho, mucha, muchos, muchas- much, many- Los medios de comunicacià ³n tienen mucho poder. (Communications media have much power.) Ella tiene muchos gatos. (She has many cats.)- Typically, this word is translated as much when singular and many when plural. In informal usage, you also can translate as a lot of.ningà ºn, ninguna- no- Ninguna persona ser atacada or ridiculizada. (No person will be attacked or ridiculed.) In Spanish, it is far less common to use ninguno or ninguna as an adjective than to use no as an adverb with the main verb, thus negating the entire sentence. Thus, I have no shoes would typically be stated as no tengo zapatos. poco, poca, pocos, pocas- small, little or slight; few- Hay poco pan. (There is little bread.) Hay pocas uvas. (There are a few grapes.)suficiente- enough, sufficient- Tenemos equipos suficientes para las inspecciones. (We have enough teams for the inspections.) Bastante is more frequently used than suficiente. Suficiente frequently follows the noun.tanto, tanta, tantos, tantas- so much, so many- Jams habà ­a comido tanto queso. (He had never eaten so much cheese.) En Amà ©rica Latina nunca han existido tantos pobres como ahora. (In Latin America there never have existed so many poor people as now.)todo, toda, todos, todas- each, every, all- Todo americano lo sabe. (Every American knows it.) Todos los perros van al cielo. (All dogs go to heaven.) Use of todo or toda in singular form as an adjective isnt particularly common. Todos or todas is quite often used in plural form before the definite article, as in the example.unos, unas- some- Unos gatos son mejores cazadores que otros. ( Some cats are better hunters than others.) varios, varias- several- Javier tenà ­a varios coches. (Javier had several cars.) Note that many of these adjectives are frequently used as other parts of speech, especially pronouns and adverbs. For example, poco can also function as an adverb meaning not. For example: Es poco inteligente. (Shes unintelligent.) Sample Sentences Using Adjectives of Quantity Hemos reunido muchas firmas, pero no son bastantes para hacer la peticià ³n. (We have gathered many signatures, but they arent enough to make the petition valid.) Necesitamos observe lo que ningà ºn ojo puede ver. (We need to observe what no eye can see.)  ¿Tiene este hombre tantos amigos como enemigos? (Does this man have as many friends as enemies?) Los padres nuevos suelen preguntar si sus bebà ©s dormirn toda la noche alguna vez. (New parents keep on asking if their babies will sleep all night some time.)

PMI analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

PMI analysis - Essay Example Another negative thing I learnt is that life is filled with things that try to reduce our success. E.g. economic recession, business competition and sickness. Trust and cooperation are the most important things that leaders use to make their employees feel sale. Unfortunately, these are feelings, and not everyone has them. Simon gives a story of captain Williams, who ran through bullets in an ambush to save lives. It is not often that we meet people who are willing to endanger their lives to save others. It is interesting also to note that great leaders are always willing to sacrifice the numbers to save the people. As much as they are concerned about making profit they are equally concerned about the people under their leadership. Great leaders can also make people safe, and this improves overall productivity within the organization. Trust and cooperation are very important aspects that every employee should possess. However, trust and cooperation are not instructions but rather feelings. It will take the actions of a great leader to make people under his leadership feel safe and in turn wins their trust and

To what extent is the work of philosophers such as Popper, Kuhn, Essay

To what extent is the work of philosophers such as Popper, Kuhn, Lakatos and Feyerabend useful in forming a critical judgement o - Essay Example This is expected to happen due to the circumstances when the principles that were initially used to form the foundations of economics were built, and that many changes have already happened during the course of modernisation in the next two hundred years or so (Smelser & Swedberg, 2010). Also, the major rearrangement of economic ideas in the late 1930’s which was considered to be a â€Å"revolution† was not at all one in its entirety, and that it was only due to the proliferation of numerous competing schools of thought that eventually created the need to cull and select only those which are easily synthesized and revamped and can be used into the succeeding years, essentially recycling some ideas to suit the needs of modernity (Laidler, 1999). This kind of treatment to the field of economics created some unforeseen problems such as the difficulty of handling the rapidly-changing market trends, shifts and fluctuations between expected and actual economic growth, and the mismanagement of policies that were supposed to control fast price inflations, among others (England, 2000). The previously predictable thought patterns of most people have been replaced by the notion that due to the vast influx of ideas, various people might be thinking of different things and interests at any given time, which in turn counts for a greater variability in terms of anything that is beyond the basic necessities of everyday life (Roberts, Finnegan, & Gallie, 1985). As a result, market analyses today are much harder to handle not only due to the failure of the traditional rational choices that were initially able to predict consumer patterns, but also the changes that happen in the market trends that do not seem to repeat itself even after several decades (Smelser & Swedberg, 2010). These kinds of unpredictable results rose from the idea that economics can be treated in the same way as how most sciences are handled, and as a result forced economists to think like scien tists in a field that is more often than not as predictable as simple scientific inquiry, which in turn entails the need to change the way how economics must be tackled in the modern era (Keita, 1992). Many thinkers and philosophers were able to introduce new methods of thinking, as well as stating their own ideas and criticisms with regards to the validity and credibility of most scientific inquiry methods. However, some techniques of teaching and studying economics may not coincide with the scientific method, such as from deductive to inductive reasoning or the inverse of it, and problems could definitely arise if a field that mostly uses deductive reasoning such as economics is being dealt with in an inductive way, and this would not make any sense of the results, thus the standards of reliability become endlessly challenged, bringing about even more unexpected results (Blaug, 1980; Pheby, 1988). For example, if market trends were looked at in the same way as how the scientific m ethods work, then it is expected that consumers are highly predictable in terms of what they would prefer to do with their money, and even after ten years of observation things would still remain the same. While in the early days of the industrial revolution it may seem as though it is indeed easy to predict as to what items would be sellable within the season since there are only a few mass-produced items that the population could buy, nowadays due to various trends that seemingly change from a day to a month, this kind

