Comparing and Contrasting Cartoons Essay

Both of the following two texts, a cartoon strip and an extract from a memoir, share similarities and differences regarding the theme and context, audience, purpose as well as certain formal and stylistic features. The first extract is a cartoon strip written in 1986 by Cathy Guisewite. The cartoon features four panels with three female characters with narrations and speech bubbles to emphasize dialogue and the message regarding women’s rights and sex stereotyping. The context of the cartoon is to show the inequalities between genders. This is evident, when the women begin to associate boys with certain stereotypes such as â€Å"strong† and â€Å"tough†. Therefore indicating that women and girls today are portrayed to be the opposite. The first example of sex stereotyping is seen in the first panel of the cartoon when the first women asks the mother â€Å"is it a boy or a girl?† with the mother responding, â€Å"This is our baby’s chance to get to meet people totally free from sex stereotyping.† Therefore indicating that the mother is against sex stereotyping. Another example of sex stereotyping is featured in the second panel when the woman begins to associate boys by certain stereotypes such as phrases â€Å"look at that strong fist† and â€Å"mischievous sparkle†. The use of these phrases further emphasizes the fact that even today boys and girls are associated with certain words in order to define them as human beings in our society today. This stereotyping is continued even into the third panel of the cartoon when the woman yet again begins to use stereotypes by using the phrase â€Å"what a kicker! You have a tough strong.† The strong use of the emanata in order to emphasize the strong emotions shown by the mother is used in the last speech bubble of the third panel when she angrily replies, â€Å"Girl, she’s a girl! A tough strong girl.† This outburst is quite important in the cartoon as it shows that the mother has had enough with gender stereotyping. This is shown by the strong use of emanata and by simply looking at the drawing of her angry and annoyed facial expressions. The use of the words â€Å"tough, strong girl† indicated that boys are not better than girls and that we are all created equal. This phrase is significant as it shows the mother speaking out for what she believes in, and standing up to women’s rights and gender stereotyping. The final panel is quite ironic due to the fact that as the reader, we would tend to think that after the mother’s outburst there would be no more use of stereotyping. However, it continues again with the women using the word â€Å" precious† to stereotype the little baby girl. The annoyance of the mother is emphasized by her facial expression at the end. This cartoon would be aimed towards a younger or middle-aged generation since it is being represented in a picture cartoon form and would probably be published in newspapers or magazines. The purpose of the cartoon is to influence the issues such as gender inequality in today’s society. The cartoon uses cartoon narrative throughout in order to question societal norms. Throughout each panel captions are used with different font sizes. The font being expressed in all capital letter along with the punctuation in order to emphasize the tone. The writing style consists of short dialogue and the cartoon seems to be used in a more generic perspective in order to create the effect of the cartoon being for entertainment as well as intellectual purposes towards the reader. The second text is an extract from a memoir by Shusha Guppy, â€Å"The Blindfolded Horse, Memories of a Persian Childhood†, written in 1988. The beginning of the memoir starts by the introduction the Shusha Guppy’s birth using the first person perspective. This is evident by the use of certain words such as â€Å"my mothers† and â€Å"my sister.† From the beginning of the extract the reader can instantly notice what the role of women in Persia used to be. This is evident by the use of the phrase â€Å"Sufficient unto women is the art of producing and raising sons as brave lions.† Therefore showing that a women’s main role in society was to produce children and to raise them. This therefore emphasizes what the roles of wome in Persia used to be. The theme of gender discrimination is also used in certain parts of the extract. This is apparent when Guppy is describing herself being born and uses the thought of her father having â€Å"preferred a boy, as men always did in those days† in order to reinforce the theme. The hardships faced in Persia before the changes towards gender equality and women’s rights took place is evident when Guppy expresses the opinion of her father by using the quote, â€Å"Not because boys are better, but because women suffer more.† Therefore indicating that before the changes took place in Persia there was once a distinct difference in terms of rights and equality between men and women. The use of the word â€Å"more† could also indicate the cultural, social or religious positions regarding the women in Persia. The extracts focuses on the new and changing Persia and the fact that women were now created more equally to men. This is evident by the abolishment of the veil, let women becoming emancipated, and their opportunity’s to be able to go to school and university as well as them being able to take up new professions. However, the text also focuses on the fact that many people in Persia had â€Å"found it hard to accept these improvements and to adjust their attitudes.† The use of the word â€Å"attitudes† is perhaps used to show that there is mixed opinions regarding women’s rights. Therefore showing that there is a slow pace of social change despite political change. The memoir mainly focuses on the message and theme of the changes regarding gender inequality in Persia told through the eyes of a young Shusha Guppy who was very much involved in politics. This is evident by the use of the phrase â€Å" I caused my parents endless trouble with my radical adolescent politics† as well as the phrase â€Å"at this time of birth. It was perhaps written on my brow.† Therefore emphasizing Shusha Guppy’s strong willed character and passion for politics and human rights. The memoir seems to be aimed perhaps as well at a younger generation and could be published in books or magazines in order to re-enforce the changes regarding gender equality in Persia. Towards the end of the passage, the use of the phrase â€Å"her life is elsewhere† said by the fortune teller, is very effective as it shows that Shusha Guppy’s life will be different and that perhaps she wont have to face the problems caused by gender inequality in her country. Both texts are similar in terms that both the texts are written by women and share the same message in regards to its female point of view. Both discuss gender labeling, women’s rights and sex stereotyping as well as its implications. And suggests the societal norms for genders and rights from birth. Both the excerpts also share a similarity in regards to female points of view, despite differences in voice, being the omniscient versus first person. The purpose of the authors in the two texts seem to be the same as they both hind that society in changing, however the social norms take longer to change. Both excerpts are also from the same time period. The cartoon strip written in 1986 and the memoir in 1988, therefore indicating that the two texts could share the same opinion since there is not a long difference in time since being written. Both texts seem to share the theme of â€Å"destiny† and the message that just because one is born a certain gender she or he has to follow a certain path, this evident in some words such as â€Å"travel† which suggests the skepticism in the mother’s voice, despite being a women. This shows that she believes in the destiny of women. Both texts also have some differences between them. The cartoon for instance is written in a cartoon narrative whereas the memoir is written in first person narrative, however both seem to question the societal norms. In terms of stylistic and formal features the cartoon is entirely different as it makes use of different font sizes and punctuation in order to emphasize the tone. This is evident when looking at the speech bubbles, and captions as well as the emanate, which is being used in order to indicate certain signs of emotion. The settings of the two texts also seem to be different. The cartoon perhaps set in a more western world, whereas the memoir is given a specific location and is set in the Middle East. This is done perhaps in order to illustrate the similarity across culture. Writing style is also one of the major differences between the two texts. The cartoon consists of short dialogue throughout, versus the memoir which features more of a reflection/retrospect with embedded dialogue throughout. Both texts also have different effects on the reader. While looking at the cartoon it was mostly probably created for entertainment purposes due to the pictures, whereas the memoir is more personal and informative as it gives an insight into the life of an actual person. Perspective is also one of the traits that seems to be different, with the cartoon having a more generic perspective whereas the memoir is more personal. Therefore, in conclusion, both the presented texts share some similarities and differences in terms of the context, audience, purpose as well as the stylistic and formal features. Both effectively share the same opinion regarding women’s rights and positions in society as well as the view of gender labeling and it’s implications. However despite their similarities, there are differences present such as the differences in their stylistic and formal features. However, regardless of their differences both the cartoon and the extract of the memoir effectively convey the theme of how gender inequality is an important issue which is still lacking in our world today

