Comparative Formal Analysis of Artworks

The rise of civilization follows hen humankind decided to build for themselves a more stable and promising life. Culture shifts then occurred between the Paleolithic and Sumerian periods due to the civilization of Mesopotamia, and humankind developed a polytheistic culture In which rituals and worshipping came Into play. Statuettes of Worshippers (ca. 2700 BCC. ) from the Square Temple at Susquehanna, Iraq, were one of the representations of the Sumerian culture. The emphasis on different body parts of the sculptures signifies a shift in culture due to the rise of civilization.Life during the Paleolithic period was plain tit meager cultural resources. Venus of Wildflower is a tiny three-dimensional female figure, approximately 4 1/4†³ high, created with simple sculpting tools, probably something similar to a chisel, and a piece of Limestone. The sculpture displays a woman with her pair of thin forearms resting on her breasts and a huge belly hanging above her pubic triangle. The roundness of her body parts dominates the whole sculpture.The tools and media available at that time period set a limit on the techniques of creation, leading to the rugged coarseness of this sculpture. In imprison with a normal human figure, Venus of Hellbender Is exaggerating out of proportions, which seems to misrepresent women from the Paleolithic period. The title of this sculpture, Venus, may be an attempt to explain the distortion and the nakedness of her body. Venus, who is the goddess of beauty and love according to the Roman mythology, might be depicted as the goddess of fertility during the Paleolithic period.The figure, lacking facial features which may be covered by the braided hair, leads the audiences' focuses to her enormous body parts, especially ere breasts and belly. Her belly bulging out may suggest pregnancy while the conspicuous outline of her pubic triangle may represent fertility. From another point of view, Venus of Wildflower, with the fullness of her body , may also be a symbolization of desire for abundance. The Intention of this relatively small sculpture might have been some kind of amulet men carried around or maybe It even acted as a motivation for men hunter to hunt for abundant amount of food.In this sculpture, the emphasis of women's delectate body parts Implies that mankind in the Paleolithic period tends to create what they desire, in the case of The way of living, as well as the culture, changed with the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia. No longer did people in Sumerian period live a hunter's live; instead, they worked to create a more stable life by farming and herding, which was an evidence of civilization. Significant inventions during the Sumerian period equipped people with improved tools and media to create sculptures with better techniques.Apparently, the Statuettes of two worshippers have a smoother surface and texture comparing to Venus of Wildflower. The material of the statuettes was soft gypsum inlaid with s hell and black limestone while Venus of Wildflower was created with limestone only. Clothing and facial features were carved onto the statuettes of the two worshippers unlike the sculpture of Venus of Wildflower. The men wear a fringe skirt with a belt while the women wear a long robe. And instead of enormous breasts and belly, these statuettes have in common outstanding, round eyes.This reveals a cultural meaning of the Sumerian period that gender is differentiated not by sexual body features, but by appearance and clothing. Comparing to that of the Venus of Wildflower, the statuettes have a more normal proportion, despite the size of their eyes and hands. Although these statuettes of worshippers were manufactured in a wide range of sizes, they all have a common body gesture: having a neutral facial expression and standing upright with their small hands together placed in front of their chests.The position of the hands, along with their head slightly tilted upwards, may suggest tha t they are praying or begging for something from deities or any other gods and goddesses they believe in. Also, the small hands of the statuettes may imply that they have a limited ability and their huge, pitiful eyes seem to represent a desire for something in return; for instance, help from the deities to cure a disease.These statuettes of worshippers were found in homes as votive figures probably because common people were not allowed to visit the Gujarat in that time period. Not only do these statuettes signifies a civilization, they also mark the shift of culture and the development of religions and beliefs. The similarities and differences of Venus of Wildflower and the Statuettes of two reshipped from two different historical time periods display a major change in the culture along with the way of living among a group of people in a society.Moreover, the emphasis on certain body parts can be viewed as the main symbolization of the individual sculpture. In this comparison, the breasts, belly and pubic area of Venus of Wildflower represent fertility and abundance while the eyes and hand gesture of the Statuettes of two worshippers symbolize belief and desire for help. In general, different artworks created in different historical time periods usually reveal a major revolution or a shift in culture.

