Free Essays on Mothers Night

Spies I have just recently finished reading the book â€Å"Mothers Night†, by Kurt Vonnegut. This book focuses and is based on events that occurred during the World War Two era. The book includes extreme events in which i am a sure that probably never happened. But there are many events that I could see happening. The book is about a man named Campbell, a confused spy. Campbell has found himself not as normal spy but a double spy. What I mean by this is that he is actually acting as a spy for two countries, the U.S. and Germany. It is like he really can’t make up his mind on which country he likes more. I also see him trying to find himself in the novel; he has been through many hard times in the novel. I think the novel helps to show just how hard times were back during the Second World War, along with just overall war. I also liked how this novel gave me a story to follow along with that was pretty much unpredictable. The book was always keeping me guessing and w as not what I thought it would be. Now I would like to talk about one of the most intriguing topics in the book, most intriguing to me anyway. This would be the act of spying and the spies themselves. Just the name â€Å"spy† get the hair on my neck standing up. It is a sleek and sly word, it sounds cool to. I would have to say that I somewhat admire spies and what they do. It has got to be hard, I mean just think about it. If you can’t then read this book and I am sure it will make you think. It made me think about spies when I never really gave them the time of day until reading the book â€Å"Mother Night†. Spies live life on the edge. I mean could you just imagine how difficult it could be? The book shows just how hard it really is, in the end of the novel Campbell is driven into killing himself. He had no desire to live because he felt like he had no life. He felt as if he was just a tool. This hurt him, along with the feeling that he co... Free Essays on Mothers Night Free Essays on Mothers Night Spies I have just recently finished reading the book â€Å"Mothers Night†, by Kurt Vonnegut. This book focuses and is based on events that occurred during the World War Two era. The book includes extreme events in which i am a sure that probably never happened. But there are many events that I could see happening. The book is about a man named Campbell, a confused spy. Campbell has found himself not as normal spy but a double spy. What I mean by this is that he is actually acting as a spy for two countries, the U.S. and Germany. It is like he really can’t make up his mind on which country he likes more. I also see him trying to find himself in the novel; he has been through many hard times in the novel. I think the novel helps to show just how hard times were back during the Second World War, along with just overall war. I also liked how this novel gave me a story to follow along with that was pretty much unpredictable. The book was always keeping me guessing and w as not what I thought it would be. Now I would like to talk about one of the most intriguing topics in the book, most intriguing to me anyway. This would be the act of spying and the spies themselves. Just the name â€Å"spy† get the hair on my neck standing up. It is a sleek and sly word, it sounds cool to. I would have to say that I somewhat admire spies and what they do. It has got to be hard, I mean just think about it. If you can’t then read this book and I am sure it will make you think. It made me think about spies when I never really gave them the time of day until reading the book â€Å"Mother Night†. Spies live life on the edge. I mean could you just imagine how difficult it could be? The book shows just how hard it really is, in the end of the novel Campbell is driven into killing himself. He had no desire to live because he felt like he had no life. He felt as if he was just a tool. This hurt him, along with the feeling that he co...