Homo sapiens’ Origin is Not Africa: Looking into Evidences of Man’s True Origin

There is a common notion that man’s birthplace is Africa. Dr. Chuchward, a known anthropologist, confirmed earlier findings of anthropologists (through examination of fossil remains) found out that the oldest ancestors of the human race originated in Africa. One of the anthropologists who ventured into Africa to study human fossil is Dr. Leakey (Origin of Man: Human Beginnings 1). In 1963, Leakey found human fossils dating back to 1. 2 million years ago in East Africa (Rift Valley Region), the oldest known fossils of hominids (Origin of Man: Human Beginnings 1).The theory was emphasized in many documentaries, usually sponsored by the National Geographic or the American Anthropological Society. Much of the content of these documentaries pointed man’s origin in the Rift Valley region in East Africa. On January 11, 1988, the Newsweek Magazine published an article entitled â€Å"The Search for Adam and Eve. † DNA tracing proved that the origin of man can be found to a single woman who lived in Sub-Saharan Africa between 80 000 and 200 000 years ago (Origin of Man: Human Beginnings 1).Her descendants migrated first to the Arabian Peninsula, then to India and Europe and to the rest of the world. This was confirmed by another scientist, Dr. Eric Higgs of Cambridge University. By studying the ancient migration of men, he theorized that the first man of Europe was from central and east Africa. It was about 200 00 years ago (prior to the Ice Age). Professor Chester Chard of the University of Wisconsin noted was able to prove that there existed in the remote past migration routes. Much of the routes’ origin is in Africa. Dr.Leakey once said that â€Å"it is inconceivable that man, the most curious and mobile of all animals, would not have come to America when the elephants, the tapirs and the deer came from Asia †¦ man spread out from Africa to Asia to Europe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Origin of Man: Human Beginnings 1). This view of man’s ori gin had been confirmed and reconfirmed by the succeeding generation of anthropologists. For example, in 19888, Christopher Stringer and Peter Andrews pointed out that Homo sapiens had evolved from a Homo erectus group some 200 000 years ago (Bakalar1). This Homo erectus group later became extinct and replaced by their descendants, the Homo sapiens.Homo sapiens later migrated to Asia, Europe, and to the rest of the world. A known geologist, John Martyn was able to recover human fossils in the Great Rift Valley (in Kenya). Using a new method of dating fossils, he found out that the human skulls were 2. 4 million years old. Recently, some scientists are challenging the assumption that man’s origin is Africa. Professor Robin Dennell of the University of Sheffield in England and Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands believed that early human fossils discovered over the past ten years indicate that humanlike or subhuman species had its origin in Asia (Bakalar 1).The y pointed to two significant finds of the century. A 1. 75 million year old small brained human fossils was found in Dmanisi, Georgia indicating that it was the descendant of Homo erectus living in the Asian continent in the past 2 million years. Another 18 000 year old hobbit fossils was found in the island of Flores in Indonesia (Bakalar 1). The two scientists theorized that because of the relatively small brains of the recent finds, large-scale migration is not possible. Professor Dennell said, â€Å"What seems reasonably clear now is that the earliest hominins in Asia did not need large brains or bodies† (prerequisite for migration).The two argued that there were no fossil or archeological proofs to support the claim that early humans moved from southern Africa to the Nile Valley in thee early Pleistocene period about 1. 8 million years ago to 11 500 years ago (Bakalar 1). They also argued that though the earliest evidence of a human ancestor in Asia appeared about 1. 8 m illion years ago (based from a human cranium found in Mojokerto, Indonesia), it cannot be said that no older specimens can be found in Asia.To support this claim, Stringer said â€Å"Evidence of humans in the Caucasus [region of Asia], China, and Java more than 1.6 million years ago implies either a very rapid spread from Africa after 1. 8 million years ago, or that such populations were established outside Africa earlier than present evidence suggests† (Bakalar 2). He added that rapid migration â€Å"out of Africa† was not possible owing to the fact that early climate prevented homo species from migrating out of Africa. The two said that most interpretations of early and recent findings pointed that the earliest â€Å"human† tools found in the Asian continent are usually attributed to Homo erectus (species usually thought of having its origin from Africa).H. ergaster is an African species assumed by many scientists as both the progenitor of Homo erectus and the only primate capable of migrating out of Africa (Bakalar 2). The body form of H. ergaster is the final proof that it is the remote ancestors of the Homo sapiens. Its body has humanlike proportions; its brain is capable of learning 9e. g. how to hunt game animals). There is though one flaw in this argument. Australopithecines (which is an older form of humanlike primates had virtually colonized the African region by 3. 5 million years ago.â€Å"Similar grasslands extended across Asia at the time, suggesting that Australopithecines could have survived quite well in the region,† the authors said. Added to that, fossil evidence for H. ergaster in the early Pleistocene period is generally unknown. This suggests that H. ergaster was not able to migrate â€Å"out of Africa† by the time Asia was teeming with early men (Bakalar 2). This interpretation was supported by the discovery of human fossils in Flores, Indonesia. The discovered fossils were named as H. floresiensis (Asi an origin). Two facts were really staggering for many scientists.The age of the fossils was relatively the same with that of the fossils found in Africa. And, H. floresiensis was capable of making primitive tools: tools which were used in hunting (Bakalar 2). The implication of the first fact is: distribution of early human populations across both the African and Asian continents was generally uniform (by 2. 6 million years ago). The two authors hypothesized that it is possible for either a multiple point origin (found in different parts of the world) or a single-point Asian origin of the human species.The two authors noted â€Å"The unresolved status of intriguing Flores finds attributed to H.floresiensis leaves open the possibility that this species is the end result and last survivor of an ancient migration of very primitive humans, or even prehumans that formerly existed more widely across Asia† (Bakalar 2). The implication of the second fact is: stone tools used by early men across Asia did not point to an African origin nor did represent an advanced state of development. Added to that, the two authors concluded that â€Å"the Dmanisi [Georgia] hominins are an extremely primitive version of H. erectus that is the ancestor of the H.erectus populations in both Java and those in East Asia† (Bakalar 2).Thus, there is a high probability that the origin of early men rests on the continent of Asia. The theory of Multiregional Evolution was examined in the article of Wolpoff and Caspari entitled â€Å"No, Homo Sapiens Did Not Originate in Africa† (in the book Taking Sides, World History, V. 1). The theory assumed that there are multiple points of man’s evolution in the remote past. Specifically, this theory adhered to the concept of polytypism. Polytypism is the existence of observable average differences between populations.Since different populations of early men differed significantly on certain measurements, multiregionalists argue d that patterns of migration varied across potential routes. Some populations would become isolated, and hence, might show significant differences over the course of time. Some populations might become almost identical in terms of physiological characteristics because of cultural or biological proximity. Thus, multiregionalists argued that the single-point origin of the human species cannot explain the differences found across early human populations.The two suggested that local evolutionary events took place across the world after the appearance of Homo sapiens. According to the two, populations of Homo evolved from a single species. Thus, the propensity of speciation between Pleistocene human populations was not possible (speciation is the splitting of one species into two) (Mitchell and Mitchell, 12-13). This hypothesis became a point of challenge to the prevailing Out of Africa Model which states that Homo sapiens evolved recently as a new species in Africa, and then dispersed t hroughout the world (by routes).The Out of Africa Model also claimed that Homo sapiens were responsible for replacing the existing human populations of those regions without biologically mixing with them. The two pointed out that evidences of an earlier revolution took place in a small group isolated from australopithecine species. Thus, Homo sapiens remained significantly different from australopithecines in both anatomy and physiology (Mitchell and Mitchell, 13-15).

Company Research of Wal-Mart Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Company Research of Wal-Mart - Essay Example This means that 537 new international stores have been added to Wal-Mart's retail space. To enhance its international operations, the company has also experienced switch in leadership roles. Mr John Menzer is now in charge of US operations and several other divisions, while Mr Mike Dune currently heads international operations. In view of the recent developments, it can be seen that the company is seeking to grow externally as it focuses on its international operations. Moreover, Wal-Mart continues to have a positive outlook as it remains committed to the improvement of merchandise mix by constantly offering new products that target a wide market range. The firm also continues to control expenses as it implements various cost-cutting measures such as the recruiting of younger and healthier workers to save on healthcare cost. Given the company's strategy, I believe that continuous growth may be expected as Wal-Mart focuses on expanding internationally. With the firm's established brand equity not only in the US but throughout the world as well, it could easily capture a fair share of the overseas retail market. Accompanied by an appropriate financial strategy, the company's expansion binge may have a positive effect on the value of its shares. This conclusion is further supported by the firm's financial prudence.

Explain how Germany OR Denmark has sought to have both some security Essay

Explain how Germany OR Denmark has sought to have both some security and flexibility in its labour markets. Have these approach - Essay Example These market factors may include the compensation packages, daily wage rates, additional benefits and the most important one is the involvement of technology involved in the industry. As much as there is technology involvement the demand of labor will be affected by this. The fluctuation of labor market also indicates the unemployment or the employment rate of any economy. This unemployment rate is high if more technology is involved in any industry otherwise it will be low. There are certain numbers of economies who have maintained their employment rates by utilizing the entire available workforce. Germany is one of the economies who have managed their available and also potential labor and thus maintaining the labor market also. Main Body: Due to the involvement of technology in almost each and every sector, now the conditions or we can say the requirements of the labor market are very much changed. Now the companies need a highly skilled and capable work force which can be a sourc e of competitive advantage for them. The available labor at the lowest possible cost can be a foundation of competitive advantage. The quantity of labor and the capabilities of labor may be inversely related to each other. ... This willingness or the eagerness can take them even across the boundaries also. Germany is at fourth position among the largest economies in the world and also has a strong industrial base. It is also included in the list of those economies that enjoy a major part of revenues from foreign trade. There are certain medium and even small companies that cover almost two third of the workforce of the country. Germany is currently included in the list of those countries that are enjoying the lowest unemployment rates as compare to the other economies of the world. Particularly there is a variety of job availability for the young professionals also. For maintaining the labor work force, Germany is doing a good job among European Union Countries also. Even in some regions of the Germany, specifically in Southern parts there is a full employment situation also just because of managing the work force availability at a proper and right time. Companies try to utilize the fresh and energetic you ng professionals by giving them apprenticeship during or just after their studies and thus giving them training also (Germany’s Vibrant Labor Market). If the companies find the required talents during the apprenticeship then they may also hire these young individuals as a permanent employee for their organization. This managed work force or we can say the developed labor market is not very old in the Germany. In 2005 the unemployment rate of German economy was the highest one as compare to other countries. But then the Government officials handle it. And now they have excelled over it. There can be two reasons for this almost full employment situation. One can be the Government economic