Research Paper on Children Toys Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On Children Toys - Research Paper Example In addition to this the educator also needs to take into deliberation few factors while indulging in toy purchases. The factors in relation to the toys purchased for the children should entail aspects such as cost-effectiveness, ensuring creative prospects for the children along with the safety feature of such toys. While purchasing toys it a vigilant examination of the design of the toys needs to be conducted in order to ascertain the sharp and pointed corners which might harm the children. The children needs to be kept away from materials like knives, blades and other sorts of sharp materials as these might result in creating a sense of violence and power among the children (National Association for the Education of Young Children, â€Å"Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage†). There are a numbers of factors which requires to be considered while purchasing toys for the children among which few have been explained below: Children’s’ Age It is quite impor tant that the toys selected for the children must comply with their age and stage. It should also meet the basic safety requirements identified with regard to the children (National Association for the Education of Young Children, â€Å"Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage†). ... Safety Aspects Every parent needs to ensure increased cautiousness with regard to the safety needs of their children. Hence, the toys selected for their children must be non toxic in nature, well painted and should be completely non-harmful for the children (National Association for the Education of Young Children, â€Å"Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage†). Educational Aspects Toys selected for the children should entail characteristics for the purpose of enhancing and developing skills within the children such as promoting emotional and intellectual characteristics. The toys selected must serve dual functions by helping the children to learn and understand new things and also by serving the purpose of an object to play with thus, providing increased degree of fun to the children (National Association for the Education of Young Children, â€Å"Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage†). Part 2 Toys for Six to Twelve Months Old Children Usually the child ren of 6 to 12 months of age slowly move towards comprehending their surroundings. At this stage the babies are learnt to make attempts in order to stand by taking the support of furniture or such other things. For this particular age group toys such as dolls, wooden vehicles, water toys, musical toys and balls are considered to be quite appropriate. Dolls are the image of the human beings which are found to be available in different sizes, shapes and colors. These toys are believed to aid the children in comprehending the diverse form of emotions and along with triggering the development of certain skills. Wooden toys are found to be quite cheaper in comparison to the plastic toys. It also needs to be

Employee retention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee retention - Essay Example One of the first things a company can implement to retain employees is to offer benefits both tangible and intangible. According to the article â€Å"His job: helping employers hold on to their staff; High turnover can be costly. Consultant says its vital to offer respect, good pay, retirement plan† by Kasandra Kyle the most important thing that a potential employer can offer a new employee is good pay, respect and a retirement package . These benefits help make employees comfortable in their current position and will retain an employee sometimes even when another job offer with a more lucrative offer comes around. Another fringe benefit is the flexible work schedule. Although this is not practical in all cases, if it is at all possible it serves as an excellent retention strategy. Offering tangible and intangible benefits are essential, but it is imperative to work diligently to keep specialty trained staffers. The low turnover of maintaining skilled employees offers the benefits of low turnover and positions companies for growth. The author goes on to say that the cost of training specialty staffers can cost the company valuable time, enormous finances and slowed production (Kyle, 2008). Although it is important to offer workplace benefits at your larger companies, it is dire to offer those benefits at a small business. The article, â€Å"Workplace benefits are strategic in small business† states that recent study performed by MetLife’s annual Employee Benefits Trends study shows more than half (55%) of smaller employers, those with fewer than 500 employees say benefits play a very important role in employee retention. However, there is contradictory results as the study goes on to reveal that only 34% of workers at smaller employers say the benefits they receive are a very important reason to remain with their employer, versus 53% at larger firms. In addition, just 37% of employees at smaller corporations say they are

Accommodation Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accommodation Theory - Essay Example Accommodation theory suggests that every person in a given society has the ability to change or adjust their speech depending on the nature of the conversation, or the other person they are addressing and the purpose of the interaction. The changing of the speech patterns is a summary of how the accommodation theory works. For example, when native people talk to foreigners, they tend to speak more slowly or when adults talk with children and babies, they use simple language (Griffin, 2008). When put into context, it means that people accommodate others by adjusting their communicational behavior to match the level of those they are with, in a conversation. The results of accommodation are ultimately either divergence or convergence. As their names suggest, a convergence result is where a person moves their speech to be closer to that the other person’s. On the other hand, a divergence result is when the speech move away from each other. Convergence result allows the reduction of the social distance between the two conversing parties. It allows a person who is of a higher class to tone down their speech so that they can communicate effectively with the lower class person. On the contrary, the divergence resul t increases the distance between people. The divergence result emphasizes the differences that exist between people. The accommodation theory has many existing and available means by which it may be applied. Currently the accommodation theory is applied to many communication processes. Gasiorek and Howard (2013, 15) opines that in a company or an organization that has different levels of employees, the accommodation theory can be applied to aid the communication between the management and the employees. For instance, it is used for horizontal communication amongst the employees and in vertical communication between employees and senior management. To test this theory, Giles came up with several theories that served to test why people change

Employee retention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee retention - Essay Example One of the first things a company can implement to retain employees is to offer benefits both tangible and intangible. According to the article â€Å"His job: helping employers hold on to their staff; High turnover can be costly. Consultant says its vital to offer respect, good pay, retirement plan† by Kasandra Kyle the most important thing that a potential employer can offer a new employee is good pay, respect and a retirement package . These benefits help make employees comfortable in their current position and will retain an employee sometimes even when another job offer with a more lucrative offer comes around. Another fringe benefit is the flexible work schedule. Although this is not practical in all cases, if it is at all possible it serves as an excellent retention strategy. Offering tangible and intangible benefits are essential, but it is imperative to work diligently to keep specialty trained staffers. The low turnover of maintaining skilled employees offers the benefits of low turnover and positions companies for growth. The author goes on to say that the cost of training specialty staffers can cost the company valuable time, enormous finances and slowed production (Kyle, 2008). Although it is important to offer workplace benefits at your larger companies, it is dire to offer those benefits at a small business. The article, â€Å"Workplace benefits are strategic in small business† states that recent study performed by MetLife’s annual Employee Benefits Trends study shows more than half (55%) of smaller employers, those with fewer than 500 employees say benefits play a very important role in employee retention. However, there is contradictory results as the study goes on to reveal that only 34% of workers at smaller employers say the benefits they receive are a very important reason to remain with their employer, versus 53% at larger firms. In addition, just 37% of employees at smaller corporations say they are