Principals for implementing duty of care Essay

A1, What does the term â€Å"duty of care† mean? The term â€Å"duty of care† means to safeguard anybody from harm and to make sure they are not disadvantaged or treated unfairly whilst they are in my care, to always act in the best interests of individual’s and others such as my co-workers, my employer as well as myself. This is a legal obligation. A2, How the duty of care affects the work of a social care worker Duty of care affects the way that a social care worker gives care, these include following policies and procedures, keeping all training up to date as this ensures good practice by applying it to day-to-day work. Also by insuring fair practice by recognising independence, diversity and choice etc. A3, What having a duty of care means for a care-giving organisation. This means having the responsibility for making sure that their organisation upholds the legal requirement to keep their staff safe as providing a safe working environment as well as providing PPE. Keeping staff up to date on all training including reporting and recording procedures. A4, How does duty of care contribute to safeguarding individuals? Having a duty of care should protect all those who use or work within the service by way of safeguarding. These include: Following policies and procedures, by sticking to the guidelines setout it ensures that the care workers are very aware of what they can and cannot do. Sticking to the rules eliminates any misunderstanding Adhering to legislations or codes of practice such as; safe guarding or the health and safety act to name a few are laws that are set out to protect those who use  the service as well as those who work within. B1, Companies should have complaints procedures in place, it should be efficiently advertised and implemented. This is so that those who wish to raise a complaint can do so in confidence knowing that their complaints are going to be dealt with promptly. Also companies should have a clear procedure, which provides easy to use opportunities for the complainant to register complaints as well as clearly providing the name of the person to forward complaints to. The legal requirements for dealing with complaints include providing support for all complainants and taking the appropriate steps to respond and deal with all complaints raised B2, The best way to deal with a complaint is to Record a detailed description of what the complaint is about, this includes any correspondence letters, emails etc. and any action taken to deal with the complaint at hand Respond to complaints within a shot period of time, if a reply cannot be had at the time specified then the complainant should be notified and told when they should receive a reply Uphold confidentiality and be aware of who needs to be involved when dealing with the complaint, this is so that those raising the complaint can do so without any backlash To be very aware of how the complainant is feeling regardless of if I feel whether the complaint is justified Inform regulatory bodies if need be such as CQC.

Divisions of the APA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Divisions of the APA - Essay Example The current president of this division is Dr. Kim Fromme from the University of Texas at Austin. The division oversees the publication of the journals which deal with addiction such as the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors and the Addictions Newsletter. Interestingly, the information provided about the division on the APA website makes it clear that alcohol and smoking are not the only psychological addictions a person can have. It was a new realization for me to note that the division considers things such as gambling, eating, sexual behavior and even spending to be addictions (APA, 2007). As the history of the division makes clear that the division has been active for many years, the current activities of the division also signify that research works as well as studies on addiction are being conducted by the division at the present time (APA, 2007). I personally feel that the study of addiction is an important aspect of psychology and the department will remain a positive force for the APA and its partner organizations in the

Operating Systems Vendor lock-in Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Operating Systems Vendor lock-in - Essay Example By using Microsoft you have standard platform for all users in your office and worldwide. This is the opposite of Linux, which has multiple distributors delivering similar, but not the same products. This is where many concerns originate. Just because something is cheaper doesn’t always mean it has the competitive advantage. Software price is just one factor, as other factors prove to be more significant. Primarily compatability, standardization, ease of use and reliability. Because of these aspects, Microsoft still has the advantage. What the future hold is uncertain, in terms of new Utility, or the ability to change or alter its function over time, is also important. Some applications are used for one purpose, then another is identified. This would also be a requirement of a new solution. In order for the costs associated with installation and implementation to be worthwhile, the application should provide multiple uses and those that we may deem useful in the future of our organization. as troubleshooting for any issues that occur during the changeover process. Some vendors possess more knowledge in this than others. For this issue, we would likely contact current and previous clients to identify any possible areas of concern. We would In regards to my organization, we are most comfortably locked into software packages and our dependency on Microsoft Windows is the most obvious. We are solely a Microsoft Shop, except for a few rogue machines in our organization. The cost of switching operating systems for our organization would be major. Primarily, environmental changes would lead to need for retraining in multiple areas. Foremost, and securely. Regular users would be forced to learn the new operating system including the changes made to software packages running on the new operating system. Valuable time will be spent on training. This would result in a decreased productivity, due

Family study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family study - Assignment Example its, with the Indians and Mexican Americans (Hispanics) being categorized as closely-knight families emanates from their traditional socio-political and economic conditions. The Africans had to live together as large family units, to be able to fend for themselves, since the status of slaves did not offer opportunities for venturing into prime economic generation ventures (Newman, 2007). The Mexican and the Indian Americans had to form tightly-knight together families, due to the need to establish identity either as acquired/immigrant group or as the invaded group, respectively. This traditional social construct of minority families define the structure of these families to present day. Focusing on race and ethnicity in defining the structure of minority families is woefully misleading, since there is no set of shared physical characteristics that tie people together (Newman, 2007). The attempt to understand families should be based on the similarities that exist across ethno-racial and religious groups, since focusing on differences results in emphasizing the boundaries distinguishing the members from non-members (Newman, 2007). Additionally, focusing on the differences results in the analysis of belonging to a certain group is something to be proud or ashamed of, instead of focusing on the cultural uniqueness of the different groups (Newman, 2007). This results in a negative social construction. Assimilation should therefore be the aspired mode of defining the future American society. Nevertheless, ever reaching a point of where racial and ethnic categorizations are irrelevant does not seem a possibility. Growing in an interracial or interfaith family has the advantage of helping to break the racial stereotypes held by different races against one another. However, the major disadvantage associated with growing up in an interracial or interfaith family is the difficulty of building a self-identity (Newman, 2007). This is owing to the fact that self-identities