The characteristics of performance management Essay

The characteristics of performance management - Essay Example Performance management has been promoted, researched and emphasised upon in small and large enterprises since long. The topic has evolved from much technical performance appraisal system. However, with the passage of time, increased complexity in businesses and emerging concepts of knowledge transfer, innovation, strategic human resources and greater attention on capabilities of human assets have transformed the way performance has been perceived, measured, judged and understood in organizational perspective. Even its application to subsequent HR policies and strategies has also changed drastically with the advent of information systems, international operations and establishing cultural symmetries between multinational offices of firms. In such context, it becomes essential to revisit the definitions of these two areas of HRM, chalk out differences between the two and identify reasons for prevailing confusion. Performance management can be defined as â€Å"a process for establishin g a shared understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved, and an approach to managing people that increases the probability of achieving success† (Armstrong 2009). Thus, thriving on this basic definition of performance management, it can be deciphered that performance management is concerned with synchronisation of individual and organizational goals, setting up of expectations, duties and responsibilities and providing for the development of employees through a modification in their attitude, work behavior, skills and abilities. The characteristics of performance management can now be charted out. Armstrong (2009) next opines that performance management system is the sum total of five basic elements- agreement, dialogue, measurement, feedback and reinforcement. Agreement takes place between what organizations want to achieve with the help of contribution of its employees and what employees want to achieve with the help of organizational culture, stru cture and policies. Dialogue is the sharing and dissemination of ideas, data and information to and fro employer and employees. In this respect, not only the managerial heads, but also line managers are responsible for the establishment of a two-way communication channel that exhibits transparency, reliability and truthfulness. Measurement of individual performance is based on continuously evolving standards, indicators and targets. Combination of these three tenets serve as foundation for constructive feedback mechanism through which employees identify their own deficiencies and shortcomings and policy makers also allow and arrange for their development and reinforcement of positive behavioural traits. Secondly, performance management is a flexible, continuous and evolving process which takes note of both past experiences and future requirements to chalk out present policies and strategies. It is not in the nature of authoritative or bureaucratic management where commands and order s follow from the upper echelons of hierarchy. Rather, it is a process done in partnership with employees themselves. As such, continuous changes in role expectations, job requirements, skills and competencies needed and other work aspects keep on surfacing out. Known by various names like merit rating, merit evaluation and others, performance appraisal is a narrower concept with respect to performance management. It is more formally and operationally focused upon evaluating the performance and work behavior of employees through the use of various rating techniques. Grote (1996:3) state that performance appraisals serve to fulfil three major objectives- one organizational and two individual. Organizations use it as a tool to determine the contribution of employees towards the achievement of

Statistical Analysis (FINAL) Unit 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Statistical Analysis (FINAL) Unit 5 - Essay Example Through the groups formed we intend to find out if age is a factor that affects job satisfaction or not. Using the central measures of tendency, mean mode and median we therefore can determine the variation in job satisfaction. From the mean; we want to determine the average value of the observations in the intrinsic ,extrinsic and overall job satisfaction. This gives us a picture of where we expect the values of the different observations to lie. From the results, of the findings we have 5.336 as the mean for the intrinsic ,4.54 for the extrinsic and 4.352 for the overall job satisfaction mean. All this values of the findings lie centrally placed when compared to other observations in the data. The median gives a picture of where the central value of all the observations I the data lie. From this we have the values,5.4, 5.75, and 4.63 for the median of the overall observations ad finally the extrinsic observations, intrinsic observations in that order. These values when keenly looked at are close to the mid values in the observations in the data. The mode also gives us the values that appear most times in the data. From this data we learn that the mode is 6.8, 5.33 and 8 for the overall values, intrinsic and extrinsic value s in that order. The mode is almost the central value for all the observations. From the measures of central tendency, we see that using age as a grouping factor we find that the results gi

Positioning Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Positioning Challenges - Essay Example This enables a proficient X-ray hence preventing lordotic appearance. Correct lateral head positioning has proven to be a challenge considering the fatigue patients undergo during X-ray. A tangle in the head position mobilizes a short cone minimizing the long cones hence limited resulting image. In order to ensure a correct vertical angulation of the head during X-ray, various lines must lie parallel to the table top (Adler & Carlton, 2012). According to Rothbart Proprioceptive therapy the Median Sagittal line, which serves the role of a vertical line must lie parallel to the tabletop. The spinal segment prevents lateral displacement ensuring a steady posture during the X-ray process. Patients suffering from osteoporosis have painful experiences while sitting on the X-ray table. It is in this regard that positioning aids remain in use. To achieve an AP position, positioning aids such as radiolucent sponges and sandbags as well as mattress get applied (Adler & Carlton, 2012). The aids foresee a direct central ray perpendicular through the Patellofemoral joint hence leading to the success of an X-ray. Darrin is also used as an X-ray aid in an AP

Group Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Group Plan - Essay Example 365). A more recent research conducted by Reynolds, Chen and Herbers (2009) indicates that mobility can not only impact students’ academic performance but can also increase the risk of dropping out. This study examined the consequences of student mobility for academic performance and dropout rates in 16 research studies conducted from 1990-2008. Result findings indicate that student mobility accounted for a 1/3 higher rate of both academic under achievement and drop-out rates (1). Rumberger (2002) advices that since nothing can be done about mobility the best response is to inform students and their families of the difficulties that are associated with â€Å"changing schools and how to mitigate them† (p.1). Specifically, Rumberger (2002) recommends that schools should be prepared in advance for the reception of highly mobile students in order to facilitate the transitioning process the moment they arrive. Moreover, schools should set up â€Å"ongoing activities and pro cedures to address the needs of the new student† (Rumberger 2002, p. 2). This group plan is therefore guided by Rumberger’s advice and the documented evidence of the propensity for academic underperformance of students in regular or frequent transition. ... It is difficult to predict the number of students that will be participating in each session, but it is expected to have at least five students and could be as much as twenty. At any rate, teacher representatives from each grade will be asked to participate in the group plan as a means of ensuring that incoming students and their parents/guardians can address any concerns about the curriculum and anything specific to their grade. These teachers are also expected to provide reassurance that they are there for the students and their parents/guardians and when and where they can be contacted. Academic dean, Arthur Baldridge will also be asked to participate in the sessions as frequently as possible. His role is merely to introduce himself and to make himself available to students and their parents/guardians. How Members will be selected Members will be selected by reference to the enrolment register. The enrolment register will inform of new and incoming students. Staff will be selected from among teachers and counsellors based on expertize and availability. The Academic Dean is very important because he administers and plans according to goals set for the student and the academic needs of the students. By participating in the group plan, the Academic Dean will focus special attention on the academic needs of transitioning students. Logistics: The sessions will be conducted once a week for one hour per session for six weeks. The sessions will be held in discussion form and since questionnaires will be distributed in the first and last sessions, it is best to hold the sessions in a classroom. Leadership Skills: As a leader of this

Farenheit 451 Life Essay Example for Free

Farenheit 451 Life Essay What is it like to live in a parallel universe where everything is opposite and nothing seems to make sense? In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the author portrays a different point of view through his science fiction dyspepsia novel. In this novel, Bradbury portrays a lifestyle of no individuality, no questioning, or not even reading a book, in result, causing people to react without thinking. Therefore, this novel could be considered a warning to todays society and the outcome of the future. Many people in todays world act like conformists much like the people in Fahrenheit 451. For instance, in this scene Mildred describes the following; They write the script with one part missing. Its a new idea. The homemaker, thats me, is the missing part. When it comes time for the missing part, they all look at me out of the three walls and I say the lines. Here for instance, the man says, What do you think of this whole idea Helen?. And I say, I say, I think thats fine! (pages 17-18). In this description, it is clear that Mildred is a person who mindlessly follows certain standards to be in the social norm, thus a conformist. In fact, this is often used today through social networking devices such as Youth where people listen to the videos and become obsessed and infatuated with a particular style or social norm. In contrast, l sometime think drivers dont know what grass is or flowers because they never see them slowly, she said l rarely watch the parlor walls or go to races or Fu n Parks. So Vie got lots of time for crazy thoughts, I guess. Pages 6-7) This illustrates how when Claries take things slowly, she gets to see the whole world and not Just a portion of it eke if she was rushing. In comparison to todays world, if people would slow down and take the time to think, the world wouldnt have as many conformists. Today, social networking has taken on a major role in daily lives. In Fahrenheit 451, it describes a similar experience; Picture it. Nineteen century man with his horses, dogs, carts, slow motion. Then in the twentieth century speed up your camera. Books cut shorter. Condensation. Digest tabloids. Everything boils down to the gag, the snap ending. (page 52). Thus, implying that life has become fast pace and individuals have very little time to read, enjoy life or hobbies. In fact, the use of cell phones today dictates the life of many teenagers who dont have time to socialize face to face and conveniently do so through cell phones. Furthermore, messages are condensed to abbreviations such as 101 and OMG as a way of saving time. Additionally, There was a tiny dance of melody in the air, her Seashell was tamped in her ear again and she was listening to people far away Why didnt he buy himself and audio-seashell station and talk to his wife late at night Page 39) This scene shows how Montage wants to talk to his wife but she is constantly on her ear phones. This is yet another example that can compare to how teenagers today are constantly using technology so much that is distracts them from other things. In Fahrenheit 451, books are burned to prevent individuality and solicit a form of censorship of what is acceptable and what is not in accordance with government, social, and cultural norms. Specifically this scene; cant ever have my books, she The people in those books never lived. Come out of it now! This form of censorship and eradication of literature is designed to prevent individualism and to foster a specific belief. Also comparing to how in todays world, people do not want other individuals to stray from the social cycle. Furthermore, Im antisocial they say. I dont mix. Its so strange. Im very social indeed. (page 26). This quote shows how Claries doesnt fit into her school because she doesnt reason like the other students. When this is equated to the world today, it can be used as an example on how people preferential people through looks, different thoughts, and overall appearance and section them out from what is considered normal. Throughout this book, Bradbury shows the reader how technology can brainwash people into mindless fools with no originality. This compares to how in todays world, people use technology as a way to fit in. Therefore, this concludes Fahrenheit 451 can be a warning to society and the outcome of the future. In conclusion, how much exposure can this world handle until we become mindless people?