Causes and Effects of Government Shutdowns

Causes and Effects of Government Shutdowns Why would much of the U.S. federal government shut down and what happens when it does?   The Cause of Government Shutdowns The U.S. Constitution requires that all expenditures of federal funds be authorized by Congress with the approval of the President of the United States. The U.S. federal government and the federal budget process operate on a fiscal year cycle running from October 1 to midnight September 30. If Congress fails to pass all of the spending bills comprising the annual federal budget or continuing resolutions extending spending beyond the end of the fiscal year; or if the president fails to sign or vetoes any of the individual spending bills, certain non-essential functions of the government may be forced to cease due to a lack of congressionally-authorized funding. The result is a government shutdown. The Current Border Wall Shutdown of 2019 The most recent government shutdown, and the third of the Donald Trump presidency began on December 22, 2018, when Congress and the White House failed to agree on the inclusion in an annual spending bill of $5.7 billion requested by President Trump for the construction of an additional 234 miles of fencing to be added to the existing security barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. On January 8, with no end to the impasse in sight, President Trump threatened to declare a national emergency empowering him to bypass to fund the border fencing. However, by January 12, what had become the longest lasting government shutdown in U.S. history had shuttered nine of the 15 federal executive branch agencies, and left over 800,000 federal workers- including Border Patrol officers, TSA agents, and air traffic controllers- either working without pay or sitting at home on furlough. Trash began piling up and visitor safety became an issue at national parks as park rangers had been sent home. Although Congress had passed a bill on January 11 providing eventual full back pay for the employees, the strain of missed paychecks became obvious.   In a televised address on January 19, President Trump offered a proposal he hoped would bring Democrats back to the bargaining table to negotiate on an immigration reform for border security deal that would end the then 29-day-long government shutdown. The president offered to back immigration policies Democrats and had long requested, including a three-year revival of the DACA- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals- program in return for approval of a permanent $7 billion border security package, including $5.7 billion for the border wall. DACA is a currently expired immigration policy enacted by President Obama allowing eligible individuals who were brought to the United States illegally as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become eligible for a work permit in the U.S. Less than an hour after the president’s address, Democrats rejected the bargain because it failed to offer permanent protection for the DACA immigrants and because it still included money for the border wall. Democrats again demanded that President Trump end the shutdown before negotiations continued. On January 24, Government Executive magazine reported that based on salary data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the then 34-day-long partial government was costing U.S. taxpayers more than $86 million a day in back pay promised to more than 800,000 furloughed workers. A Temporary Agreement Reached On January 25, President Trump announced that an agreement had been reached between his office and Democratic leaders in Congress that would temporarily reopen the government until February 15 without the inclusion of any funding for construction of additional border fencing. The agreement also provided that all federal employees affected by the shutdown would receive full back pay. According to the President, the delay would allow for further negotiations on funding of the border wall, which he said remained a necessity to national security. Finally, the President stated that if funding for the border wall was not agreed to by February 15, he would either reinstate the government shutdown or declare a national emergency allowing him to reallocate existing fund for the purpose. However, on February 15, the president signed a compromise spending bill averting another shutdown. The same day, he issued a National Emergency Proclamation redirecting $3.5 billion from the Defense Department’s military construction budget to the construction of new border wall. Under the terms of the Antideficiency Act, the shutdown may not have been legal in the first place. Since the government had the $5.7 billion needed to build the border wall, the shutdown had been based on an issue of political ideology rather than an issue of economic necessity, as required by the law. The Ghosts of Shutdowns Past Between 1981 and 2019, there were five government shutdowns. While the first four went largely unnoticed by anybody but the federal employees affected, the American people shared the pain during the last one.   1981: President Reagan vetoed a continuing resolution, and 400,000 federal employees were sent home at lunch and told not to come back. A few hours later, President Reagan signed a new version of the continuing resolution and the workers were back at work the next morning. 1984: With no approved budget, 500,000 federal workers were sent home. An emergency spending bill had them all back at work the next day. 1990: With no budget or continuing resolution, the government shuts down during the entire three-day Columbus Day weekend. Most workers were off anyway and an emergency spending bill signed by President Bush over the weekend had them back at work Tuesday morning. 1995-1996: Two government shutdowns beginning on November 14, 1995, idled different functions of the federal government for various lengths of time until April of 1996. The most serious government shutdowns in the nations history resulted from a budget impasse between Democratic President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress over funding for Medicare, education, the environment, and public health. 2013: For 17 tedious days, from October 1 through October 16, the perennial disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over spending forced a partial shutdown that saw more than 800,000 federal employees furloughed, U.S veterans locked out of their own war memorials, and millions of visitors forced to leave national parks. Unable to pass a conventional annual budget, Congress considered a continuing resolution (CR) that would have maintained funding at current levels for six months. In the House, Tea Party Republicans attached amendments to the CR that would have delayed implementation of President Obama’s healthcare reform law–Obamacare–for one year. This amended CR had no chance of passing in the Democrat-controlled Senate. The Senate sent the House a â€Å"clean† CR with no amendments, but Speaker of the House John Boehner refused to allow the clean CR to come to a vote of the House. As a result of the impasse over Obamacare, no funding CR was passed by October 1- the end of the government’s 2013 fiscal year- and the shutdown began. As the shutdown drug on, public opinion of Republicans, Democrats and President Obama began to plummet and, to make matters worse, the U.S. was set to reach its debt limit on October 17. Failing to pass legislation raising the debt limit by the deadline could have forced the government to default on its debt for the first time in history, placing the payment of federal benefits in danger of being delayed. On October 16, faced with the debt limit crisis and increasing public disgust with Congress, Republicans and Democrats finally agreed on and passed a bill temporarily reopening the government and increasing the debt limit. Ironically, the bill- driven by the government’s need to reduce spending- also spent billions of dollars, including a tax-free gift of $174,000 to the widow of a deceased senator. The Costs of Government Shutdowns The first of the two government shutdowns in 1995-1996 lasted only six days, from November 14 to November 20. Following the six-day shutdown, the Clinton administration released an estimate of what the six days of an idled federal government had cost. Lost Dollars: The six-day shutdown cost taxpayers about $800 million, including $400 million to furloughed federal employees who were paid, but did not report to work and another $400 million in lost revenue in the four days that the IRS enforcement divisions were closed.Medicare: Some 400,000 newly eligible Medicare recipients were delayed in applying for the program.Social Security: Claims from 112,000 new Social Security applicants were not processed. 212,000 new or replacement Social Security cards were not issued. 360,000 office visits were denied. 800,000 toll-free calls for information were not answered.Healthcare: New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance and hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered.Environment: Toxic waste clean-up work at 609 sites stopped as 2,400 Superfund workers were sent home.Law Enforcemen t and Public Safety: Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases reportedly was suspended; cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law enforcement officials reportedly occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents; and delinquent child-support cases were delayed. US Veterans: Multiple veterans services were curtailed, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel.Travel: 80,000 passport applications were delayed. 80,000 visas were delayed. The resulting postponement or cancellation of travel cost U.S. tourist industries and airlines millions of dollars.National Parks: 2 million visitors were turned away from the nations national parks resulting in the loss of millions in revenue.Government-Backed Loans: FHA mortgage loans worth more than $800 million to more than 10,000 low-and-moderate-income working families were delayed. How a Government Shutdown Might Affect You As directed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the federal agencies now maintain contingency plans for dealing with government shutdowns. The emphasis of those plans is to determine which functions should continue. Most notably, the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did not exist in 1995 when the last long-term government shutdown took place. Due to the critical nature of their function, it is highly likely that the TSA would continue to function normally during a government shutdown.Based on history, here is how a long-term government shutdown might impact some government-provided public services. Social Security: Benefit checks would probably keep coming, but no new applications would be accepted or processed.Income Tax: The IRS will probably stop processing paper tax returns and refunds.Border Patrol: Customs and Border Patrol functions will probably continue.Welfare: Again, the checks would probably continue, but new applications for food stamps might not be processed.Mail: The U.S. Postal Service supports itself, so mail deliveries would continue as usual.National Defense: All active duty members of all branches of all armed services would continue duty as usual, but might not get paid on time. More than half of the Defense Departments 860,000 civilian employees would also work, the others sent home.Justice System: Federal courts should remain open. Criminals will still be chased, caught, prosecuted and thrown in federal prisons, which would still be operating.Farms/USDA: Food safety inspections will probably continue, but rural development, and farm credit and loan progra ms will probably close down. Transportation: Air traffic control, TSA security personnel, and the Coast Guard will remain on the job. Applications for passports and visas may not be processed.National Parks/Tourism: Parks and forests will probably close and visitors told to leave. Visitor and interpretive centers will be closed. Non-volunteer rescue and fire control services might be shut down. National monuments and most historic sites will probably be closed. Parks police will probably continue their patrols.