Nutrition for Health and Social Care (DISCUSSION) Assignment

Nutrition for Health and Social Care (DISCUSSION) - Assignment Example One protein is differentiated from another by the sequence of amino acids, and this is responsible for the tertiary structure that defines the function of the protein. The digestion of proteins takes place in the stomach and the small intestines. In the stomach, pepsinogen is secreted from gastric glands and activated by hydrogen ions to pepsin. Pepsin works on long amino acid chains to produce fragments of various sizes referred to as peptides (Protein Digestion & Absorption , 2005). Protein digestion continues in the small intestines where hydrolysis is accomplished by the action of three proteases including procarboxypeptidase, chymotrypsinogen, and trpsinogen (Murray, et al., 2006). Digestion in the small intestines breaks peptides into smaller chains finally resulting into dipeptides and tripeptides (Protein Digestion & Absorption 2005). Individual amino acids that are yielded at the end of the digestion are absorbed through the cell lining the small intestines into the blood stream. After digestion, proteins are used in the body for various functions. About 20 amino acids are yielded after digestions are used to construct proteins for different functions in the body. Proteins are basically used to produce antibodies, for body tissues (production and repair), production of enzymes and storage of products including amino acids. Most of the fats consumed in diet are in the form of triglycerides (Murray, Harper, Granner, Mayes, & Rodwell 2006). Triglycerides are identified by the presence of a backbone, to which fatty acids are attached. Triglycerides are determined by the type of fatty acids attached, and this varies to a large extend (Murray, et al., 2006). There are three types of fatty acids that are classified depending on the number of double bonds in the molecule. The three are identified as Saturates, Monounsaturates, and polyunsaturates (Rose 2013). Polyunsaturates can

How Cooking Free

How Cooking Frees Men Article Essay This article explains how the discovery in cooking foods has dramatically changed the way we live, and the amount of time freed up by spending less time chewing. Raw food takes much longer to eat than soft cooked foods. The discovery of cooking changed our social division of labor between men and women. The Hadza tribes are foragers; hunters and gathers, and now that cooking food is possible, the men hunt for meat, while the women forage the land for anything edible. When the men come back to the village, the women hope they have meat or honey to provide, but if they come empty handed, the women have the food they have gathered already prepared for the hungry men. The men and women share their food with one another, their children, and extended family. Even though my family and I are not foragers, this sounds very similar to the same way I was brought up. My father would make the money that paid for the food, while my mother would stay home to raise us children and cook. She always had dinner ready for my father whether he was coming home from work or home after looking for a job. Either way, we always had food on our table. There were even summers that we had to pick fruit with my mother on farmers land so we can have canned fruit stock our pantry. We would forage in the fall walnuts that have fallen off a walnut tree on the side of some road, so she can make banana nut bread. As a child I was put to work on several occasions to help my mother, and that was not the same way my brothers were raised, they would be allowed to go hunting or fishing with my father. Even though my family and I are not foragers we have a lot of similarities with the Hadza tribe and how they divide their labor based upon gender and age. Foragers follow the method of hunter and gatherer, to collect their food. They form small communities of mainly family; immediate and extended family. The men hunt for food while the women and children forage for edible plants. The tribes join occasionally to celebrate things; and they share their food. The Hadza believed if a single man provided the meat for the day, he would divide the food with his family first, and then divide it amongst the rest of the tribesmen. Foraging may have been the way to gather food in the beginning of man (several small tribes still live as foragers, like the Hadza tribe). Today, America and many other countries use intensive agriculture; we use machinery to irrigate and fertilize to increase our surplus. This is necessary because of our population; we are not only a few like the foragers. We are primarily controlled through a government, as apposed to moving about with a village. My first impression of this article was not too great; I felt the writer discussed the difference of chew time within too much detail. I understand the concept of â€Å"less time chewing = more time†. What I found most interesting, and gained insight from, was the knowledge that cooking food to make it soft, freed up the time of man. Without that simple action of cooking our food, man would be very different today. Not just time wise, but that was the start of division of labor within a family. This is still practiced within many American families and tribes that still live off the land. I think a big difference between us and them (which there are a few tribal foragers still today), they live creating little impact on their environment, while we seem to not care so much about the harm we do to ours. I feel because of more time, we not only have the means to relax and socialize, but we also abuse it. We are not as active, and to some people their social part of life is their most important. So because of more time, people are becoming obese, lazy, and gossipy. That pretty much sums up over half of the American population.