Gangnam Style Is a Part of Pop Culture Essay Example for Free

Gangnam Style Is a Part of Pop Culture Essay In the baby boomer generation, That Thing You Do, a single released by The Wonders, fascinated people for a long time. Today, majority of people are interested in Harlem Shake, the very short clips that were uploaded on YouTube by some undefined performers. Last year, 2012 was the year of excitement and entertainment. In every part of the world, Gangnan Style, a single released by a Korean singer called PSY, has turned people to share the common interest in the funny dance moves with the catchy beats. Gangnam Style is a recent popular culture that turns people on in the world. This essay will first illustrate the background of this world phenomenon and then extent to explain why it becomes popular culture. To begin with, Gangnam Style is combination of the fancy dance move and a song that is sung in Korean language. It is sung and danced by Park Jae-sang, who is better known by his stage name, PSY. PSY is a 35-year-old Korean artist, who has been working in music industry since 1999. In July 2012, PSY released his sixth album called PSY 6 (Six Rules) Part 1, which Gangnam Style was included inside this album. No later than a month, Gangnam Style became the most viewed video on YouTube due to the unique dance move that has been entertaining people around the world. The reputation of this pop culture did not stop increasing. In December 2012, it became the first ever video that reached 1 billion views on YouTube. Even though it is sung in Korean, but nobody cares about the meaning of it. In other words, people have been into the dance moves with the catchy beats and careless about the lyrics. In addition, Gangnam Style has influenced on many aspects worldwide such as television; sports; parodies; flash mobs, famous people and technology. For instance, there have been more many flash mobs of ethnic groups over the world. In fact, the first flash mob took place in one of the shopping mall in Pasadena, California. Gangnam Style also gained very positive feeling from noticeable people such as Barak Obama, the President of the US and Jim Yong Kim, the President of the World Bank. However, many people wondered why is the part of popular culture. It is important to note that one thing can become popular culture unless it has 4 characteristics: association with commercial products, development from a local to a global level, accessibility and constantly changing or volving. For one thing, Gangnam Style is considered as a treasure for the businesspeople all over the world due to its popularity. For instance, the famous Korean music company, YG entertainment has sold about 100 thousands of the Gangnam Style records nationally. After it became the most viewed video, PSY earned around $1 million from his YouTube revenue share. Moreover, Apple made Gangnam Style to be available in Itune for the Apple ‘s users to download for a fee of $1. 29. Most important thing is that businesspeople have made a lot of money from selling the concert admission fee that they arranged in many parts of the world. Beside the music industry, some associated companies have made plenty of money from selling Gangnam Style clothes, cups, bags and cartoons. It is not a surprise that there are many dancing schools in the world that teach Gangnam Style dance move. Today, some companies have produced photo editor application that allows users to edit photo of PSY dancing Gangnam Style by replacing his head with their friends’ heads. After put things into consideration, Gangnam Style does have association with many global enterprises. In fact, PSY aimed to release Gangnam Style just to compete with other Kpop artists such as Girls Generation and BigBang. He did not expect this record could become what it is today. Miracle happened! Gangnam Style only took about 5 months to reach the global level. This is not just a record that entertains teenagers and adults but also fascinates middle aged and old aged people around the world. All kind of people cannot stand still when they hear the Gangnam Style music; in other words, they just feel like dancing along the music playback. People seem to feel the same type of enjoyment even if they belong to different cultures. In addition, Gangnam Style appeared on many famous TV shows such as Ellen Show in the US, Strictly Come Dancing Show in the UK and Who Will Become A Millionaire Show in India. There are many Gangnam Style dancing videoes or flash mobs that were uploaded onto YouTube by some ethnic groups in different countries. In December 2012, Gangnam Style made its way to become the number one hit in both Billboard and Itune chart passing over As Long As You Love Me by Justin Bieber. Surprisingly, Gangnam Style also became an international phrase. There are 90% of the world population know what this phrase means. Hence, Gangnam Style is known worldwide. Furthermore, Gangnam Style is extremely accessible compared to other popular culture in the 21st Century. YouTube, a world community that allows people to watch and upload the videos for free of charge, plays an important role in promoting Gangnam Style to be the world phenomenon. There are 1,507,623,962 people who have watched this video on YouTube. In fact, many teenagers and adults watched this video in order to learn the dancing moves of PSY. Additionally, Gangnam Style CD can be found in almost all music stores in the world except North Korea. They can also be bought online. Not onl6 does CD can be shopped online but also other Gangnam Style commercial products such as toys, shirts and bags. PSY has appeared on many world tours with his Gangnam Style single release in many countries such as the United State, the United Kingdom, Korea and French. For instance, to celebrate New Year Eve 2012, PSY was invited to sing and dance at Time Square in New York, The US. Well, it is the fact that people can find Gangnam Style everywhere. Finally, Gangnam Style has been developing to entertain people for all over the world. After Gangnam Style became a success in YouTube, many people started to turn Gangnam Style into an acoustic in order to delight the audiences. In February 2013, a group of the twin sisters called Jayesslee, uploaded their Gangnam Style acoustic version on YouTube. That video became the most viewed acoustic version of Gangnam Style. Until now, this video has 22,847,341 views. Equally important, PSY remixed his Gangnam Style release with many popular songs during his concerts last year. Many people translated and sang the Gangnam Style in their own languages; however, they kept the parts, which said â€Å"Oppa Gangnam Style† and â€Å"Hey Sexy Ladies† to remain original. Most of the time, people are not able to follow every dancing move in Gangnam Style video; therefore, they change some moves beside the equine dancing move to make it more easier to dance. In a consequence, people change the original Gangnam Style into something more interesting and exciting. In conclusion, Gangnam Style taught people an amazing today popular culture. Due to its unique dancing moves with the beats, it became the world phenomenon that fascinates almost every kind of people in the world. People cannot curl themselves from dancing along the music while it plays. After all considerations, we can be surely that Gangnam Style has 4 characteristics of pop culture. In other words, it is a real part of popular culture.