Evaluation and Comparison of Two Super Bowling Ads Puppy Love by Essay

Evaluation and Comparison of Two Super Bowling Ads Puppy Love by Budweiser Beer - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the ad titled â€Å"Puppy Love† has been rated second in the â€Å"10 most effective commercials† among the ads broadcast during the Super Bowl 2014. The clip of the ad narrates the story of a runaway pup that befriends a Clydesdale horse and a strong bonding develops between them. The main theme of the ad is the â€Å"connection animals share† and their love for one another and is part of the production company, Bud Light’s innovative campaign titled â€Å"The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens†. The researcher states that the puppy’s mischief during his stay makes his owner handover him to a new adopter, who takes away the puppy in his car and the puppy calls out to the horses grazing on the meadow. The Clydesdale horse chases the car and the other horses appear before the car, blocking its path. The puppy walks away with the horses, its master pets him and finally, he returns to the company o f his favorite horse. The present research has identified that Budweiser is a pale lager beer, introduced into the market in 1876 and is a popular brand in the US with high rates of selling in other 80 markets across the world. The target audience for the ad is people in the range of 20 to 60 years, including both genders. The ad’s story will appeal to the target audience and the short but interesting clip has good visuals and music that will grab and retain the viewers’ attention.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 15

Strategic Management - Essay Example As can be seen in industries which become an icon for nations, there are strong sentiments attached with the commercial aircraft manufacturing industry. This factor is a very dominant contributor to industry dynamics and strategic shape of the industry. The strategic importance of national sentiments attached to some companies is explained by Lou Gerstner in his very famous book ‘Who says elephants can’t dance?’ According to Gerstner one of the major reasons he took up to task of bringing IBM back from brink of bankruptcy was the cultural significance and sentiments attached with IBM of both American businesses and people. The same cultural significance lies with the dominant players of the commercial aircraft manufacturers. This factor is significant for both Boeing and Airbus and holds a very significant importance in determining the analysis provided below. The best method to understand the dynamics of any industry is through the porter’s five forces analysis. This model gives a comprehensive analysis of the different forces functioning in the industry and determines industry’s strategic positioning. This model is also very useful in providing a comprehensive analysis of the individual analysis and more importantly contribution to determining the overall positioning of the industry. The model is used for this example is as follow: The most important factor for any industry is the bargaining power of customers. This is a very economics driven phenomenon. This is because the customers function as a whole on factors of demand and supply. The demand factors for an industry determine the power of firms operating in the industry. The substitutability of a product is the key to bargaining power of customers. This can be analyzed by using exampling of medicines and burgers. The customer when buying medicines will have a very small power because this product has a low elasticity of demand. However,

THE IMPACT OF THE HAJ EVENT ON VISITORS TOWARD THE HOSTING DESTINATION Research Proposal

THE IMPACT OF THE HAJ EVENT ON VISITORS TOWARD THE HOSTING DESTINATION - Research Proposal Example The evaluation of the event will be an essential attribute that requires a proper analysis and elaboration of the issues that take place within the same platform. This report proposes that the events profits the hosting country a lot due to the influx of people while also creating an opportunity for small scale traders to expand their business so as to gain from these events. The proposal will examine the different issues that affect attitudes when dealing with mega events. The proposal will evaluate the events and the value dimensions that define attitudes when dealing with such events. It will also look at the impact of having such an event to the hosting country as the costs and benefits will be felt most by the host countries. Most of countries have begun to open up on hosting mega events. The Hajj has always been an awaited session amongst the Muslims due to their religious connotations. Others have been yearning to host events as big as the fifa world cup and the Olympics because of the tourism benefits they accrue as a country (Horne and Manzenreiter, 2006: 190). The goal is to understand whether the benefits will outweigh the costs and whether the host country will manage the people who come to the country (Jones, 2001: 242: Daniels, 2006: 335). These have also shaped the world tourism patterns because everyone knows that the Hajj period is directed to Mecca and any world cup will be directed to the hosting countries. With time, people already shape their tourism patterns. They have also highlighted the new tourism destinations and brought new demands to these countries (Gelan, 2003: 410). The main expectation, however, is that the host country will have heavily invested in infrastructure, sporting facilities and security to avoid any fatalities due to the huge crowd (Szymanski, 2002: 170). The improvement will benefit the country afterwards, but the