Stereotypes Of The Feminists In Markets Sociology Essay

Stereotypes Of The Feminists In Markets Sociology Essay When somebody mentions the word feminism it often sparks stereotypical ridicule surrounding unattractive women who cant get a man, mainly stirred up by subjective political publishing. In reality what was achieved by feminists throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st century has paved the way for a more intellectual and emotional acceptance of women in modern society. When we discuss the subject of feminism we automatically begin to consider the work of radical, Marxist and liberal feminists, but in order to understand the thoughts and feelings of this enlightening subject we must observe the work of not only feminists but other theorists, in an attempt to analyse the changing views of women from the 1960s onwards. The start of the sexual revolution remains prominent within our discussion, and throughout this essay we will refer to academic material in an attempt to educate ourselves on the thoughts and theories of the changing sexuality of women from the first wave of feminism onwards. landmark book the second sex offered women an existential and intellectual framework where by women could break down the barriers of social conditioning and take control of their own lives and sexuality, her famous words one is not born a woman, one becomes one offered an iconic phrase which would help support the movement of the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The sexual politics which took place throughout the 1960s and 1970s cannot be discussed without talking about the highly publicised second wave of feminism. The combination of student protests and medically prescribed contraceptives made it possible for women to own their own sexuality and move away from the confinement of sexual pleasure in the boundaries of a heterosexual marriage (Escoffier, 2003). The previous century has been that of a bourgeois one, where sexuality was held on the strict basis of a heterosexual family (Ollman, 1979). Marxist writer William Reich offered a revolutionary sexual radicalism which argued that capitalism sexually repressed the masses in the interest of its exploitative goals (Ollman, 1979). Betty Friedan (1963) is often referred to as the mother of the movement. When her book the feminine mystique was published in 1963 she discussed the roles of women in industrial societies, whose main aim was to fulfil the stifling role of homemaker; for women these traditional roles were often deemed unsatisfying: emotionally, intellectually and also sexually, as she quoted no woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor (Womens History, 2011). Betty Friedan (1963) was also noted for criticising Freuds theory known as penis envy along with feminist writer Karen Horney (Hichcock, 2005). Horney describes how it is men who are adversely affected by their inability to bear children, she referred to this as womb envy, and Freud saw Horneys theory as being a striking example of her own personal penis envy (Hitchcock, 2005). Horney and other feminist theorists have gone on to describe Freuds work as condescending and distorted surrounding his opinion of women being inferior to men (Hitchcock, 2005). Many feminist writers gained a high level of interest in the work of Foucault (1978) whose work is highly prevalent when discussing sexuality of the 1970s and power (Hekman, 1996). Foucault (1978) argued that sexuality was regulated and controlled. His theory of the body and sexuality has allowed feminists to appropriate it due to the consequences of drawing a distinction between sex and gender, which allows us to challenge the idea that a womens biological make up is her social destiny (Foucault, 1978). The views of sexuality altered greatly from the 1960s onwards. It was a period of high criticism of the conventional heterosexual practices of sex, and the liberation of gay men and lesbians meant there was a positive control of identity (Escoffier, 2003). The gay liberation challenged the essentialist view of the natural sex, however for many gay and lesbian activists sexual exploration was not the only goal; the importance was recognition for the need to change. Essentialist theori sts argue that sexuality has a reproductive function and how vaginal intercourse is seen as the sex (Duggan, Hunter, 1995). By observing Foucaults (1978) literature the history of sexuality we can see an anti-essentialist account of the sexual body. Foucault (1978) argued that the construct of the natural sex functions in order to disguise the productive operation of power in relation to human sexuality. Based on Foucaults (1978) work, Judith butler (1990) discusses that the notion of natural sex naturalises the regulatory idea of natural heterosexuality which then goes on to reinforce constraints on sexuality. McNay (1992) outlines how Foucaults history of sexuality exposes the contingent and socially determined nature of sexuality. McNay (1992) argues that this frees the body, allowing the breakdown of heterosexuality and the emergence of new realms of pleasure. Much of the debates surrounding sexuality during the 1960s and 1970s were viewed as having a large emphasis of the theories of pleasure and power. On the way into the 1980s the importance for feminists shifted onto the subject of the degrading acts towards women through the process of sado-masochism, pornography and prostitution (Strud, 2010). Feminists have been noted for arguing that pornography works in the exploitation of women which in turn contributes to the male objectification of women and sexism (Strud, 2010). A prominent figure in the anti-pornography movement was Andrea Dworkin, a feminist who aligned herself with the far-right movement (Strud, 2010). Dworkin and her fellow radical feminists characterised pornography as an industry of damaging abuse, and frequently discussed prostitution as a system of severe exploitation (Strud, 2010). Dworkin also suggested that heterosexual intercourse is a key factor in the subordination of patriarchy (Strud, 2010). Third wave feminists known as lipstick feminists made attempts to reclaim sexual power (Duggan, Hunter, 1995). They argued that dressing provocatively and maintaining sexual allure empowers women, it is also suggested that these feminists did not see a conflict between stripping, exhibitionism, girl-on-girl displays or pornography with feminism (Duggan, Hunter, 1995). A criticism of the third wave is often how it came about. The first and second wave are acknowledged as coming from a period where the main aim at hand were womens rights, it was a period where politics were intertwined with culture (Agger, 1992). The third wave which is also refereed to as the feminist sex wars rose from the popular culture of punk rock, consumerism and the birth of modern technologies and outlets such as mobile telephony and the internet (Agger, 1992). It has been discussed how there is often tension between the second and third wave of feminism due to the methods used to gain attention for important causes. However when these are observed we can elucidate that the methods used, such as lipstick feminists sexual allure or Riot Grrrl bands political anarchist lyrics, they can be deemed appropriate for the fast chaning modern culture of the 1980s and 1990s (Leonard, 1997). Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think Oh bondage up yours, lyrics sang by Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex (1977), one of the female punk rock bands who were part of the feminist anarchy movement. As can be observed by many of the lyrics of such bands, there is a level of sexual empowerment in the female youth of the 1980s and 1990s. Riot Grrrls were seen to not meet the needs of all women, mainly due to the white middle class youth orientation (Agger, 1992). Riot Grrrls were seen to succeed in the overturning of the male hegemonic punk culture, Turn the tables with our unity- They neither moral nor majority Wake up and smell the coffee Or just say no to individuality quoted by L7 (1992), this supports the sense of community felt among young girls, who felt a sense of alienation from mainstream culture (Leonard, 1997). A prominent band in the Riot Grrrl movement was Bikini Kill (1998), there powerful, political and sexual songs featured heavily in the popular culture of American youth feminism, with lyrics such as Just cause my world, sweet sister, is so fucking goddamn full of rape does that mean my body must always be a source of pain. Christine Hoff Sommers (1994) discusses women who have betrayed feminism, she talks about an article written by Roiphe in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. In the article Roiphe accuses feminists of defining rape to include any kind of sex a woman experiences as negative (Sommers, 1994). This could be seen as challenging for feminists who were attempting to educate girls that sex without their consent constitutes as rape. Although Riot Grrrls did not achieve any radical changes for women, they were seen to make differences on a more individual level, supporting the female youth on issues such as sexual abuse and rape, which are seen as important factors in the s ubject of female sexual empowerment (Agger, 1992). Duggan and Hunter (1995) discussed that the controversial sex wars which focussed on debates surrounding political and cultural battles over sexuality in the 1980s and 1990s, also characterised key feminist debates of the second wave. The false stereotypes of feminists such as anti-male, fat, humourless, bra-burning were seen to be actively challenged in the third wave (Hollows, Moseley, 2006). It is also discussed that some of what is currently referred to as third wave feminism is indistinguishable from popularised atheoretical post feminism; Michelle Goldberg (2001) describes this as shopping and fucking. We can observe by this that where third wave feminists viewed their actions as being methods of sexual control politically and culturally, early theorists and feminists conduced their behaviour was un-intellectual and made important issues void by allowing them to revolve around hotter-sex, designer shoes, intimidating clothing and expensive make-up (Hollows, Moseley, 2006). The acknowledgement of theorists and feminists has allowed us a deeper insight into the views of sexuality from the 1960s onwards. What is interesting is how different feminist theories began to differ in aims on the way into the 1980s. The common aim had been to liberate women from the societal constraints, not only in public places but also in the privacy of their own home. There remained however a range of strong views surrounding heterosexuality and the mystery of the female orgasm, with the liberation of gay men, lesbian women and straight women sexually, the traditional theories, such as essentialism were challenged. The changes made by feminists cannot be denied, changes that span over decades and in some cases centuries, it is easy to take for granted the sexual freedom that can be experienced by women in modern society, however when we observe feminist history we can begin to understand the sacrifices that have been made on behalf of women and the empowerment of female sexuality. This is their legacy. Word Count 1,922