Innovations in Technology for Hospitals

Innovations in Technology for Hospitals Public service Innovations through ICT  Ã¢â‚¬Å"eHospital-Dompe† Project â€Å"mChanneling† – a story of transformation of a government hospital in Sri Lanka. Abstract: District Hospital – Dompe is in Gampaha District, having the bed strength of 102 beds under Ministry of Health- Western Province. It’s †eHospital-Dompe† project is the most successful electronic transformation of a government hospital in Sri Lanka. The â€Å"eHospital Dompe† project was aimed making a District Hospital in Sri Lanka more efficient through adaptation of ICT solutions and appropriate change management. â€Å"mChanneling† solution is the first ever automated appointment system in a government hospital in Sri Lanka it is a service provided FREE OF CHARGE to deliver more patient friendly service. A unique public private sector partnership of Ministry of Health, all categories of hospital health staff, ICTA, Well wishers from the community, software hardware providers, presidential secretariat mobile partner were among the cornerstones of the success of this project. Keywords: eHospital-Dompe, Government Hospital, ICT, Change Management, mChanneling Introduction: This project was conceived in 2010. At that time the District Hospital, Dompe was an ordinary government hospital. The hospital was disorganized, overcrowded and there were unnecessary delays that compromised total patient care. The author, the hospital administration, and the hospital staff wanted to change the situation and make the hospital more efficient. Under the guidance of Regional Director of Health Services-Gampaha and Acting Director of the Hospital, the author, with the help of all categories of hospital staff launched a programme to provide efficient health care. The programme included attitude changing, improving moral, building up of team spirit and obtaining optimal use of the abilities of the staff. In addition re-arrangement of the hospital setting, provision of specific accesses to each service points especially emergency access and improving the quality of care provided, were also included into the programme. A new patient Registration Desk, Queue Management Centre, and a Reception Desk were established and 5s concepts were introduced. In addition, an uninterrupted power supply solution was installed with the assistance of donors in the community. Objectives: Rearrangement of the hospital setting to provide a hassle-free service Provision of efficient health care service Uplifting of quality of care provided into international standards The ultimate goal is to have a â€Å" Happy Content Patient â€Å" The ICT Solution – Background: We believed that an information technology solution would help make the hospital more efficient and approached the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) for support. The ICTA’s â€Å"eSociety† initiative supported us with a grant of Rs.4,150,000.00 for wired networking, computer hardware, and software. This was facilitated by Director, re-engineering government programme, Head of eSociety initiative and Project Manager for eHealth of ICTA. We visited Base Hospital-Karawanella where an ICT system was already in place. This enabled us to get an idea of the software that was available. We found that the software had to be customized to make it suitable for our hospital. After extensive discussions Lunar Technologies, Kalutara, under the direct guidance of the author and his team, developed a new system [Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS) Version 1.2]. This system has undergone several revisions since then. It is now available as free and open source software that could be downloaded, installed, and used by anyone. This was facilitated by the ICTA. To deploy the software solution, we networked all the Units of the Hospital, and bought an in-house server [Processor – Quad core E5530 Xeon 2.4 Ghz]. All the networking was wired and was done by Sri Lanka Telecom Services. All the service points/units were provided with a computer [A total of 41 computers: 31 were desktops (processor – Dual core) and 10 were laptops (processor i3)]. Sri Lanka Telecom Services was also the hardware provider. The system was inaugurated on 27 December 2011 under the patronage of Secretary, Ministry of Health (Western Province) and Regional Director of Health Services-Gampaha. The Process: In this project, all the units of the hospital are networked (wired) with an in-house server. All the service points/units are provided with computers linked each other. When a patient comes to the OPD, he will be registered in our system (once in life time) provided with a system generated Patient Identification Number a Patient specific Bar-Code. With this Bar-Coded Patient’s Health Card, the patient is then sent to Electronic Queue Management Centre. There, he will be given the today’s token to assign the correct place in the queue correct doctor’s chamber. Then he will be sent to doctor for consultation. All the doctors are provided with laptops bar-code scanners. When the doctor swipes the patient’s card with the barcode scanner, the doctor can get the patient’s demographic data, past medical surgical history, allergic history etc. within seconds. After the examination, the doctor enters the prescription/ procedure/lab test to the system accordingly. The patient is then sent to the relevant unit to get the ordered treatment done. When the patient goes to the dispensary, the pharmacist there can get patient’s prescription by swiping Bar-Coded Patient’s Health Card. The Laboratory, dressing room, injection room, E.T.U, Medical clinics Dental clinic are also connected to the system. All the daily reports (OPD register, Drugs dispensed, Drug Stock Balance) are generated by the system. When the patent is admitted to hospital, his medical records are updated with the relevant details at the discharge a system generated diagnosis card is issued. Three (03) backups are generated by the system automatically per day data encryption, predefined user access levels, individual usernames /passwords ensure data security. An additional feature of the system is immediate notification of notifiable diseases via email. Stand alone clinics in the hospital, such as the Medical Clinic, Family Medical Clinic, and the Screening Clinic for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are also linked to the system. The DMO’s office is also linked to the system and as a result, he can monitor the hospital from his room. Advantages: The system has been in operation for approximately 2  ½ years at the time of writing this paper. The system holds data of well over 50,000 patients. The OPD has become methodical, efficient and trouble free after the implementation of the IT solution. Two minor staff officers who manually did daily registrations have been re assigned for other tasks now, saving manpower. The OPD staff is benefited from the electronic queue management system and system generated daily reports. They enjoy their work in a paperless environment. There is no more manual searching of previous prescriptions as there are no chits books. The patients are easily managed now as they have faith in the system. The doctors have benefited by getting accurate, comprehensive past histories with medication, investigations and demographic data. They get to know about the availability of drugs immediately. They can plan the patient’s management and easily retrieve lab reports .With all those information doctors can make a more accurate diagnosis. At the same time they are directed for rational use of drugs, especially antibiotics. Doctors can also make sure that the ordered procedure was performed correctly at the relevant unit. The doctors can have a look at statistics for their personal interest (e.g. the number of patients treated by him/her). The nurses in each unit have benefited by their tasks being made easy as they get clear orders from doctors in advance of the patients’ arrival, which helps them to get ready for the treatment. In addition, they get system generated daily summaries. The pharmacists /dispensers are able to get legible prescriptions with automatic calculation of the number of tablets, making their duty easier. In addition, automatic stock balancing has reduced their workload made the dispensary process methodical accurate. The Medical Laboratory Technicians receives properly labeled samples. The administrator is also benefited as he/she can monitor the whole process sitting in his/her room. Obtaining statistical data is made easy by the system and it helps to utilize manpower optimally. Remote monitoring, easy statistical works, optimal resource utilization made health administrators duty easy. But, the main advantage is for the patients. With the help of the system they get better care. They will be able to have a personal medical record into international standards able to get treated in a short period of time in patient friendly environment. â€Å"mChanneling†- a FREE appointment system : mChanneling solution is the first ever automated appointment system in a government hospital in Sri Lanka it is a service provided FREE OF CHARGE. It is a joint effort of Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Health(Western Province),ICTA, Regional Director of Health Services(Gampaha) District Hospital-Dompe. The free health system in Sri Lanka is obviously providing a service with quality to the nation. Though the quality of care is high, the efficiency of service is questionable at the O.P.D level. To overcome that delay seen in the O.P.D at D.H Dompe, an IT solution had been implemented 02  ½ years back functioning well by the moment. When the traditional paper based O.P.D is functioning, a patient’s overall average waiting time at the O.P.D is 01 hour 41 minutes. With the implementation of the IT solution the average waiting time has been reduced to 55 minutes. But with the busy life style even that time period seemed to be longer our attempt was to decrease the waiting time up to 30 minutes. To reach our goal, we planned an automated appointment system called â€Å"mChanneling† for the O.P.D of District Hospital-Dompe. As it is a timely need of entire Sri Lankan health sector, the design was made to be more simplified usable in any hospital in Sri Lanka. The solution can be functioned with only one computer with a internet access at any hospital the hospital need not to be a eHospital(computerized hospital) also. The mchanneling platform is a web-based one the administrative powers are with hospital authorities. The number of appointments to be issued each day is decided by the hospital itself uploaded. The hosting organization (Mobitel) is then open it to the general public by an IVR (interactive voice response).The hosting is FREE of charge the channeling is also FREE. The patient has to bear the call charge only there are no hidden charges. The assigned mchanneling HOT LINE Number is 0711-370370 . When a patient calls to the hotline, it is connected with Mobitel’s server redirected with a predefined voice IVR. It provides appointments only from District Hospital-Dompe Base Hospital-Dambadeniya by the moment. The patient can select the preferred language should go on as directed by the voice IVR. The automated IVR will ask for the date for the appointment the patient has to select time of the appointment. Each appointment contains 15 minutes any caller can obtain only 02 appointments per day by one phone number. The patients are facilitated to obtain an appointment within next 07 days. At the end of voice IVR, the patient has to confirm the selected appointment/appointments. Then the patient will receive a system generated confirmation SMS with details of appointment a reservation ID. The patient is asked to come to the hospital with the details of the obtained appointment- the SMS or the phone number from w hich the appointment is obtained or the Reservation ID . The reception desk staff of the hospital is facilitated with an access to mChanneling web interface able to track the reserved appointments online real time. The patients with appointments are provided with a PRIORITY CARD at the reception desk sent to the doctor assigned for mChanneling, according to the appointment time. The doctor is doing the consultation ordering the medicines as usual (At D.H Dompe it is done through the already implemented IT solution). Then the patient is sent to the special mChanneling counter at the dispensary for a priority service his priority card is collected. Advantages: The main advantage of mChanneling is to the general public as this solution enlighten the free health system in Sri Lanka by making it more patient friendly. The patients will experience an efficient service with minimal time spent at the Hospital. The Electronic Health Records Computerized Hospital Health Information Management System will be adding strength to the patients’ overall experience. The hospital staff will also benefitted by getting to know about the patients who supposed to visit the hospital, beforehand. The administrators will be able to allocate resources manpower accordingly. In addition, the health staff can experience the online web applications its usability it will lead to a carrier improvement of the staff making a more competent health worker. Challenges: There are two main challenges in the Sri Lankan health sector that prevents embracing of IT. First is the complexity of the health sector and the other is poor knowledge and attitudes towards IT. We launched several programmes to overcome the later problem. Several lectures, workshops, competitions (e.g. Best Worker Competition), 5S programmes, productivity programmes (Institutional/Home/Green Productivity) and Out Bound Training(O.B.T) were arranged for all health staff with the view to changing their attitudes. All of our staff has been given basic computer training under the guidance and direct involvement of the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Moratuwa. Head of the Department, guided the programme. Then we selected 60 staff members who were directly involved with the system and provided them with software training. A selected small group was trained on basics of hardware as well. They were refreshed and guided regularly by the author. Small user group d iscussions were conducted to understand and improve the usability.The community was convinced by posters, banners public addressing system of the hospital. The patients got used to the new system rapidly. They were intelligent enough to understand the value of this project and it made our task easier. The Acceptance: Under the ethical clearance of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya with the approval of Education , Training Research Unit of Ministry of Health, a cross sectional descriptive study was conducted to access the Customer satisfaction on using Information Technology in treating patients at Out Patient Department. 384 patients were interviewed. Median age of the study group was 42 years (Inter-quartile range: 33 to 52) and 297 (77%) were females. Among them, 334 (87%) had never used computers, 230 (60%) were not employed and 358 (93%) had more than one visit to the hospital. Three hundred eighty (99%) were highly impressed on using a personal health identification card and 336 (87%) believed their personal data is secured. Majority were â€Å"highly impressed† for using Information Technology on obtaining appointment at registration counter (n=381, 99%), during doctor consultation (n=374, 97%) and on obtaining drugs at pharmacy (n=375, 98%). Three hundred and fifty (91.1%) believed overall time spent at hospital has reduced as a result of less waiting time at registration counter (n=369, 96%), doctor channeling (n=367, 95%) and pharmacy (n=346, 90%) and all felt the quality of care has improved after introducing Information Technology. All patients recommended extending the present syst em to other clinics and wards. The way forward .. The system has been in successful operation for 2  ½ years by now. We always try to improve the software and its usability to improve the quality of health care provided by our hospital. Improving the patient’s health card with the Health Identification Number (HIN) proposed by the Ministry of Health is one of our priority expectations. We are working hard to ensure a more patient friendly service with use of Information Technology . Infrastructure development within our hospital is also necessary for the sustainability of the project. The electronic Bed Head Ticket and inter connectivity with other hospitals are needed to have an effective electronic transformation and these are within our reach. Conclusion: With the experience gathered through the â€Å"eHospital-Dompe† project, we can conclude that appropriate use of ICT can definitely contribute to improvement in the quality of care provided in the Sri Lankan healthcare sector. Electronic Resources: 1. eHospital- Dompe Project in YouTube. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YqujXDfHHQ 2.Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS) Can be downloaded from git://gitrepo.icta.lk/hhims/hhims.git By: Dr. K.B Sampath Kulathilaka (M.B.B.S(Sri Lanka), Cet. In Health Programme Management( Uni. Of Colombo) Medical Officer In-charge of â€Å" eHospital-Dompe â€Å" Project â€Å"mChanneling† District Hospital – Dompe 0777-577927 / 0718-672770 Email ; [emailprotected]