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion Questions - Essay Example I prefer change, I enjoy delegating tasks to others, and I want to be noticed for my achievements. I am also the type of person who likes to be in charge. I tend to look forward to confronting conflict instead of shying away from it. I consider myself to be a proactive person, with a proactive personality. â€Å"Proactives [with proactive personalities] identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. Proactives are more likely to be seen as leaders and to be change agents. They†¦[definitely can] achieve career success, but it’s important for them to be in the right situations to fit their personality.†1 As a proactive person, I seek to be the first to engage in an issue and take it head-on. Instead of waiting to figure out what is going to happen, I make sure that I make things happen. I change and influence what happens around me by being involved. In all situations, I try to stay proactive and interested as a pa rticipant in my surroundings. It’s evocative of a dominant person’s personality traits; I am no different. 2) How do ethics influence human behavior in organizations? (250 words) Ethics influence human behavior because humans’ actions are inevitable affected by dogma and rules. If there were no rules or ethical standards, people would do whatever they wanted. However, ethics give order to the chaos.

Strategic Human Resource Management ( choose 3 Theories of jack welch Essay

Strategic Human Resource Management ( choose 3 Theories of jack welch ) and talk about them - Essay Example In the human resource function, the strategies assist the organization in facilitating the change management function, for instance, the change speeding up process. The change speeding up process has an emphasis on a learning culture, development and growth cultures. The cultures by Jack Welch also have a strong support and emphasis on the development of the skills possessed by the human resource development professionals. The theories enhance the effectiveness and improvement of the training programs that are essential for the skills development of human resource research development professionals. Gold et al. (2011) say that the training programs that are products of the theories fronted by Jack Welch are important for the development of programs that enable the workers to work in rotation through various departments and job assignments. The departments, where the staff members are rotated through, could have other purposes other than the human research development functions. The rotation in other departments helps the employees in gaining knowledge and competencies about the organization making them better strategic partners of the business. The theories also enable the use of technology and thus, majority of the human resource development activities are carried out with the use of technology. The technology better equips the human resource function and the employees more technical knowledge making them specialists in different functionalities of the organization. Hamlin & Stewart (2011) assert that when the human resources specialize, they are of great benefit to the organization because they can be used as internal consultants to the organization. The theories also help the organizational human resource development specialists in understanding the main objectives of the strategic human resource development , what the implications of changes in strategic human resource developments are