bloodmac Shakespeares Macbeth - Images and Imagery of Blood and Sleep

Blood and Sleep Imagery in Macbeth  Ã‚   Macbeth screams imagery!   Shakespeare uses imagery of blood and sleep   to create an atmosphere of horror, during the killing of Duncan, which contributes to our sense of Macbeth's growing insanity.   Eventually Lady Macbeth's final scene is enhanced with the use of blood imagery which reflects her guilt.   Shakespeare's use of imagery connects the feeling of horror from audience to play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Macbeth held such potential for himself. He was honoured Thane of Cawdor,   and who knows what else Duncan had in store for him.   Unfortunately he chose not to find out, by murdering the king.   The scene of Duncan's murder (II, ii) demonstrates the guilt and feeling that the blood diffuses into the air.   When he returns to his chamber Lady Macbeth notices that he has brought back the blood covered daggers with him.   She persuades him to bring them back to the scene of death, but he refuses by saying  Ã‚   " I'll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on't again I dare not. " Lady Macbeth responds ruthlessly to her husband, " Infirm of purpose!   Give me the daggers.   The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of child hood that fears a painted devil.   If he do bleed, I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal, for it must seem their guilt."   Lady Macbeth tells her husband that he was acting like a child and went by herself to smear blood upon the kings grooms so it will seem like they did it.   Lady Macbeth returns from Duncan's chamber telling Macbeth that her hands are covered in blood just like his.   She encourages Macbeth to wash the blood from his hands to remove the evidence from their presence.   " My hands are of your color... I hear a knocking...A little... ... come, come, give me your hand!   What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed!"   Lady Macbeth is haunted by her guilt.   The blood that was shed disturbs her conscience so much that she can't hide from it. Works Cited and Consulted: Campbell, Lily B. "Macbeth : A Study in Fear." Readings on Macbeth. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. 126-35. Foakes, R.A. "Images of Death in Macbeth." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1987. James IV of Scotland. "Daemonologie." In Minor Prose Works. Ed. James Craigie. Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1982. Muir, Kenneth. "Introduction." In Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992. Truax, E. "Imagery in Macbeth" Comparative Drama 23. 1990:359-76.