Professionalism and system of Healing Essay Example for Free

Professionalism and system of Healing Essay Much of the existing sociological work on professions and professionalism takes a structural approach (Macdonald 1995); the focus is on how groups of people professionalize, or how professionalism can be defined, which occupations count as ‘true’ professions (Johnson 1981). For this reason ‘professionalism’ is often dismissed as rhetoric. In order to achieve status and monopolistic position in the market for services of some kind, aspiring professionals are seen to stress the distinctness of their knowledge, the undoubted authenticity of their altruism and the responsibility of their members. When professionalism is considered purely as a trope perhaps this is a legitimate line to take. However, it can overlook the fact that professionalism can also be regarded as a set of boundary setting practices. These practices no doubt contribute to status since they distance the professional from the client, but they may also benefit the client. For example, the practitioner may adopt a person in which his or her emotions or prejudices are back grounded and subordinated to the client’s task in hand (Cant and Sharma 1998). Professionalism Professionalism in medicine is nothing more than the institutionalization of a male upper class monopoly. I must never confuse professionalism with expertise. Expertise is something to work for and to share; professionalism is – by definition – elitist and exclusive, sexist, racist and classist. In the American past, women who sought formal medical training were too ready to accept the professionalism that went with it. They made their gains in status – but only on the backs of their less privileged sisters – midwives, nurses and lay healers. The main goal today should never be to open up the exclusive medical profession to women, but to open up medicine to all women. Professionalism is the ability to meet the relationship-centered expectations required to practice medicine competently. What does competence look alike? The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the umbrella organization for certifying boards agree that competent physicians have abilities in the following areas: medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skill, and system based practice. Professionalism integrates all these competencies. It can be observed, for instance, with practice-based learning and improvement when students or residents reflect on their performance and task themselves. Professionalism interfaces with system-based practice when students or residents help patients obtain the care and resources they need to maintain health. Professionalism overlaps with interpersonal and communication skills and with patient care when students or residents are respectful in their interactions with others. The Healing System The integrative practitioner acknowledges the intrinsic restorative capacity of the human organism. Activation of this process is critical to an integrative practitioner’s decisions regarding which therapeutic choices are most beneficial for the patient. Weil has described the concept of a â€Å"healing system† operating in the human organism, not intrinsically different in nature from the â€Å"endocrine system† the â€Å"nervous system, the â€Å"immune system,† or any other conventionally defined functional system in the human body. Like these other systems, the healing system is not specifically located in any single organ, but functions via a subtle and complex web of intracellular signaling systems affecting all levels of the organism, from the cellular level to the tissue-organ level to the levels of mind and spirit. Weil gives an example of the process at the cellular level: when the DNA of a skin cell is damaged by ultraviolet radiation – potentially triggering mutation and unregulated replication, eventually leading to development of a skin malignancy – DNA lipase and a set of related enzymes within the damaged cell’s nucleus are automatically activated, resulting in the identification and removal of the damaged sequence, with restoration of normal replication. If this level of â€Å"automatic healing† fails, then generally, once the cell has mutated and begun to replicate abnormally, immune cells will identify it as foreign and contain and destroy the affected group of cells – without any conscious action on the part of the person affected. At the level of tissues or organs, the spontaneous healing of wounds is an obvious example of the healing system at work. The occurrence of an injury initiates a complex system of intracellular signaling, leading to local inflammation as a defense against infection, increased tissue perfusion to promote healing, and, ultimately, activation of fibroblasts and other cells to repair the damaged skin and subcutaneous tissues. Here again, although this process can potentially be influenced by certain inputs, including medications, botanicals, mind-body therapies, and others, the basic mechanisms of healing are intrinsic and require no intervention to be moved into action. Summary Medicine is a cooperative art and a deeply satisfying profession. Students become professional by paying attention to the relationship of medicine-relationships with patients, colleagues, and mentors. Competence in professionalism is a habit, and its acquisition requires more than knowledge and skill. The inclusion of traditional medical system and other proven modalities in a healing-oriented framework brings us back to a more balanced stance that serves the physician, the patient, and ultimately, the health care system..