Plato Republic the Noble Lie Essay Example for Free

Plato Republic the Noble Lie Essay As with all other topics discussed in The Republic of Plato, the section in which he discusses the myths of the metals or the noble lie is layered with questioning and potential symbolism, possible contradiction, and a significant measure of allusion. In Chapter X of The Republic, Plato presents The Selection of Rulers: The Guardians Manner of Living. In it, he discusses the necessities of education as they apply to the appropriate selection of and reparation for the communitys leaders. As in other areas of The Republic, Plato carefully outlines the delineations which form the basis for the types of rulers to be installed in the state. Rulers (legislative and udicial), Auxiliaries (executive), and Craftsmen (productive and fficacious) are the titles of the categories and are based, not on birth or wealth, but on natural capacities and aspirations. Plato was convinced that children born into any class should still be moved up or down based on their merits regardless of their connections or heritage. He believes the citizens of the State will support and benefit from such a system and presents the idea in the form of an allegorical myth. His allegory was based in part on the prevalent belief that some people were literally autochthonous, born from the soil, and partly from the stories of the philosopher Hesiod who chronicled the genealogy of the gods and goddesses as well as their accomplishments and exploits. Hesiods account of the Golden, Silver, and Bronze races which had succeeded one another before the current to The Republics age of Iron forms the basis for the myths of the metals. Since the ancient Greeks were convinced that all myths were primarily the work of even more ancient poets who had been inspired by the Muses, some ther divine force, or consciously invented, the lesson in the story of the metals was to be paid attention to in order to learn the important truth (or truths) that form the core of the information to be transferred to the young and untrained mind of the future leaders in training. They must have the right sort of intelligence and ability; and also they must look upon the commonwealth as their special concern ? the sort of concern that is felt for something so closely bound up with oneself that its interests and fortunes, for good or ill, are held to be identical with ones own (The Republic of Plato X:III-412) Socrates tells Glaucon who naturally agrees. Socrates goes on to emphasize that the men that are chosen from among the Guardians must be those who are filled with enthusiasm and the determination to do the best they possibly can for the greater good of the people of the commonwealth and for the organization of the commonwealth itself. He asserts that they must never be willing to act against that collective interest. Socrates expands on his metaphor of the metals and explains that the future rulers must be fashioned as precious metals are fashioned by careful artistry and craft. But first he asks Glaucon: . . .can we devise something in the way of those convenient fictions we spoke of earlier, a single bold flight of invention, which we may induce the community in general, and if possible the Rulers themselves, to accept? (The Republic of Plato X:III-414). Such a tongue-in-cheek question, the reference to a single bold flight of invention is what has come to be known as commonly rendered by noble lie, a self-contradictory expression which is no more applicable to Platos comparatively harmless storytelling than to a 20th century political campaign publication. Such use of the noble lie suggests that he would agree to the use or be unconcerned about correcting the lies, for the most part dishonorable (certainly not noble), that are now most commonly thought to be unabashed propaganda. Returning to the metaphor of crafting precious metals, Socrates tells that while all men throughout the land are brothers, the god who was responsible for the creation of individuals chose to mix a certain measure of gold in the substance of those most fit to rule, making them the most precious. He then explains that silver was the substance added to the Auxiliaries, and iron and brass to the people who were to be a part of the commonwealth as farmers or craftsmen. Socrates, in his typical fashion, covers all possible eventualities by noting that although your children will generally be like their parents, sometimes a golden parent may have a silver child or a silver parent a golden one, and so on with al the other combinations (The Republic of Plato X:III-415). Therefore, Socrates asserts, there is nothing as important as the measure and mixture of the metals in the souls of children. He concludes that if a child is born with an strong mixture of iron or brass, it is the responsibility of the parents to assure that he finds aposition and a life that best suits his nature and they are to do so without pity or derision. Naturally, if a child is produced with gold or silver as a part of his nature, it is equally incumbent upon the arents to nurture his leadership qualities and promote him according to his worthiness and value. Socrates, however, worries aloud whether or not the general population can or will understand such a premise and Glaucon notes that it is unlikely that the idea will be understood in the first generation but that generations following and, ltimately, all of mankind, will come to understand and honor the concept of the metals. Socrates is comforted by such a reassuring thought. He is thoroughly convinced that the commonwealth will not, cannot survive if the state is passed into the dominion of a man of iron or brass. In fact, Socrates takes the allegory of the metals one step further to explain to Glaucon that the future Guardians must even be kept from concerns or desires for silver and metal since, Gold and silver, we shall tell them, they will not need, having the divine counterparts of those metals in their souls as a god-given possession (The Republic of Plato X:III-417). He goes on to say that the Guardians are not to come in contact with gold and silver and lays out a plan by which they will neither need or desire the trappings of glory and wealth since they are always clothed in gold and silver and riches as part of their inner being. He is convinced that if an individual who is a cobbler or a farmer goes to the bad and pretends to be what he is not (The Republic of Plato X:III-420) the entire well-being of the state is not in jeopardy. But such is most certainly not the case if the person is a Guardian or Auxiliary. There is no point, Socrates says, in producing a happiness like that of a party of peasants feasting at a fair. Such a person who would aspire to such a community has something in mind other than a civic community (The Republic of Plato X:III-421). Of course, Glaucon agrees.

Cameras and Photography Essay -- History of Photography

What do you consider art? Paintings, sculptures, drawings, or maybe something else. I know, when I think of art, I think of photography. Photography Is used for business, science, manufacturing, art, recreational purposes, mass communication, and more. Photography is using light to do amazing things, and some people think of photography as a story that just needs to be told. Ansel Adams probably believed this. He said, â€Å"You don’t take a photograph, you make it.† Photography has a long interesting history, like the fact that the word photography is made up of two greek words, photos meaning ‘light’ and graphein which is ‘to draw’ ! Photography also has some complicated techniques to get a hang of taking good photos. Have you heard of the rule of thirds? Or do you know how a camera works? Well, that will all be explained. Maybe, by the end you will take up photography too. This essay will explore the history and types of cameras and the b asic rules for taking photographs. Photography has an amazing process, no matter if you are using a film camera, or a digital camera. The principle of the camera is that light passes through a small hole, projects an image from the brighter side of the opening to a surface on the dimmer side. The process of making photos, or durable images, is by recording light. Or, it can be created by making images from other electromagnetic radiations. Photography has two ways of capturing photos. It can be made chemically, with a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. Although it could be done electronically by the use of an image sensor. The lens is used to focus the light that is reflected from objects into a real image on a light-sensitive surface inside a camera, during a timed exposure... ...e: http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/top-10-most-famous-photographers-of-all-time/ Rowse, D. (2014). 21 Settings, techniques and rules all new camera owners should know. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from , Digital Photography School Web site: http://digital-photography-school.com/21-settings-techniques-and-rules-all-new-camera-owners-should-know Rowse, D. (2014). Rule of thirds. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from , Digital Photography School Web site: http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds/ Rowse, D. (2014). Should you buy a DSLR or point and shoot digital camera? . Retrieved February 15, 2014 from , Digital Photography School Website: http://digital-photography-school.com/should-you-buy-a-dslr-or-point-and-shoot-digital-camera Wilson, R. (2013). Mathew Brady: Portraits of a nation. New York: Bloomsbury USA.