Media Case Study in Friends Tv Show

Case Study Introduction The society of nowadays is filled with advertisements, messages, films, blogs, technology, etc. The meanings that they carry have to be transmitted to the audience through different media. (Branston and Stafford, 2006) It appears important for the receiver to analyse and understand the meanings carried by each type of medium. In order to do so, the different â€Å"vehicles† used by media have to be identified. Different vehicle theories include: semiotics, genres, narratives, representation, audiences, etc. Ibidem) And while they all have to be gathered and related to form a medium, these theories have on their own signs to be interpreted by the viewer. Media has to construct meanings about the world in order to represent it appropriately or logically enough for the audience to understand, and make sense out of what they are seeing. (O’Sullivan etal. , 1994) Representations of the world have to be understood by the audience. It allows an easier a nd faster understanding of what media is trying to portray and by doing so saves time needed to achieve other goals o since the media has limits of time and space. (Wilson, 1993) For instance, T. V. hows, in order to save time and capture viewers in the story faster, resort to stereotypes â€Å"There may be a shared recognition of the world as represented through familiar or dominant images and ideas† (O’Sullivan etal. , 1994) A good example of a type of media that uses representations as a way to help audience identify with the world presented on T. V. is the very popular show named: Friends. It debuted in 1994 through NBC and moved on to become one of the shows with the highest rate in television. It won multiple awards during its time on air until its end in May 2004. In 2002 the show won an Emmy for outstanding comedy series. (TBS. om, 2009) It had a big cultural impact, for instance, phrases from the sitcom became common in American slang, and songs from the show became very famous around the globe. It is a sitcom that presents the life of six friends (3 males and 3 females) middle aged, middle class who live in New York. They live close to each other and spend a lot of time together discussing very different themes. They all have different personalities and different backgrounds but compliment each other comically. This case study will analyse through the theory of representations, the stereotypes presented by the female characters: Rachel, Phoebe and Monica. pic] The Representations When referring to representations in the media, it is important to notice that stereotypes are present very often. Especially in a commercial T. V. show such as Friends, creators have to turn into cultural stereotypes in order for the audience to easily and quickly identify each role; who plays whom in a story and, in certain situations, justify their actions. â€Å"Within the media, limits of time and space plus the desire of achieving rapid audience recognit ion have obliged the stereotypical representations to be constructed and portrayed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Wilson, 1993) The role of Rachel Green represents the rich bimbo girl. She comes from a wealthy background, her father, is a successful doctor able to provide her and her sisters with a fancy childhood. She has never worked, is not self sufficient, and as mention in chapter 12 of season 6 â€Å"The one with the joke† (Blinkx. com, 2000) she is always trying to please others. She is in many ways an exaggeration of a spoiled American girl. Rachel is dumb, lost, and she does not know what she wants. According to Wilson (1993) stereotypes have to be exaggerated or maximised, since there is a necessity for audience recognition. If there is no recognition then it becomes a commercial failure. For this reason the character of Rachel is exaggerated. She cries over anything, she is afraid of commitment, irresponsible, and does not want to take care of anyone as much as she wants to be taken care of. But there is a necessity for her to form part of the group of friends. Her irresponsibility can be very funny, guys always want to date her because she is pretty. In a sitcom of its genre (comedy) the familiar is necessary and comfortable (Branston and Stafford, 2006) for this reason, someone has to play the pretty, spoiled one. The sets of characters and values portrayed by Rachel involve in it a diversity that the audience can relate her to. Whether it means that they identify with her and her actions (for example, girls with good economic status), or see in her someone they know, or maybe even look up to her. On the other hand, the role of Monica Geller represents the controlling responsible one. Her character is the opposite from Rachel, obsessive-compulsive, and very competitive. She is probably the more mature female of the show. She comes from a suburban middle class family, known for having overweight during high school, she is Rachel’s best friend, but admire and envied her during youth. She likes to be in charge of everything, plans every detail and enjoys serving other. Her representation in the show is maximised, her obsession for order and cleanness is exaggerated, but this traits help the viewer to identify her and categorise her as the â€Å"mother hen† of the group. (Warnerbros. com, 2009) Although she was pretty the audience tends to forget this fact and relate her more with the need of a responsible one in the group. As mention above, there is comfort in familiarity, in this case the role of Monica becomes funny when the audience relates her actions with reality, for instance, mothers cleaning the mess left by little children. She is referenced to in the chapter mention above as â€Å"high maintenance† American slang to refer the fact that she needs a lot of attention and everything has to be done the way she likes it. She goes ahead and proves it by then forcing Chandler (her boyfriend) to learn a speech and mention that she is not â€Å"high maintenance. What this scene is portraying is an irony that proves how embroidered stereotypes can be a useful tool in sitcoms since they are funny. By evoking irony, the media uses stereotypes and disguise them as jokes allowing the label to become somewhat acceptable and familiar. (Branston and Stafford, 2006) Finally, the role of Phoebe Buffay who represents the hippie one. An eccentric character, who enjoys from playing music but is not really g ood, she does not care what others think about her. Phoebe’s character is a very sensitive one who goes beyond to help others, she is not interested in conventional things such as marriage, babies, or money. But rather she is concern with environmental, spiritual issues. With a troubled past, she became homeless at age 14 (Warnerbros. com, 2009). She is very dumb but knows how to play and have fun with others. The circumstances of this character are ironic and funny. Once again, creators of the show play with exaggeration of personalities and portray the obliged hippie New Yorker. Phoebe’s character is a clear example of how stereotypes are not always wrong (Branston and Stafford, 2006) , and they do portray reality but in a magnified way. New York is a city known for its extravagant movements regarding animals, and vegetarianism among others. So Phoebe played that side of New York which is radical. Conclusion The three characters above represent not only labels for people of their own circumstances but also they represent 3 very common stereotypes in which women can be categorised in the media; the sex object, the mother, and the friend. The three characters are also very different from each other going from the little princess, to the tough one, to the weird one. But in many ways these stereotypes are not always negative, they are not rigid or unchanging, and they help the audience to identify and differentiate the 3 characters. According to O’Sullivan etal. 1994) the media production is based on the need to please the audience. For this reason, if certain values or believes predominate in media output it will be due to the fact that society is sharing such same values and believes. In the case of â€Å"Friends† such conceptions of people from specific backgrounds in America are constantly presented in soci eties’ believes and therefore portrayed with this specific characters in the show. Ideologies work through symbolic codes, (O’Sullivan etsl, 1994) and because the media cannot speak directly to the audience it uses semiotics. These signs are represented with people through stereotypes. It is important to understand and analysed the latter so that there is a better understanding of society and culture. People uses stereotypes everyday to achieve a mental understanding of the society and the people they meet in their everyday lives. But even when stereotypes portray the real world in many aspects, it is important to notice that they are also often exaggerated and closed and they limit a viewer’s point of view of a determined group or person. They can be funny and helpful but the media should understand that portraying a group of people using stereotypes can cause negative cultural impact. Stereotypes should not become prejudices or send an erroneous message to the audience. When recurring to stereotypes, the media has to be very sensitive and take care of every detail as to portray people openly with no set rules and as accurate as possible. This was well achieved by â€Å"Friends† T. V. show since characters evolve, acquire new characteristics their personalities changed and they all achieved their goals. References Branston, G. and Stafford, R. ( 2006) The Media Student’s Book. 4th ed. Routledge. U. K. Pp. 141-156 Blinkx. com (no date) Friends. The one with the joke. Retrieved online on 3rd October 2009 from: http://www. blinkx. com/video/friends-the-one-with-the-joke/CljtsymVdOFbvw5xENhNNQ O’Sullivan, T. etal. (1994) Studying the media. An Introduction. St. Martin’s Press Inc. New York, U. S. A. Pp 113, 115, 117, 122, and 125. Tbs. com (2009) Friends, About the show. Retrieved online on 3rd October 2009 from : http://www. tbs. com/stories/story/0,,268,00. html Wilson, S. (1993) Mass Media, Mass Culture. 3rd ed. Mc Graw Hill. United States. Pp. 225-236 Warnerbros. com (2009) Friends. Retrieved online on 3rd October 2009 from: http://www. warnervideo. com/friends15/