Single Member Plurality Electoral System Essay Example for Free

Single Member Plurality Electoral System Essay The Fallacy of the Single Member Plurality Electoral System Government efficiency is dependent on the capacity of the government to make decisions that mirror the views of the majority. This would require municipal representatives to be elected by at least half of the voters. This has not been the case in Canada. Electoral reform has been a highly debated issue throughout Canadian politics. Currently, Canada’s electoral system is being questioned for its inability to reflect the political views of its citizens. The single member plurality system (SMP), which Canada employs to fabricate a democratic election, can cause representatives to be elected without the majority of the popular vote. In contrast, the system of proportional representation eliminates an inequity in parliament composition by ensuring representation from every party that received votes. Although this system would inevitably result in minority governments, it would appropriately cater to the views of the constituents. To produce a more effective government, Canada’s single member plurality electoral system should be replaced by a system of proportional representation (PR). Another attempt to negate the effectiveness of the PR system is by charging that it would lead to the decline of responsible government. The reasoning behind this lies with the theory that PR disenfranchises a parties capability to â€Å"formulate policies, administer programs, make laws, submit budgets†(Barker, 287). Opponents contend that under PR, the government would be unable to garner enough confidence from the legislative branch. However, by looking at the opposite side of the spectrum, one would agree that this disadvantage is minimal compared to the policy making created through single member plurality. SMP encourages parties to form lowest common denominator policies in order to achieve a plurality of votes. Consequently, parties will create platforms that advocate policies that are indistinguishable to those of other party platforms. By providing ambiguous party principles, a constituent’s local MP can avoid being held accountable. In essence, â€Å"the plurality system encourages MPs and political parties to reflect some limited concerns of their geographic districts while ignoring the deeply held principles of the voters†(Heimstra and Jansen, 300). The only thing differentiating Canadian parties is their promise of â€Å"social benefits beyond what the economy could tolerate†(Irvine, 45). Since parties under PR do not have to compete for the median voter, â€Å"governing parties have less incentive to manipulate policy for short run ends†(Irvine, 50). As mentioned earlier, minority governments are likely to be assembled over a majority government under a PR system. This will entice legislature to form a coalition, thereby facilitating the demands of all the different regions comprising Canada. Eventually, long term policy making will be executed with less hesitation, as governments will soon realize that regardless the outcome of the following election, support for their proposed policy will still exist. The inability of the House of Commons to finalize long-term policy-making has stunted economic growth in Canada because of ineffective governments elected through SMP. The greatest disadvantage of single member plurality is its inhibiting effect on voter turnout. Voter turnout has been decreasing steadily as more people have come to the realization that their votes will not necessarily be accounted for. In Jeffrey Simpson’s book, The Friendly Dictatorship, the author reveals that â€Å"only 61 per cent of eligible Canadians bothered to vote in 2000, the lowest turnout by far since the Second World War†(Simpson, 144). It is important to note that Canada counts voter turnout by the number of people who vote in relation to the number of people on the electoral list. Since not everyone eligible to vote gets on the electoral list, the numbers are actually far lower than they appear. With a large number of eligible voters staying home, elected MPs do not have a real mandate to represent their constituents. This discrepancy has the potential to produce an ineffective government and a discontent amid the members of society. It has become increasingly important to determine the cause of this decreased interest in voting. electoral system is often described as a â€Å"first past the post† system. The way in which this system functions is that each voter is allowed one vote and the candidate with the most votes (or a plurality) becomes elected. Proportional representation, on the other hand, can be accomplished through a multitude of electoral methods. But for the sake of convenience, we will focus primarily on the two most notable systems: party list system, and mixed member proportional. The party list system used to achieve PR relies on the voter to choose the party they wish to support as opposed to the actual candidate.