Public Schools :: essays research papers

When Americans' think of education, they almost automatically think of public education. Through the years the idea home schooling is slowly changing. Many parents today are deciding to home school their children. Although most people think that a public education is better, most statistics and facts tend to show that home schooling is beneficial in more ways. It is estimated that parents are now teaching over two million children at home, rather than in public or even private schools. The idea of public education has been debated for years. Students are being faced with so much violence and crime in today's public school systems, that parents are forced to find a suitable alternative. In the past few years, home schooling has had a tremendous rise and has proved to be very successful in providing effective education. In the following paper, I intend to argue that home schooling is a successful educational reform when the child and parent work together to achieve academic excellence. Education in public schools has been on the criticized for many years. Parents now feel that their kids are in danger because of the crime, peer pressure, and violence at school. Teen pregnancies, teen sexual diseases, teen suicides, teen alcohol, drug abuse, pornography, and illiteracy rates abruptly increased 200 to 300 percent (Klicka 48). Violence is one of the main factors effecting are schools today. Rape is a growing problem among juveniles. A juvenile commits one out of every five rapes that occur in the United States. There is also a higher use of drugs and alcohol among kids in public schools. Over 80 percent of public high school students drink alcohol and 45.7 percent have used marijuana. Drugs and alcohol make most people extremely violent. That is also why our violence and crime rates are so high. Over hundreds of millions of dollars are spend on the security of our nation's public schools. In The Right Choice Home Schooling, Christopher Klicka says, "In Washington, D.C., drugs and violence were such a problem in one Elementary school, that the principal banned regular recess, and the children are only allowed to play outside in a pit enclosed by eight-foot concrete walls, or on a small section of playground monitored by the police (Klicka 51)." The disciplinary problems of children usually start even before they reach public school. In the last ten years, research shows that infants raised in daycare "are more prone to behavioral problems as young

Global Warming is False Essay -- Environment Climate Change

A Flawed Opinion Whenever someone thinks of CO2, they think of global warming. They are reminded of Al Gore and his stance on global warming and they automatically think it is true. He has a lot of evidence to back up his theory about how global warming exists and that it is the reason animals are going extinct and also why the climate is changing. Well these facts are wrong and there is evidence to prove it. Global warming is not real and the Earth might even be in a cooling period. There so many reasons to blame people for the epidemic of this false global warming. CO2, a naturally produced gas absorbed by oceans and trees could not be the reason, so what could? Well, nothing can, none of man’s efforts to control the climate will ever succeed against the power of Earth’s natural system of warming and cooling itself. Three great reasons to discredit the theory of global warming are the reason CO2 is not a greenhouse gas, the natural climate change of the earth throughout the ages, and liberal based media’s false facts and propaganda. The great thing about CO2 is that it is not a produced greenhouse gas. John Coleman states plainly in his article to the San Diego Chamber of Commerce about the real story about CO2: â€Å"Here is the deal about CO2, carbon dioxide. It is a natural component of our atmosphere. It has been there since time began. It is absorbed and emitted by oceans. It is used by every living plant to trigger photosynthesis. And we humans, we create it. Every time we breathe out, we emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is not a pollutant. It is not smog. It is a naturally occurring invisible gas† (3). In this quote he distinguishes the difference between smog and CO2. Smog, a blend of both smoke and fog is... ...problems on fraudulent matters and it is up to the intelligent of the Earth to tell them they are wrong. Works Cited Appenzeller, Tim. â€Å"Signs From Earth.† National Geographic. 4 Feb. 2009. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature1/. "Snopes.com: John Coleman on Global Warming." Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages. 20 June 2008. 4 Feb. 2009. . â€Å"Global Warming: Not So Fast." World Climate Report. 12 Feb. 2009 . Haley, James. Global Warming. New York: Greenhaven P, Incorporated, 2001. Nizza, Mike. â€Å"Failing to Deliver a Jolt on Global Warming.† 21 Apr 2008. 4 Feb. 2009.

Benefits of Playing a Musical Instrument

Did you know that musicians have better hearing than people who don't play an instrument at all? Scientists have done research to prove that this statement is a fact. This is more than just being able to pick out a drum beat from the background of a song, like many people can. Musicians hear better overall. The reasons for this are not fully understood, but some people have some pretty good ideas as to why musicians develop better hearing. Musicians can hear better than non-musicians. Hearing depends on microscopically small hairs deep inside of the ear. If the hairs in the ear are gone, so is the person's hearing. (HearingAids.com) People never stop hearing. Even while sleeping the brain just ignores all sound, not letting the person hear what is actually going on around them. (The Hearing Place, February 6, 2017) This is in fact the same for musicians too., Iit is just something the body does, and playing an instrument or not does not affect this part of the hearing process. Musicians hear better in ways, like being able to hear from further away, and they are better at remembering sounds. (NPR music, October 19, 2009) This likely happens because musicians improve due to auditory attention and memory. (National Science Foundation, November 13, 2009) Hearing changes due to the experiences the person has had in their life. (NPR music, October 19, 2009) Musicians can hear better because a lot of experiences they've had are related to sound. These experiences would be the music they are playing, composing, or listening to. These claims may seem a little confusing, since some people believe that loud music or sounds are related to hearing loss, but these facts are scientifically proven. The differences between musicians hearing and non-musicians hearing is more to do with memory than anything else. This is surprising because better hearing is usually equated with hearing quieter sounds, or the ability to hear from further away. The scientist who found that musicians hear better and remember sounds better than people who don't play instruments is Nina Kraus. (NPR music, October 19, 2009) Thanks to her we have this information which could help people who are concerned about losing their hearing with old age. (Jane Langille, September 26, 2012) Nina Kraus says that playing an instrument, no matter how good someone is at playing, could improve hearing. (NPR music, October 19, 2009) This could happen at any point in life, although children who play instruments at a young age seem to have better hearing than people who start playing later in life. Musicians have better hearing than people who do not play an instrument. This happens because hearing changes due to the experiences the person has had in their life. (NPR music, October 19, 2009) This also happens because musicians improve due to auditory attention and memory. (National Science Foundation, November 13, 2009) If a 20 year old started playing an instrument, that person's hearing could improve, and stay that way through old age. Composing, playing, and listening to music are all important factors to better hearing and/or memory.

Tangible and Intangible Assets

Tangible and Intangible Assets Jennifer Geolfos July 19, 2012 ACC291 Mary Larsen Tangible and Intangible Assets Tangible and intangible assets include everything listed under total assets on the balance sheet. â€Å"Assets consist of resources a business owns,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 12). Tangible assets would include land, land improvements, buildings, and equipment. These types of asset would be classified as fixed assets. Intangible assets are rights, privileges, and competitive advantages that result from the ownership of long-lived assets that do not possess physical substance,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 414). Types of intangible assets include patents, copyrights, trademarks, franchises, licenses, and goodwill. These assets would be classified as long-lived assets. Depreciation â€Å"Depreciation is the process of allocating to expense the cost of a plant asset over its useful (service) life in a rational and systematic manner,† (Kim mel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 02). Depreciable assets include land improvements, buildings, and equipment because the usefulness of the asset decreases over its useful life. Land’s usefulness remains constant over its useful life and is not considered a depreciable asset. A depreciable asset also can be considered obsolete when it becomes outdated before it physically wears out. Computing depreciation involves cost, useful life, and salvage value. Cost is the original asset’s value. Useful life is the expected productive life of the asset to the owner.Salvage value is the asset’s value at the end of the useful life. Depreciation is usually computed using the straight-line method, the declining-balance method, or the units-of-activity method. Straight-line is the most widely used method in the United States. â€Å"Under the straight-line method, companies expense an equal amount of depreciation each year of the asset’s useful life,† (Kimmel, Weyg andt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 441). To record the depreciation on the sale of a depreciable asset, a company increases Depreciation Expense, and decreases Accumulated Depreciation.Declining-balance method uses a declining book value figured over periodic depreciation and is also call an accelerated-depreciation method because the first years of an asset’s life produces higher depreciation in comparison to straight-line method. The units-of-activity method takes the useful life in position of total production units or expected use of the asset. This method is typically used for factory machinery or delivery equipment in terms of hours used. The total amount of depreciation is the same no matter which depreciation method is used. Amortization The process of allocating the cost of intangibles is referred to as amortization,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 414). â€Å"To record amortization of an intangible asset, a company increases (debits) Amortization Expense, and decr eases (credits) the specific intangible asset,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 415). Companies amortize intangible assets over their useful life or legal life, whichever is shorter. This life is never allowed to exceed 40 years, (â€Å"Investing Answers†, 2001-2012). The initial cost of any intangible asset is the cash or cash equivalent price paid to obtain the asset.The company adds any legal fees, acquisition fees, and registration fees to determine the amount to be amortized for that asset. This applies to patents, copyrights, trademarks, franchises, and licenses. Goodwill value is determined by the excess cost over fair market value of the net asset purchased. Acquisition and Disposal Acquisition and disposal of tangible assets refers to the buying and selling of land, buildings, and equipment. Acquisition requires determining the initial cost to add the asset to the company’s financial records.The entry would be an increase (debit) to the asset (Equip ment) and a decrease (credit) to cash or increase (credit) to accounts payable. Companies dispose of a fixed asset by retirement (scrap or discard), sale, or exchange (trade-in). Book value is determined by deducting the accumulated depreciation to date from the initial cost of the asset. â€Å"The book value is then eliminated by (1) debiting (decreasing) Accumulated Depreciation for the total depreciation to date, and (2) crediting (decreasing) the asset account for the cost of the asset,† (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2010, p. 10). Conclusion Tangible and intangible assets and the tools to manage each type of asset are important to understand for the financial statements. Each type of asset has its own devices that must be used to represent the appropriate aspects of the asset. Using these tools will create financial statements that show the assets accurately and factually. References Weygandt, J. J. , Kimmel, P. E. , & Kieso, D. E. (2010). Financial Accounting (7th ed. ). H oboken, NJ: John Wiles and Sons. Investing Answers. (2001-2012). Retrieved from http://www. investinganswers. com