Chinese Lion Dance

Chinese Lion Dance The lion dance is a traditional dance performed in the Chinese culture. The performers mimic the moves of the lion inside a costume that looks in a way like a lion. Many people who are not very familiar with the Lion Dance often gets it confused with the Dragon Dance, since both are performed, for the most part, for the same occasions. It is simple to tell the two dances apart. The Lion Dance is performed most of the time with only two people. The Dragon Dance is performed with many people.In the Dragon Dance multiple people are inside the dragon costume holding up poles, whereas in the Lion Dance, there is someone holding the head of the lion and another person in the back of the lion costume acting as a rear of the lion. Lions were not originally from China. They came there through what was called the Silk Road. The rulers in what is today known as Iran and Afghanistan sent the lions over to the Chinese emperors as a gift in exchange to get the right to trade wit h the Silk Road merchants. This form of Lion Dance dates all the way back to the Han Dynasty, which was from 205 B.C. E. to 220 C. E. in China. The peak of the Lion Dance was during the Tang Dynasty, which was from 716 to 907 C. E. It was mainly danced during religious festivals to celebrate. The dance eventually became so famous that it was exported to Japan as a formal court entertainment. The Lion Dance soon made its way to Korea and Taiwan. The Lion Dance is not exactly the same in all the countries, but the meaning and symbol of the dance are similar. There are many different stories of how the Lion Dance got its origins. One famous story is called â€Å"The Emperor’s Dream. This story states how the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had a dream about how a strange creature came to his rescue. When he described his dream to some advisors, they told him that the creature he described resembled that of a lion, a creature from the Western Hemisphere. The emperor then created the lion dance to honor the creature which saved his life inside of his dream. Another story of how the Lion Dance got its origins is called â€Å"The Story of the ‘Nian’. † Legends say that there was a fierce monster by the name of â€Å"Nian† that liked to kidnap children.He attacked villages every year until one year, a lion defeated the â€Å"Nian† and chased it away. The monster promised that it will be back to seek revenge. This time the villagers did not have a lion to protect themselves. As a result, they solved the problem by creating a costume like that of a lion and two villagers wore the costume to scare â€Å"Nian† away. This is the reason the lion dance is performed every Chinese New Year, so that â€Å"Nian† would not come back. The legend also says that loud noises from the drum, other instruments, and firecrackers helped scare the â€Å"Nian† away.The color red is worn during the New Year’s celebration becau se it was also believed that the â€Å"Nianâ€Å", was afraid of the color red. The word â€Å"Nian,† thought the yearly ceremony, has become the Chinese word for year. There are two different styles of the Chinese Lion Dance, the Southern Style and the Northern Style. The older and traditional form of Chinese Lion Dance is the Southern Style. The Chinese Southern Lion Dance originated from Guangdong, a providence of China. The costumes of Lion Dance vary widely, but the lion head designs shows much differences.The traditional Fo Shan Lion, has bristles instead of fur and weighs more than the current costumes. The tails are extremely long and are perpendicular to the head for three fourths of the tail's length. The eyes also move left and right. On the back of the costume, there are gold foiled rims and traditional characters saying the group’s name. Older Liu Bei lions also have black in the tail, while the new ones do not. The Gwan Gung has a red and black tail wit h white trim. The Huang Joon has a full yellow tail with white trim. The Zhang Fei has a black and white tail with white trim and a white underside.The Zhao Zi Long lion is a green lion with a green tail with black trim and also a white underside. All the traditional style Fo Shan have pop-up teeth, tongue, swivelling eyes, and a gold gilded area on the back for the school's name and also the underside of the tail is white. The designs of the tail are also squarer and contain a diamond pattern going down the back; it is also common to see and hear bells attached to the tail. Although most lion dance costumes comes with a set of matching pants, some practitioners use black Kung-Fu pants to look more traditional. The Wong people perform the lion dance using this type of lion.The newer styles of lions for Fo Shan replace all the bristles with fur and the tails are shorter than the traditional ones. They eyes are fixed in place, and the tongue and teeth do not pop up. The tail is curvie r in design. The tail does not have a diamond pattern, and lacks bells. In addition, the dancers wear flashier pants which lack the ease of movement allowed when wearing Kung-Fu pants. The Chinese Northern Style of Chinese Lion Dance is performed usually with two lions. The lions of the North have shaggy orange and yellow hair. The way to tell these lions apart by gender is to see the bow on the head.The females don a green bow while the male lions wear a red bow. Acrobatics are very common with the Northern Style, with stunts like lifts or balancing on a giant ball. Northern lions sometimes appear as a family, with two large â€Å"adult† lions and a pair of small â€Å"young lions†. Different colors on the costumes of the lions represent the different elements of life. The yellow represents earth, black represents water, green represents wood, red represents fire, and white represents metal. The nose of the lions is usually a green color. Green symbolizes good luck, p rosperity, and the â€Å"influence of heaven. Attached to the forehead of the lion is a mirror. The mirror is said to scare away evil spirits by reflecting their own image against them, and also the ability to travel between heaven and earth. The costumes of the lions used for Chinese Lion Dance can only be custom made in specialty craft shops in rural parts of China and have to be imported at considerable expense for foreign countries outside Asia. For groups in Western countries, such as the United States, is made possible through funds raised through subscriptions and pledges made by members of local cultural and business societies.Special hand-made costumes with different add-ons can run up to 2000 dollars on some websites. Some countries, like Malaysia for example, has a really big Chinese population. As a result, local expertise may be available in making the lion costumes and musical instruments without having to get them imported from China. The head of the lion contains a symbol of many different animals itself. The horn is shaped like a bird for the phoenix, symbol for life and regeneration, also associated with representing the female element.The ears and the tail are shaped like a mystical creature, the Chinese unicorn, representing wisdom and good luck. The spine represents the snake, charm and wealth. The back hump of the head represents the tortoise which is the symbol for living a long life. The forehead and the beard are from the dragon, strength, leadership and the male element. The music associated to the Lion Dance is with instruments used live, right next to the performers. The music of drums, cymbals, and gongs are heard and the dance is synchronized with the beat of the song.There are also firecrackers, which is used to add on to the sounds as well. During Chinese New Year, different groups from different Chinese martial art schools visit the house and businesses of the Chinese community to perform what is called â€Å"cai ching. † The word â€Å"cai ching† translates to â€Å"plucking the greens. † What this is, is when a lion goes on a quest or journey to pluck the green, normally vegetables, like lettuce which in Chinese called â€Å"cai† and fruits like oranges tied to a â€Å"Red Envelope† containing money; either hang highly or just put on a table in front of the premises.The lion will dance to approach the â€Å"cai† and red envelope in a manner of that of a curious cat. It will then get the vegetable and red envelope. After, the cat will â€Å"eat the vegetable† (rip it up and throw it back out), and keep the red envelope containing money for their group. The lion dance is said to bring good luck and fortune to the businesses. Not only is the dance only done during Chinese New Year, but also in other religious festivals, business openings, birthday celebrations, and wedding celebrations.In the old days, the lettuce was hung 15 to 20 feet above ground and onl y a well-trained martial artist could reach the money while dancing with a heavy lion head. These events became challenging so a very large sum of money was rewarded, and the audience expected a good show. Sometimes, if lions from multiple martial arts schools approached the lettuce at the same time, the lions are supposed to â€Å"fight† to decide a winner. The lions had to fight with lion moves instead of chaotic street fighting styles. The audience would judge the quality of the martial art schools according to how the lions fought.Since the schools' reputation was at stake, the fights were usually fierce but civilized. The winner lion would then use creative methods and martial art skills to reach the high-hanging reward. Some lions may dance on bamboo stilts and some may step on human pyramids formed by students of the school to reach the â€Å"cai ching. † The performers and the schools would gain praise and respect on top of the large money reward when they did well. During the 1950’s to 1960’s, areas with many Chinese communities, such as Chinatown, had people who resembled that of a gangster who joined these Chinese Lion Dance groups.There were lots of fights between these Lion Dance groups and kung fu schools. This worried many parents, which caused the parents to avoid letting their children join these schools. During festivals and performances, when Lion Dance groups met up, there would be fights between the groups. Some lifts and acrobatic tricks are designed for the lion to â€Å"fight† and knock over other rival lions. Performers even hid daggers in their shoes and clothes, which could be used to injure other lion dancers’ legs.Some even attached a metal horn on their lion’s forehead, which could be used to slash other lion heads. The violence got so extreme that at one point that the Hong Kong government had to put a stop to lion dance completely. Now Lion Dance groups must attain a permit from t he government in order to perform the Lion Dance. Although there is still a certain degree of competitiveness, the groups are a lot less violent and aggressive than they were in the 1950’s to 1960’s. In modern day, the Chinese Lion Dance is seen as a sport and is more of something to do during free time.