Poaching Elephants for Ivory

Poaching Elephants for Ivory Poaching of elephants has been present from the past 1000 years. However it increased considerably in the 1970s and consequently the elephant population of the world registered a sharp decline with statistics showing that the number of elephants in Africa declined from 1.3 million in 1980 to just 400,000 in 1990 (Ivory trade threatens future of African Elephants). Sudan and the Central African Republic have also registered a decrease in their elephant population. The crucial factor which results in the poaching of elephants is ivory trade. Therefore to save the dwindling elephant population of the world, cutting the demand for ivory in the world became necessary. The first attempt against ivory trading was made in 1975 with the advent of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which placed elephants under the list Appendix II species (White gold: The ivory trade ban). These are the species that, though not threatened by extinction, are at risk of being endangered. This did not ban ivory trading and was just a means of regulating it. However it failed to achieve its purpose as the killing of elephants not only continued but increased as the demand for ivory in the international market increased. Thus in 1989 CITES was forced to revise its position in context with elephants. As of 1990 the elephants were removed from Appendix II and rather placed under Appendix I (a species threatened by extinction) by which the killing of elephants was illegalized and a full ban was imposed on ivory trading (White gold: The ivory trade ban). After the ban was put under practice ivory trade was nearly eliminated because publicity surrounding the issue turned public sentiment so far against the ivory trade that it nearly eliminated the demand for ivory worldwide; most poaching stopped abruptly in response. After the imposition of the ban the number of poached elephants in Kenya was reduced to 500 in 1993 from a huge 3500 in the 1980s (White gold: The ivory trade ban). Also because the demand for ivory had decreased, the price of ivory per pound also decreased from $125 to $5 (White gold: The ivory trade ban). This reduction in price made the poachers lose incentive and poaching of elephants diminished. Another act, The Botswana Conservation and Management of Elephants Act of 1991 (The Conservation and Management of Elephants in Botswana) also helps protect the elephant population. By the application of strict rules by the government of Botswana, which includes the setting up of anti-poaching units, poaching is prevented on a large scale within the country. As a result the elephant population of Botswana is not only stable but is experiencing an increase. There are many points in favor of the ban being continued. These arguments are based on the profitability of live elephants to the countries they are in and on animal rights. Elephants provide a lot of benefits both to the countrys economy in which they reside and also to the natural habitat of other wild life. Some countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya thrive on the tourism brought about by the presence of elephants in their lands. Zimbabwe has earned a net total of $424 million and Kenya has earned a net of $100 million on account of the attraction their elephant population created for the tourists (White gold: The ivory trade ban). Thus, as ivory trade involves the hunting and killing of the elephant population of these countries, it has a detrimental effect on the tourism industries without which these already poor countries will lose significant amounts of money and a major contributor to their gross domestic product (GDP). The former chief executive of the Zimbabwe Council for Tour ism, Paul Matamasia, stated in regards with poaching: Without wildlife, we do not have a tourism industry to talk of (Zimbabwes Wildlife Threatened by Poachers). Another benefit of elephants is that they help change woodlands into grasslands, an action which helps provide habitats for the varied wildlife. Thus if the elephant population is reduced due to ivory trade it indirectly has an adverse effect on the habitats of other animals. This was exemplified in the 1970s in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya when a decrease in elephant population led to a decrease in the population of other animals such as zebras (Why Ivory Trade should be banned). The other main argument presented in favor of the ban is that of animal rights. The indiscriminate slaughter of the elephants is necessary in order to acquire ivory as it cannot be obtained while the elephant is alive. After it has been killed the process of extracting ivory involves the poacher to cut into the head of the elephant because roughly 25% of the ivory is contained in the head. This brutal killing of elephants just to take their tusks is a violation of animal rights and of the law as elephants are considered to be an endangered species and according to The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 ESA prohibits everyone, private person and federal agency alike, from taking endangered wildlife. The regulations extend this to threatened animals. Take includes harming a listed species. Harm: in the definition of take in the Act means an act which actually kills or injures wildlife. Such act may include significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or inj ures wildlife by significantly impacting essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering (The Endangered Species Act). However some argue that the ban is wrong and should not be imposed. There is a debate regarding the endangerment of the elephants with one side claiming that they are not endangered at all. This side argues that rather than being in danger of extinction, the elephant are experiencing a rise in their population. The advocates of this viewpoint cite the examples of Kruger National Park and Botswana. In Kruger National Park the population of elephants increased from 7000 in 1994 to 12000 in 2005. Also in Botswana the elephant population is not only increasing but the authorities registered a threat of overpopulation. The number of elephants increased from 54700 to 60935 (White gold: The ivory trade ban). The ban imposed on ivory trade by CITES requires the elephant population to be below 2000 to qualify. Thus these advocates claim that the ban has been wrongly imposed and should be lifted as the population exceeds that stated by law (White gold: The ivory trade ban).. It must be noted however that this increase in population of the elephants only registered after the ban had been imposed in the first place and can be directly attributed to it because after it was imposed the poaching incidents were reduced to negligible amounts. As far as the problem of overpopulation is concerned it can be justified to still put the elephants under Appendix I of CITES in order to protect the population from falling to such low level that it will become too late to save elephants from extinction; as the old clichà © goes: prevention is better than cure. The primary party opposing the ban is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which includes 12 countries including Botswana, Tanzania and Namibia. The reason SADCs opposition of the ban is the loss of revenue it had from ivory sales. It argues that due to the ban these countries cant even trade in legitimate ivory which is obtained after the elephant dies a natural death. These countries also claim that the population of elephants in their territories is much greater than the level at which a species is considered endangered. In fact these countries claim that they lack the area and resources to cater for the growing population of the elephants (White gold: The ivory trade ban). This, they claim, poses a threat to their human population as elephants come in conflict with the villagers and are responsible for destroying many crops. Another argument they present is that allocating areas especially for elephants is indirectly very costly as they need that area to grow crops and as agriculture serves as a main form of livelihood it is very difficult. Jon Hutton summates the problem by saying: Crops give survival. Elephants dont (White gold: The ivory trade ban). SADC further says that the ban should be lifted so that these countries can sell up to a collective stockpile of $8 million dollars (White gold: The ivory trade ban) that is collected from elephants that died a natural death. These countries claim that the revenue generated from these trades will be used to conserve the elephant population by building better places for them to live in. In response to the argument that legal ivory and stockpiles should be allowed to be traded and that elephants should rather be placed under Appendix II by CITES, it can be inferred from a similar situation that this is not a good solution. In the past, in response to the appeal by Botswana, CITES placed elephants under Appendix II rather than Appendix I in 1997 which allowed a one off trade of ivory with Japan. However this gave way to increased poaching activity in the area as the demand for ivory tusks was restored which acted as a stimulant for the poachers which led to a considerable decrease in elephant population. A complete ban was soon placed afterwards to stop the poaching as illegal advantage had been taken of a lenient decision. This just helps reinforce the idea that a ban is the only solution to protect the elephant population and if lifted gives rise to illegal trade in ivory which is difficult to tell apart from legitimate trade because while DNA testing has been intro duced it is very costly and it will be very difficult to test each batch of ivory. If we consider the argument of the destruction of existing crops and too little space for practicing agriculture we can see that lifting the ban is not the only solution and neither is the killing of elephants a good option as it might aggravate the situation rather than making it better. Much better and effective answers exist in the form of relocation of elephants. The relocation of elephants from overpopulated areas to areas where they exist in very few numbers is a very feasible solution as it answers both the problem of overpopulation in some countries and dearth of elephants in others and will help reach equilibrium between the two. This idea was used in 2001 when some elephants were transferred from Kruger National Park in South Africa to Mozambique. Will Travers, a member of the Born Free Foundation, said: Translocation as a management option, rather than culling, is going to be increasingly used (Worlds Biggest Elephant Relocation Begins) The argument that the revenue generated will be used to help the elephant population is impractical on two bases. Firstly for most of the countries the amount earned from legal ivory trade is much lower than the amount earned by tourism. Thus harming the elephant population for lesser revenues is not a good option. Secondly most of these countries are developing countries and the amount required to increase the living standards of the elephant population will be too high and cannot be fulfilled alone by revenues generated from trade of ivory tusks which is detrimental to the elephant population in the first place. By carefully considering the arguments presented by both the advocates in favor of the ban and those who are opposed to it and by considering the statistical evidence presented in this essay, it can be firmly concluded that the ban on ivory should remain and is the only barrier standing between live elephants and the extinction of a species. Any other scenario, whether it was a nonexistent ban or a lenient one, has proved damaging to the population of elephants in the world. When a ban had not yet been imposed the numbers of elephants was dwindling at a worrying rate while when a little leverage was allowed to some countries for legitimate trade the consequent rise in demand of ivory and the increase in poaching pushed the elephants one step closer to being wiped of the globe. Also the killing of elephants for ivory is a very atrocious crime as the life of a living being is much more important than the benefits it can provide in death and the conservation of a species is much more es sential than monetary benefits. Thus a full ban is the only answer and the protagonists of the group who think that the ban should be lifted should reconsider their arguments.