How to Make a Turkey Sandwich

Anyone can make a turkey sandwich and, truth be told, anyone could make The Best Turkey Sandwich Ever. Really, the only thing standing in anyone's way is that they probably don't yet know how. This is where this guide comes in. I will try to provide thorough instructions for making The Best Turkey Sandwich Ever.I discovered The Best Turkey Sandwich Ever by accident one night while living in New York City. For you see, I was unemployed at the time and didn't have too much money to throw around on food. As fate would have it, on that night, much like on a myriad of countless other nights that had preceded it (and subsequently on many nights thereafter), I happened to be very hungry. In a sad, strung-out, state of desperation, I languidly scavenged my apartment for something to hold me over until breakfast. I found some deli meat, cheese and half a loaf of unwanted challah bread that my sister gave to me last time I bothered to go uptown to visit her. Confronted with such limited suppli es, the solution seemed rather obvious; cobble these culinary elements together and make a sandwich. Although, looking back upon it, I can only attribute this particular chance arrangement of sandwich materials to the benevolent hand of some archaic pantheon of gods; perhaps viking. I like vikings.Anyhow, I crafted the sandwich to my preference and took a bite. By some happy accident of the cosmos, I, in my pathetic desperation not to scrounge together some pocket change and walk a block and a half for a slice of sicilian pizza, had chanced upon The Best Turkey Sandwich Ever.I've kept this to myself for too long. For the greater good of humanity, I am going to share my process with you today. If you follow these directions carefully, you too can live the rich prosperous life that can only come with The Best Turkey Sandwich Ever.

Sustainable Packaging Will Require More Analysis Environmental Sciences Essay

The European Commission negotiations about how sustainable packaging will necessitate more analysis and certification to look at the existent bundle design, the stuffs that are used and the whole image of the packaging ‘s life rhythm. ( Environmental Marketing Claims, 2011 ) Bolyston ( 2009 ) has a different position and he belives that sustainable packaging dependent on the sum of sustainable energy used in each phase of the packaging ‘s life rhythm. The term ‘life rhythm ‘ means the merchandise goes through a series of phases that mold and develop the merchandise. The life rhythm would see all of the factors from the natural stuffs to how its manufactured, taking onto how its distributed which eventually guides it to the usage and disposal of it. Throughout all of these phases there would be assorted conveyance methods used to travel the merchandise onto its following phase. To sum up all of these stairss and phases is called the life rhythm of the merchandi se. It is indispensable to look at the life rhythm of packaging in order to determine countries and chances in which the packaging ‘s sustainability can be improved. Figure 8 is a diagram of the packaging ‘s life rhythm from The Sustainable Packaging Coalition ; this diagram aims to supply guidelines and rules for the development of sustainable packaging. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition claim that they have set themselves the mission to recommend and pass on a positive robust environmental option for sustainable packaging through functional packaging stuffs and systems that endorse economic and environmental supply ironss. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition characterizes sustainable packaging as follows: Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled utilizing renewable energy Is physically designed to optimise stuffs and energy Meets market standards for public presentation and cost Maximizes the usage of renewable or recycled beginning stuffs Is good, safe and healthy for persons and communities throughout its life rhythm Is efficaciously recovered and utilized in biological and or industrial closed cringle rhythms Is made from stuffs healthy in all likely terminal of life scenarios Are manufactured utilizing clean production engineerings and best patterns. ( Sustainable Packaging Coalition, 2010 ) Figure 8. Diagram of boxing merchandise life rhythms The diagram above shows the procedure and stairss involved for packaging. It starts at the natural stuffs and goes to the terminal user. Each measure in this rhythm requires a signifier of energy but harmonizing to Boylston there are ways to cut this and cut down the sums used. Sustainability relies on tonss of different factors involved at each of these phases ; these factors need to be identified in order to turn to them with the right steps. For illustration if we look at stewardship, this is critical for assisting to safeguard the environment and protecting the employees that are pull outing the stuffs. The less distance the stuffs can go in the life rhythm the better, because this will intend it has taken less gasoline on transit. If we look at another facet of utilizing renewable energy at each phase this will add to do the packaging more sustainable. Reusability and recycling systems or compostability of packaging can to boot heighten sustainability. ( Boylston, 2009 ) Figure 9. Diagram of packaging ‘s upstream and downstream impacts. If we take a expression at the packaging merchandise life rhythm in a additive position we can to boot separate between upstream impacts from the extraction of the natural stuffs until the packaging is passed across to the consumer which is the downstream impacts, these are considered to be the impacts that occur through utilizing the packaging and the stairss taking to the terminal of its life. An illustration of this is the sums of energy required for the recycling procedure at the terminal of the packaging ‘s life. The different recycling methods used are composting, littering, and other possibilities are waste-to-energy workss which means energy can be produced once more from the waste merchandise. A life rhythm appraisal is normally used as a tool to analyze the life rhythm of packaging. The purpose of a life rhythm appraisal is to compare the full scope of societal and environmental amendss, which can be identified to merchandises or services, so least troublesome one, can be selected. There are tonss of different types of life rhythm appraisals know with different Scopess. The range varies from cradle to gate to cradle to cradle attacks and furthermore there are types such as the LCA procedure that addresses the environmental inputs and end products compared to other attacks that address the economic inputs and end products. Now that I have described the packaging life rhythm, we furthermore need to advert that companies such as 3M or Wal-Mart are presently developing their ain definition or usher lines that drive sustainable packaging within their supply concatenation. Wal-Mart claims, its primary mark is to be boxing impersonal by 2025, this means that all packaging recovered or recycled at their shops will be equal to the sum of packaging used by the merchandises in the shelves. Wal-Mart has introduced a set of steering rules called the â€Å" Seven R ‘s † to assist them accomplish their mark. These Principles are: Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Renew ( able ) , Recycle ( able ) , Revenue and Read. Relative to this Wal-Mart have introduced a packaging scorecard, this is a measurement tool that â€Å" allows providers to measure themselves comparative to other providers, based on specific prosodies. The prosodies in the scorecard evolved from a list of favourable properties announced earlier this twelvemonth, known as the â€Å" 7 R ‘s of Packaging † . ( Wal-Mart, Scorecardmodeling.com, 2009 ) 3M utilizations Boxing standards in coaction with the Environmental Protection Agency, this is much the same as Wal-Mart. 3M have set minimising packaging waste as there top purpose and they are have now realised that the most waste is coming from fresh natural stuffs, this is non merely bad for the environment but is non really economical. 3M began by trying to extinguish as much waste as possible through pollution bar, and so the staying waste was reused, recycled, converted to energy, or incinerated to make new energy. Regardless of the packaging life rhythm appraisal, there are related analytical methodological analysiss such as ecological footmark, which is calculated by comparing the biological resources available in a given part to resource demands of a population. The web of users of the Global Footprint Network has developed criterions. The criterions are available on footprintnetwork.org in order to assist to turn to computation niceties, including transitions, step of land/sea packages, turn toing atomic power, changing informations beginnings, import/export informations and biodiversity among others. ( Global Footprint Network, 2012 ) Another well-known footmark is the C footmark, which represents a subset of the ecological footmark and of the more comprehensive life rhythm appraisal.Laws and Regulations that consequence packaging?Regulations are at that place to give companies a mark or a way to head towards. There is directing 94/62/EC set by European Commission Environment that is †Å" aimed to harmonise packaging waste, on the one manus seeking to halt or forestall the harm of packaging to the environment and on the other manus they do n't desire to curtail or falsify the competition within the community. It besides contains commissariats on the bar of packaging waste, on the re-use of packaging and on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. † ( European Parliament and Council Directive, 2010 ) These ordinances or directives have focused on waste decrease and resources but they have failed to look at the societal impacts of packaging. Boylston points out that we have a bigger job to get the better of before we more towards more sustainable packaging and that is with today ‘s companies turning in size there is an disposition towards specialising, this merely breaks up the different sections and isolates them. So the different section terminal up really incoherent with each other so they lose the connectivity between all the sectors. An illustration of this would be the packaging interior decorator working following to the in writing interior decorator, this is so they can pass on and work as a squad.MaterialsSustainable packaging relies upon the right stuff picks. I will be carry oning an probe to look at the measures of packaging waste along with the assortment of stuffs that end up as waste. In add-on to this I will spread out and make further research on paper and plastics. Looking at the solid waste study from 2010 from the European Environmental Agency it is clear to me that out of 250 million dozenss of waste 30 % is from containers and packagings and this is before recycling. The 2nd pie chart indicates that paper and plastics biggest supplies to waste. Figure 10 Figure 11 The recycling and composting of packaging prevented 85.1 million dozenss of stuff off from being disposed of 2010, up from 15 million dozenss in 1980. This prevented the release of about 186 million metric dozenss of C dioxide equivalent into the air this is the equivalent to taking 36 million autos off the route for a whole twelvemonth! ( European Environmental Agency, 2013 )PaperThe ingestion of paper on a planetary graduated table is more than 350 million dozenss per twelvemonth, that is a monolithic 1 million dozenss per twenty-four hours and if it takes approximately 17 trees to do one ton of paper. So its non unpredictable that the paper industry are accountable for approximately 40 % of commercial harvest home of wood, and now seeking to terrorise the last few rain forests which contain and provide a home ground for the endangered species. Jedlicka provinces, â€Å" The paper industry is the 4th largest nursery gas subscriber among makers and a immense consumer of energy. Fur thermore the paper production is associated with toxic bleaching processs. † ( Jedlicka, 2009 ) The benefits far outrun the bad points of paper. Paper is a really various stuff ; this is why it is used for packaging. The added benefits for utilizing paper as packaging is its lightweight and easy printed on and yet it can make all this and still be lasting and are easy recycled. There are more options for what paper can be made from it does n't hold to be wood it can be made of hemp, kenaf straw, exchange grass and it can be made from a assortment or pulped fibres from workss. As bloylston describes about the monolithic measures of paper that out at that place in the universe, all of which require a high degree of post-consumer waste ( PWC ) paper stock picks should imply the biggest precedence. Paper can be recycled up to seven times. ( Bolyston, 2009 ) One metric ton of recycled paper will salvage 17 trees, seven thousand gallons of H2O, three three-dimensional meters of landfill infinite, two barrels of oil and four thousand one hundred kW of electricity. The recycled paper uses 60 per centum less energy to bring forth so ordinary paper ; the energy saved would be plenty to run the mean place for six months. ( Statistics from Recycle bank.com, 2013 ) In order for there to be more paper packaging, the interior decorators have to back up this. The Environmental Protection Agency has made some recommendations which will assist to do packaging more sustainable, these recommendations are to utilize less material, extinguishing toxic components and doing it more readily reclaimable ( Environmental Protection Agency, 2013 )PlasticFictile packaging plays a immense function in today society, you can see this when walking about supermarkets and the egos are full of fictile containers. The word plastic is the common name given to the man-made organic polymers. As defined plastics are normally made from high polymer mass ‘ they can incorporate other stuffs to do it cheaper or to better its public presentation. There are two chief types of plastic, thermosetting and thermoplastics. Thermosetting plastics can merely be heated up and shaped one time ; because once they go cold they stay solid. Unlike Thermoplastics, which soften and melt when around plenty heat, these can be shaped multiple times when heat is applied. Jedlika says that plastics have many benefits such as it is lightweight, lasting, provides a gas and wet barrier and can sometimes retain its recycling value. ( Jedlika, 2009 ) The ground plastics are so popular is because it ‘s various and easy to fabricate with it is besides is unaffected by H2O. A down side to plastic is the additives used can do the plastic toxic and stuffs flow is for downcycling alternatively of true recycling. The recycling rate of plastic has stabilized at around 25 % , but this is n't an equal sum compared to the sum that is freshly produced. One ton of recycled plastic will salvage about five 1000s seven hundred and 70 four Kilowatt-hours of energy, six hundred and eighty five gallons of oil and about 30 lbs of air pollutants. ( Statistics from Recycling Bank, 2013 ) There is a new alternate to petrol-based plastics, which is more environmentally friendly plastic called bioplastics. These plastics are biodegradable and are created from renewable beginnings such as murphies or Beta vulgariss and maize. Boylston argues, â€Å" however, bioplastics besides need the installations for aggregation and must non deduce from needed nutrient beginnings † ( Boylston, 2009 ) There is a immense measure of stuffs that could be used for packaging. There is so much information about new packaging stuffs and the different engineerings available that there are dedicated web sites and forums full of up to day of the month information and ordinances. To wrap up this subdivision I have come to the decision that sustainable packaging is non merely about the stuffs its made from but you have to look at the bigger image merely as Jedlika states â€Å" If a interior decorator merely picks a random stuff out of his or her list of â€Å" charming green stuffs † and does n't really cognize why the stuff is environmentally friendly, or even how it is applied right, so the replaced stuff can do impacts far worse. † ( Jedlika, 2009 )Case surveies and Primary researchI have selected to make my instance surveies on these companies because they show how different sized sectors either contribute or counteract sustainable packaging. The purpose of this subdivision is non to compare to find a 100 % sustainable packaging but to look how their concern delivers profitable value, the environmental betterments and client satisfaction. First, Waitrose supermarkets are a nutrient retail merchant in England ; they have been portion of The John Lewis Partnership since 1937, the first Waitrose supermarket opened in 1955. Waitrose is one of England ‘s taking supermarket retail merchants using over 37,000 people. Waitrose has a sum of 280 subdivisions throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Locations range from high streets to the border of towns ; the shops vary in size excessively. The company is dedicated to offering quality, value and client service. In footings of packaging Waitrose has aimed to cut down nutrient packaging by 50 per centum by 2016/17, based on like for like use since 2005. ( John Lewis partnership.co.uk, 2012 ) Second, Innocent is a drinks company based in England and was founded in 1999. The companies chief concern is from doing fruit smoothies, a choice of fruit juices and vegetable pots, all of these merchandises are all sold in a broad scope of supermarkets and teashops nationally. Sing the company started at a music festival, they have grown well over the old ages and are now spread outing into the European market. They have set their marks high when seeking to be sustainable ; they have achieved this by inculcating sustainability into the packaging from the beginning. The company besides likes to move ethically in all countries of the company. ( Innocent drinks, 2012 ) Decision Within the statement of this thesis I have tried to bring forth an evenhanded discourse on the deductions of sustainable packaging with both positive and negative positions. The research has indicated that there is adequate grounds for sustainable packaging to be used in companies furthermore it will besides profit the environment and society. The research inquiry I set out to reply was is sustainable boxing feasible given the current economic and political clime.