Minx Marketing Solutions Essay

A London museum in partnership with department of culture and tourism in Syria wants to prepare for an exhibition to showcase selection of artifacts, relics, sculptures and art – originating from the city of Palmyra, in Syria for a limited time period, over summer 2009. The museum reached out for our company to help launch and manage a campaign that is meant to promote the exhibition, pull customers, raise the museums profile thus reminding the consumers of the museum, differentiate the museum from other museums, raise revenue and attract future partnerships with international departments of culture. Therefore our marketing company, Minx Marketing Solutions (MMS), set out working for a marketing plan and strategies to make the promotion and campaigning of the exhibition a success. The responsibility of MMS is the total management of the exhibition: from choosing of venue, advertisements and general day to day logistics for the period the exhibition runs. The London museum provides a budget of ? 1million which MMS will use in preparation and running of the exhibition. MMS however should give a proposal on how it intends to use the money provided to the London museum. Situational Analysis Palmyra boasts a fascinating and ancient history of significance to many civilizations and cultures. No any other museum has ever showcased Pieces from Palmyra in the recent past. Since the artifacts and art is such significant, we expect attention from a wide audience, youth and adults alike. Therefore this exhibition is fit for all family viewing. It should be understood that there are 1,848 museums in the UK. These are the museums altogether that have attracted up to and over 42 million visitors per year. This is about 22,700 visitors per museum per year. For major museums, the number is twice as much. ( Travers, 2006). Another rather interesting concept is the fact that about 43% of the population in the UK visits museums at least once a year and thus a survey done by London School of Economics showed that museums and galleries were major attractors of visitors and that the type of people visiting the museums had changed significantly in the period spanning 2002-2004. The number of people from the low social economic class and that of the blacks and minority groups had increased by 15. % and 60% respectively in that period (London School of Economics, 2007) The current market is shared by major museums and galleries across the UK but this depends entirely on whether or not it is a major museum (major museums have a larger market stake) and what the museum is showcasing. Therefore, to command a lions share in the market now that the museum is already a major museum, we need to showcase a major attraction such as the Palmyra pieces beautifully displayed to attest the significance of Palmyra works of art and artifacts to other cultures and civilization world over. Market competition is based on what you have to offer. A variety of activities even outside the museum are likely to give one museum an edge over the other. Opportunities and Threats The opportunities for the exhibition to become successful depends on the positioning of the exhibition, the charges, age bracket of the attendants (are children allowed? ) and other related or unrelated events happening around the set date that are likely to draw the crowds. In the 2009 summer, there shall be the Darwin commemoration, the new Jewish museum in Camden grand opening, the London Canal museum is set to host theatrics and other activities for families and many other activities in other museums all over the country. This is a great threat because there are a number of activities being conducted by a number of museums and this may affect the turn out at the exhibition. The only opportunity we have is based on the pricing and other activities outside the exhibition. Another opportunity is based on a fierce marketing campaign to sell the exhibition to the general public.