ANNIs Baby :: essays research papers

I read an autobiography in the form of a diary. I found that because it was written in the form of a diary it gave me a much better idea as to what the main character was thinking. The plot of this story is about a girl who life is going fine until she meets this supposedly wonderful guy. Before long things go bad and he becomes sexually, physically and mentally abusive. Annie stays with Danny and soon becomes pregnant. Before she knows it she's a Mom. She realizes in the end that she simply cannot give her baby everything it deserves so she gives it to a loving couple who is unable to have children. Her mom gets a new job they move away and get on with their lives. The main character in book is Annie. She is fairly attractive with blue eyes, dirty blonde hair and a slender build. She is 14 years old and involved in tennis and soccer. Danny the other important character in this book is 16 tall, dark and handsome. And a major strength on the boys' football team. He has a part time job at his father's restaurant. Annie's mother is very supportive and loving. She teaches at a local high school. (She plays a minor role) Mary Ann is Annie's baby she enters later on in the story. She was born 2 months premature and does what a typical baby dose. Well one of the first conflicts that arises is between Annie and Danny. One night they decided to go to a party, on the way home Danny insisted on having sex, Annie refused. After a short while Danny became impacient and tried to rape Annie, he was not successful .I don't know how but she forgave him and continued to date him. One night on the way out somewhere Danny mysteriously remembered that he had forgot something at home. So they returned to his house once there Danny demanded that Annie strip for him. When she refused he became furious, started calling her every name in the book and became violent. He then forced himself upon her and raped her viciously. When he was done he through her out as if she were yesterdays trash. After all this their relationship continued so did the violence and the sex. Before long Annie became pregnant, Danny refused to admit the Baby was his.