How to Motivate Student in Their Academic Essay

I. INTRODUCTION Motivation is the combination of desire, values, and beliefs that drives you to take action. These three motivating factors are at the root of why people act the way they do. Because they ultimately control values, beliefs, and desires, it can influence motivations. This means, if you consider something important and assign value to it, you are more likely to do the work it takes to attain a certain goal. When motivation originates from an internal source and combined with a realistic goal and circumstance, the result of a good outcome or output are greatly increased. II. MAIN DISCUSSION To understand what motivates them, they need to know what is important to them. Consider issues such as family, relationships, learning or school, grades, work, aspirations, achievement, money, social causes, social life, following a dream, and many more. Students goals and desires grow from their values and beliefs. Once they have made their personal list, they begin to think about how the items relate to one another. These issues and relationships are always alive inside of them. By becoming consciously aware of their selves, they can begin to modify, control and understand their selves. Judging the quality and depth of their motivation is important, because it is directly related to their commitment. Often students find that they want a good academic outcome, but they can’t seem to make it happen. Sometimes, this gap occurs when there is a clash between what they are striving for a good academic outcome/degree and what they would rather be doing in following a dream. Itâ₠¬â„¢s for values, beliefs, and desires to be in conflict, it is important to recognize when they are and act appropriately on this information. III. MY POINT OF VIEW One of the keys to college success is having a realistic view of strengths and weaknesses. Do an informal assessment of abilities. Reflect on what they have learned about themself in the past from classroom experiences, conversations with teachers and advisors, standardized tests, projects and activities, and outside activities. Consider specifically their reading, writing, oral communication, interpersonal, and analytic skills. An accurate and honest assessment of their abilities is essential. It prevents them from under-estimating or over-estimating their skills and directs toward attainable and appropriate goals. Having an accurate direction is important in maintaining motivation. Knowing what their value and desire, along with an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, makes it possible to establish personal goals. Most students already have a mix of short-term and long-term goals in mind for themselves. Students often are aiming towards a particular test, project, class, grade point, degree, graduate program, professional school, or career. These are often complemented by other goals such as living a healthy lifestyle, maintaining personal integrity, volunteering, working, nurturing relationships, or growing as a person. It is not unusual for short-term goals to support long-term goals. IV. CONCLUSION Once I have set goals that match my beliefs, values and desires, I should be in position to act on them successfully. However, my motivation can be undermined if I fail to consider my circumstances or if my circumstances change, but my goals don’t. A goal may match my values that I want to earn a degree in Tourism and may be realistically set that I want to do it in 4 years when I began my academic journey, but may need modification and readjustment as time passes. If I earned grades lower than I expected to, I may need to lighten my course load or adjust my work and leisure hours. A loss of interest might mean my need to explore other majors. Changes in relationships or family make-up can also introduce new constraints on my plan. Unfortunately, when circumstances change, students are often unwilling to make related adjustments in their self-expectations. In this case, I as a student rarely perform up to the expectations, become frustrated, and lose motivation. However, motivation and performance can be maintained when personal circumstance is taken into. Students who are willing to redefine their goals to account for their changed circumstances can remain motivated and on the path to success. Motivation, goals, and circumstance are all related to success. I can increase the odds of my success by first, defining what is important to me, establishing goals based on these values, desires, and beliefs, and finally, tailoring my achievement expectations to match my circumstances. If I fail in any of these steps, I will undercut my motivation, fail to work up to my abilities, and diminish my chances of success. V. ANALYSIS Be realistic is setting your goals and always consider your circumstances. When goals aren’t realistic or when circumstances conspire against you, it is important to adjust. A student who comes to college with the goal of expecting to earn a tourism degree in 4 years, but finds the work more difficult than he anticipated may need to adjust his time frame in order to achieve his goal. Likewise, if this same student found that he needed to work to support his college costs or took on greater family responsibilities, it might be similarly necessary for him to adjust his goals as well. When goals are realistic and match desires, you will be motivated. When you’re motivated and work hard towards your goals, you will succeed. When you succeed, your motivation will grow, you will set new goals, and continue to achieve.