The Differences Of the Colonys essays

The Differences Of the Colonys essays IceLand Our Not-So-Cold Friends Of The North In the spring of 1982 my company, ThermoCorp, launched a multi-billion dollar scientific project to create, and run a community of individuals brainwashed into believing they were the only surviving members of a catastrophic Amageddon. The idea was to see how long a small community of people, a central idea of government and their own infinite power source would be able to sustain peace and prosperity. After trying multiple types of governments, and innumerable power sources, weve narrowed it down to only a few. My job is to find which of the remaining will work the best. One of our remaining three government types is Parliament. And what better Parliament type to mimic than that of Iceland? It is well documented that Icelands Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, but with an extensive welfare system, low unemployment, and comparatively even distribution of income. So weve come to believe, here at ThermoCorp, that our test subjects will ultimately show similar statistics at the end of the trial period. Also noted is the head of all Icelandic government. Althingi and the President of the Republic. Althingi is comprised of 63 members, all elected for a maximum of four years. When set up in our test group, the data recorded proved to be quite fruitful. It seemed that compared to our other government types, Parliament with an association of a direct president, the elite of the group and the commoners were working together more, and economic statistics were rising. For the first 6 months of the testing period, statistics couldnt have been higher. But as the economy started to experience a halcyon, crime-rate rose and a small faction started to rebel. As more requests were given to the Pseudo-Althingi, and the true law-passing cycle came into view (which consists of bills being presented by the parliamentary committees, and the bills then g ...

5 Common African American Stereotypes in TV and Film

5 Common African American Stereotypes in TV and Film African Americans may be scoring more substantial parts in film and television, but many continue to play roles that fuel stereotypes, such as thugs and maids. The prevalence of these parts reveals the importance of  #OscarsSoWhite and how African Americans continue to struggle for quality roles on both the small and big screens, despite having won  Academy Awards  in  acting, screenwriting,  music production and other categories. The Magical Negro Magical Negro characters have long played key roles in films and television programs. These characters tend to be African American men with special powers who make appearances solely to help white characters out of jams, seemingly unconcerned about their own lives. The late Michael Clarke Duncan famously played such a character in â€Å"The Green Mile.† Moviefone wrote of Duncan’s character, John Coffey, â€Å"He’s more an allegorical symbol than a person, his initials are J.C., he has miraculous healing powers, and he voluntarily submits to execution by the state as a way of doing penance for the sins of others. A ‘Magical Negro’ character is often the sign of lazy writing at best, or of patronizing cynicism at worst.† Magical Negroes are also problematic because they have no inner lives or desires of their own. Instead, they exist solely as a support system to the white characters, reinforcing the idea that African Americans aren’t as valuable or as human as their white counterparts. They don’t require unique storylines of their own because their lives simply don’t matter as much. In addition to Duncan, Morgan Freeman has played in some such roles, and Will Smith played a Magical Negro in â€Å"The Legend of Bagger Vance.† The Black Best Friend Black Best Friends typically don’t have special powers like Magical Negroes do, but they mainly function in films and television shows to guide white characters out of a crisis. Usually, female, the black best friend functions â€Å"to support the heroine, often with sass, attitude and a keen insight into relationships and life,† critic Greg Braxton noted in the  Los Angeles Times. Like Magical Negroes, black best friends appear not to have much going on in their own lives but turn up at exactly the right moment to coach white characters through life. In the film â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada,† for example, actress Tracie Thoms plays friend to star Anne Hathaway, reminding Hathaway’s character that she’s losing touch with her values. Also, actress Aisha Tyler played friend to Jennifer Love Hewitt on â€Å"The Ghost Whisperer,† and Lisa Nicole Carson played friend to Calista Flockhart on â€Å"Ally McBeal.† Television executive Rose Catherine Pinkney told the Times that there is a long tradition of black best friends in Hollywood. â€Å"Historically, people of color have had to play nurturing, rational caretakers of the white lead characters. And studios are just not willing to reverse that role.† The Thug There’s no shortage of black male actors playing drug dealers, pimps, con-artists and other forms of criminals in television shows and films such as â€Å"The Wire† and â€Å"Training Day.† The disproportionate amount of African Americans playing criminals in Hollywood fuels the racial stereotype that black men are dangerous and drawn to illicit activities. Often these films and television shows provide little social context for why more black men than others are likely to end up in the criminal justice system. They overlook how racial and economic injustice makes it more difficult for young black men to evade a prison term or how policies such as stop-and-frisk and racial profiling make black men targets of the authorities. They fail to ask whether black men are inherently more likely to be criminals than anyone else or if society plays a role in creating the cradle-to-prison pipeline for African American men. The Brash Woman Black women are routinely portrayed in television and film  as sassy, neck-rolling harpies  with major attitude problems. The popularity of reality television shows adds fuel to the fire of this stereotype. To ensure that programs such as â€Å"Basketball Wives† maintain plenty of drama, often the loudest and most aggressive black women are featured on these shows. Black women say these depictions have real-world consequences in their love lives and careers. When Bravo debuted the reality show â€Å"Married to Medicine† in 2013, black female physicians unsuccessfully petitioned the network to pull the plug on the program. â€Å"For the sake of integrity and character of black female physicians, we must ask that Bravo immediately remove and cancel ‘Married to Medicine’ from its channel, website, and any other media, the physicians demanded.  Black female physicians only compose 1 percent of the American workforce of physicians. Due to our small numbers, the depiction of black female doctors in media, on any scale, highly affects the public’s view of the character of all future and current African American female doctors.† The show ultimately aired and black women continue to complain that depictions of African American womanhood in the media fail to live up to reality. The Domestic Because blacks were forced into servitude for hundreds of years in the United States, it’s no surprise that one of the earliest stereotypes about African Americans to emerge in television and film is that of the domestic worker or mammy. Television shows and movies such as â€Å"Beulah† and â€Å"Gone With The Wind† capitalized on the mammy stereotype in the early 20th century. But more recently, movies such as â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† and â€Å"The Help† featured African Americans as domestics as well. While Latinos are arguably the group most likely to be typecast as domestic workers nowadays, the controversy over the portrayal of black domestics in Hollywood hasn’t gone away. The 2011 film â€Å"The Help† faced intense criticism because the black maids helped catapult the white protagonist to a new stage in life while their lives remained static. Like the Magical Negro and the Black Best Friend, black domestics in film function mostly to nurture and guide white characters.