Albert Camus the Plague Essay Example for Free

Albert Camus’ the Plague Essay ? Can God possibly exist in a world full of madness and injustice? Albert Camus and Samuel Beckett address these questions in The Plague and Waiting for Godot. Though their thinking follows the ideals of existentialism, their conclusions are different. Camus did not believe in God, nor did he agree with the vast majority of the historical beliefs of the Christian religion. His stance on Christianity is summed up most simply by his remark that â€Å"in its essence, Christianity (and this is its paradoxical greatness) is a doctrine of injustice. It is founded on the sacrifice of the innocent and the acceptance of this sacrifice† (Bree 49). Camus felt that Jesus Christ was an innocent man who was unjustly killed. This does conflicts with all of Camus’ values. However, Camus did not believe that Jesus was the son of God. Camus’ inability to accept Christian theology is voiced in The Plague by Riex and juxtaposed against the beliefs preached by Father Paneloux (Rhein 42). Paneloux’s attitude toward the plague contrasts sharply with Rieux’s. In his first sermon, he preaches that the plague is divine in origin and punitive in its purpose. He attempts to put aside his desires for a rational explanation and simply accepts God’s will. In this way he is not revolting and therefore falls victim to the plague. Father Paneloux’s belief that there are no innocent victims is shaken as he watches a young boy die of the plague. Camus purposefully describes a long, painful death to achieve the greatest effect on Paneloux: â€Å"When the spasms had passed, utterly exhausted, tensing his thin legs and arms, on which, within forty-eight hours, the flesh had wasted to the bone, the child lay flat, in a grotesque parody of crucifixion† (215). Paneloux cannot deny that the child was an innocent victim and is forced to rethink his ideas. During his second sermon, a change is seen in Father Paneloux. He now uses the pronoun â€Å"we† instead of â€Å"you,† and he has adopted a new policy in which he tells people to believe â€Å"all or nothing† (224). Father Paneloux, as a Christian, is faced with a decision: either he accepts that God is the ultimate ruler and brings goodness out of the evil that afflicts men, or he sides with Rieux and denies God. The conclusion formed by Camus is that because this is a world in which innocent people are tortured, there is no God. Samuel Beckett does not necessarily deny the existence of God in Waiting for Godot. If God does exist, then He contributes to the chaos by remaining silent. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal noted the arbitrariness of life and that the universe works based on percentages. He advocated using such arbitrariness to one’s advantage, including believing in God. If He does not exist, nobody would care in the end, but if He does, a believer is on the safe side all along, so one cannot lose. In this play, either God does not exist, or He does not care. Whichever is the case, chance and arbitrariness determine human life in the absence of a divine power. This ties in with the two tramps’ chances for salvation. As one critic observes, â€Å"For just as man cannot live by bread alone, he now realizes that he cannot live by mere thinking or hanging on in vain to a thread of salvation which does not seem to exist† (Lumley 203). This explains Vladimir and Estragon’s contemplation of suicide after Godot remains absent for yet another day. One could also argue, in the absurd sense, that each man has a fifty-fifty chance of salvation. One of the two prisoners who were crucified with Jesus was given salvation. This element of chance for salvation can also be extended to Pozzo and Lucky in Waiting for Godot. When they come across the two tramps, Pozzo is on his way to sell Lucky because he claims that Lucky has grown old and only hinders him. In this way Pozzo is trying to draw that fifty-fifty chance of salvation for himself. One of the ways in which Lucky hinders him is that Lucky could be the one to be redeemed, leaving Pozzo to be damned. Even Lucky’s speech is concerned with salvation: Given the existence†¦ of a personal God†¦ outside time without who from the heights of divine apathia divide athambia divide apaia loves us dearly with some exceptions for reasons unknown†¦ and suffers†¦ with those who for reasons unknown are plunged in torment. (28) After removing all of Lucky’s nonsensical meanderings, the gist of his speech is that God does not communicate with humans and condemns them for unknown reasons. His silence causes the real hopelessness, and this is what makes Waiting for Godot a tragedy Albert Camus’ the Plague. (2018, Nov 08).