Deception Point Page 33

â€Å"Advanced stages of lymphoma,† the doctors explained. â€Å"Rare in people her age, but certainly not unheard of.† Celia and Tolland visited countless clinics and hospitals, consulting with specialists. The answer was always the same. Incurable. I will not accept that! Tolland immediately quit his job at Scripps Institute, forgot all about the NBC documentary, and focused all of his energy and love on helping Celia get well. She fought hard too, bearing the pain with a grace that only made him love her more. He took her for long walks on Kingman Beach, made her healthy meals, and told her stories of the things they would do when she got better. But it was not to be. Only seven months had passed when Michael Tolland found himself sitting beside his dying wife in a stark hospital ward. He no longer recognized her face. The savageness of the cancer was rivaled only by the brutality of the chemotherapy. She was left a ravaged skeleton. The final hours were the hardest. â€Å"Michael,† she said, her voice raspy. â€Å"It's time to let go.† â€Å"I can't.† Tolland's eyes welled. â€Å"You're a survivor,† Celia said. â€Å"You have to be. Promise me you'll find another love.† â€Å"I'll never want another.† Tolland meant it. â€Å"You'll have to learn.† Celia died on a crystal clear Sunday morning in June. Michael Tolland felt like a ship torn from its moorings and thrown adrift in a raging sea, his compass smashed. For weeks he spun out of control. Friends tried to help, but his pride could not bear their pity. You have a choice to make, he finally realized. Work or die. Hardening his resolve, Tolland threw himself back into Amazing Seas. The program quite literally saved his life. In the four years that followed, Tolland's show took off. Despite the matchmaking efforts of his friends, Tolland endured only a handful of dates. All were fiascos or mutual disappointments, so Tolland finally gave up and blamed his busy travel schedule for his lack of social life. His best friends knew better, though; Michael Tolland simply was not ready. The meteorite extraction pit loomed before Tolland now, pulling him from his painful reverie. He shook off the chill of his memories and approached the opening. In the darkened dome, the melt water in the hole had taken on an almost surreal and magical beauty. The surface of the pool was shimmering like a moonlit pond. Tolland's eyes were drawn to specks of light on the top layer of the water, as if someone had sprinkled blue-green sparkles onto the surface. He stared a long moment at the shimmering. Something about it seemed peculiar. At first glance, he thought the gleaming water was simply reflecting the glow of the spotlights from across the dome. Now he saw this was not the case at all. The shimmers possessed a greenish tint and seemed to pulse in a rhythm, as if the surface of the water were alive, illuminating itself from within. Unsettled, Tolland stepped beyond the pylons for a closer look. Across the habisphere, Rachel Sexton exited the PSC trailer into darkness. She paused a moment, disoriented by the shadowy vault around her. The habisphere was now a gaping cavern, lit only by incidental effulgence radiating out from the stark media lights against the north wall. Unnerved by the darkness around her, she headed instinctively for the illuminated press area. Rachel felt pleased with the outcome of her briefing of the White House staff. Once she'd recovered from the President's little stunt, she'd smoothly conveyed everything she knew about the meteorite. As she spoke, she watched the expressions on the faces of the President's staff go from incredulous shock, to hopeful belief, and finally to awestruck acceptance. â€Å"Extraterrestrial life?† she had heard one of them exclaim. â€Å"Do you know what that means?† â€Å"Yes,† another replied. â€Å"It means we're going to win this election.† As Rachel approached the dramatic press area, she imagined the impending announcement and couldn't help but wonder if her father really deserved the presidential steamroller that was about to blindside him, crushing his campaign in a single blow. The answer, of course, was yes. Whenever Rachel Sexton felt any soft spot for her father, all she had to do was remember her mother. Katherine Sexton. The pain and shame Sedgewick Sexton had brought on her was reprehensible†¦ coming home late every night, looking smug and smelling of perfume. The feigned religious zeal her father hid behind-all the while lying and cheating, knowing Katherine would never leave him. Yes, she decided, Senator Sexton was about to get exactly what he deserved. The crowd in the press area was jovial. Everyone held beers. Rachel moved through the crowd feeling like a coed at a frat party. She wondered where Michael Tolland had gone. Corky Marlinson materialized beside her. â€Å"Looking for Mike?† Rachel startled. â€Å"Well†¦ no†¦ sort of.† Corky shook his head in disgust. â€Å"I knew it. Mike just left. I think he was headed back to go grab a few winks.† Corky squinted across the dusky dome. â€Å"Although it looks like you can still catch him.† He gave her a puggish smile and pointed. â€Å"Mike becomes mesmerized every time he sees water.† Rachel followed Corky's outstretched finger toward the center of the dome, where the silhouette of Michael Tolland stood, gazing down into the water in the extraction pit. â€Å"What's he doing?† she asked. â€Å"That's kind of dangerous over there.† Corky grinned. â€Å"Probably taking a leak. Let's go push him.† Rachel and Corky crossed the darkened dome toward the extraction pit. As they drew close to Michael Tolland, Corky called out. â€Å"Hey, aqua man! Forget your swimsuit?† Tolland turned. Even in the dimness, Rachel could see his expression was uncharacteristically grave. His face looked oddly illuminated, as if he were being lit from below. â€Å"Everything okay, Mike?† she asked. â€Å"Not exactly.† Tolland pointed into the water. Corky stepped over the pylons and joined Tolland at the edge of the shaft. Corky's mood seemed to cool instantly when he looked in the water. Rachel joined them, stepping past the pylons to the edge of the pit. When she peered into the hole, she was surprised to see specks of blue-green light shimmering on the surface. Like neon dust particles floating in the water. They seemed to be pulsating green. The effect was beautiful. Tolland picked up a shard of ice off the glacial floor and tossed it into the water. The water phosphoresced at the point of impact, glowing with a sudden green splash. â€Å"Mike,† Corky said, looking uneasy, â€Å"please tell me you know what that is.† Tolland frowned. â€Å"I know exactly what this is. My question is, what the hell is it doing here?† 39 â€Å"We've got flagellates,† Tolland said, staring into the luminescent water. â€Å"Flatulence?† Corky scowled. â€Å"Speak for yourself.† Rachel sensed Michael Tolland was in no joking mood. â€Å"I don't know how it could have happened,† Tolland said, â€Å"but somehow this water contains bioluminescent dinoflagellates.† â€Å"Bioluminescent what?† Rachel said. Speak English. â€Å"Monocelled plankton capable of oxidizing a luminescent catalyst called luceferin.† That was English? Tolland exhaled and turned to his friend. â€Å"Corky, there any chance the meteorite we pulled out of that hole had living organisms on it?† Corky burst out laughing. â€Å"Mike, be serious!† â€Å"I am serious.† â€Å"No chance, Mike! Believe me, if NASA had any inkling whatsoever that there were extraterrestrial organisms living on that rock, you can be damn sure they never would have extracted it into the open air.†