Car Industry in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Car Industry in Europe - Essay Example The essay also look in to various technical measures which car industry has to take to improve the condition of more CO2 emitting cars towards less CO2 emitting ears. It also emphasizes that how these steps improve the overall environment in EU especially the he emission of CO2 level, which is to be achieved with in a time frame. Finally the essay recommends various measures the how EU enforce these regulations legislatively to improve the overall situation of emission of GHG. It also emphasize on how customers and car industry could be benefited by applying and adhering environmental standards for sustainable growth & development. Introduction: The European is at the forefront of international efforts to combat climate change and must deliver the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to which it has committed under the Kyoto protocol. The greenhouse effect is one of the better-understood features of the atmosphere. The European commission proposed in January 2007 "The EU pursues in context of international negotiations, the objective of a 30% reduction of GHG emission by developed countries by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels)". To avoid distortions and for the sake of economical and social fairness, all sectors must contribute to the reduction effort. Cars are an important part of the everyday lives of a large number of Europeans; the automobile industry is a significant source of employment and growth in many regions of the EU. However, car usage has significant impacts on climate change with about 12% of the overall EU emissions of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, coming from fuel consumed by passenger cars. Even though there have been significant improvements in vehicle technology in particular fuel efficiency which also means lower CO2 emissions but this has not been enough to neutralize the effect of increased traffic and car size. While the EU as a whole has reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by just under 5% over the 1990-2004 period, the CO2 emissions from road transport have increased by 26% keeping in view of the above situations in June 2006, European Council therefore unanimously reconfirmed that "In line with the EU Strategy on CO2 emissions from cars/light duty vehicles, the average new car fleet should ach ieve CO2 emissions of 140g CO2/km by 2008/09 and 120g CO2 /km by 2012". The European parliament called for "a policy of strong measures to reduce emission from transport, including mandatory limits for CO2 emissions from new vehicles in order of 80-100g CO2/km for new vehicles in the medium term to be achieved through emission trading between car manufacturers. In view of the above developments in implementing environmental norms and standards by EU, car manufacturers around the globe may face specific problems as well as adhering norms laid down by EU. The auto industry is often thought of as one of the most global of all industries. Car industry is experiencing rapid changes with globalization (Carlson 2004). Rapid changes are also altering the industry structure and attractiveness. The emerging markets

The Book of Nehemiah Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Book of Nehemiah - Research Paper Example The setting for the book of Nehemiah is originally the court of the king in Persia. The people of Israel are still captive in Babylon. Some individuals have returned to Jerusalem with the King’s blessing to rebuild the temple. But nothing has been done to the city walls, gates and other defensive structures. Nehemiah is granted permission to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the defenses of Jerusalem while the work on the temple continues. In Jerusalem, there is an assortment of Jews that remained behind from the initial captivity, enemies such as Amorites and Arabs, and other Jews working on the temple. Many of the Jews in Persia still had dreams of returning home while others were becoming acculturated. All of this was happening at some time between 450 BC and 400 BC. The Book of Nehemiah follows a narrative for much of the length. It was written as a history of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and as a witness of God’s reward for diligent effort. The book begins with Nehemiah receiving word that the construction of the temple was going as planned but was dangerous because there were no walls to protect the workers and the inhabitants of the city. This troubles Nehemiah to such a degree that King Artexerxes can tell that something is troubling Nehemiah, his steward. Nehemiah courageously tell the king what is on his mind. The king grants Nehemiah permission to rebuild the walls and provides tools, equipment and food. Nehemiah arrives and finds much of the city in ruins. Great breaches have been knocked in the walls, many gates and towers are burned and streets are impassable. Nehemiah announces his plans and immediately become an object of scorn and contempt. Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Gehsem the Arab were his main detractors. They said the work could never be completed. Work does begin on the walls and progresses at a very rapid pace. The enemies of Israel are amazed. They begin to issue threats against the effort to r ebuild the walls. Nehemiah records that the work continued, that half of the people stood guard while the other half worked on the construction. These threats were just one of the challenges Nehemiah needed to overcome during the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem. Soon, a division among the local Jews arises. Many families are concerned that they need to support the workers on the walls and that the construction is taking away sons and daughters that are needed in the fields to grow crops. They threaten to stop giving to support the work of the walls and to withhold their labor. Nehemiah convinces them that this is not the right course of action. He encourages them to first of all, forgive the debts that exist within the community. That way no one needs to fear for losing his or her land. Once the locals agree to do this, they also see the wisdom in completing the walls. They continue to sacrifice to keep constructing the walls. With the construction of the walls complete, Ne hemiah makes lists of the families living in the town surrounding Jerusalem. He takes a census according to town and family, making special note of any Levites that can officiate in the temple. In the middle of the book, Ezra takes over, the narrative stops and there is a long account of how the people of Israel are taught from the books of Moses and reestablish temple worship once again in Jerusalem.