Christians and Atheism Essay -- Christianity Atheist Religion Essays

Christians and Atheism The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. – DC Talk, contemporary Christian band There are three general reasons why Christianity turns people off: 1) The teachings of Jesus and the Bible are not appealing; 2) particular aspects of the Bible (or the Bible as a whole) do not seem feasible (such as the existence of Hell or an omnipotent, all-loving God); or 3) some experience with a Christian or the institution of Church is/was offending or repelling. This last reason why many people dislike Christianity is the most common and most painful for Christians to accept. It is saddening for a true Christian to witness the loving message of the Bible get lost behind the legality of the church (especially regarding political issues) or the hypocritical, unloving attitudes of those who call themselves Christians. And it is a grave problem for churches, especially in the sight of evangelism. The church needs to address the causes of such a turn-off from Christianity in order for it to be remedied. A specific look at how Christians themselves turn people off from Christianity reveals that Christian history, Christians today, and the institution of the church are all unique factors. Christian history is one of the first and most obvious reasons why some people dislike the Christian faith. Here we review some of the great tribulations of the â€Å"Christian† religion: evangelical movements in the Old and New worlds, Salem witch trials, Crusades, the Inquisition, and so on. In his essay â€Å"Why I Am Not a ... .... 7:1-5). There is a way to judge without making people feel hated or rejected. Judge without malice or hate, and always communicate in a respectful, loving manner. If the Christian body can hone in on this, Christians themselves will be a testament to the loving message of God. Works Cited Cahill, Mark. One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven . Atkinson, NH: Genesis II, 2004. Casting Crowns. â€Å"If We Are the Body.† Beach Street Records, 2003. DC Talk, ed. Jesus Freaks . Vol. 2. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2002. 2 vols. DC Talk. â€Å"What If I Stumble?† Jesus Freak . Virgin Records America, Inc., 1995. Muncaster, Ralph O. A Skeptic's Search for God . Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2002. Russell, Bertrand. â€Å"Why I Am Not a Christian.† The Writer's Presence . Eds. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.

Annotated bib

Mean states â€Å"Antigen deserves the title role because her courage and conviction, her absolute and self-sacrificing defiance of Green's edict is the catalyst that creates the whole tragedy; but as the drama unfolds in performance, Green's incapacity to Andre the political and familial situation that he has created becomes more and more central†. The point of this statement is to tell how Antigen's disobedience, and loyalty to her brother created this play, but Is overshadowed by the impotence of King Akron.Antigen Is seen as a female hero while Akron Is not accepted as the tragic hero. Being faced with the death of his wife, and son, Green's nobility does not compare to that of Oldness. Antigen Is then described by Michael Means as being, â€Å"right to transgress against the role expected of a woman In fifth century Athens, and bury her brother herself†. Frank, Bernhard. Sophocles' Antigen. † Explicator 55(1997):187-1 89. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Ga g. 2014.In this literary critique Frank insists that the incest motif still remains very clear in this story as it did in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. He also states that the murder motive reappears. Antigen is described by Bernhard Frank as, â€Å"Rather than the â€Å"ill-fated bride† of Hammond, it is as the bride of her slain brother that Antigen may see herself'. This quote Is stating that she is mourning her brother so much that you would think she was his widow. Antigen Is then described as the, violent daughter of a violent father of a violent father†.Oedipus other daughter, Kinsmen Is described as hope at the end of literary work of art. She will probably marry out of her family. Kinsmen is called the future of her families never ending tragedy. Merchant, David Michael. â€Å"Antigen. â€Å"Masterpiece, Fourth Edition (2010):1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 26 Gag. 2014 There are many themes discussed in this literary critique written by David Michael Me rchant. The subjects of obedience to the laws provided by the gods before anything else, is family worth more than the state, ND the theme of consequences and choices.It is debated that Antigen was right for fulfilling her role In Grecian society, and burying Policies. In contrast, Croon Is looked as scum for trying to kill his niece, and son's fiance. Merchant then states, â€Å"Both Antigen and Croon stick stubbornly to what they feel are logical choices -but they are Limited In their knowledge and cannot foresee all the consequences of their choices†. Both of them do not listen to a council, which tries to guide them. If they audience to debate whether Antigen, or Croon wins this tragic war.

Dystopian High Rise

Dystopian High Rise The novel ‘High Rise’ written by J. G. Ballard focuses on a massive forty story apartment building that houses thousands of people. Anthony Royal, who is the architect of the apartment, designed the building with shops, a school, swimming pools, and enough space to accommodate an overwhelming amount of people. Ballard does not write the plot of ‘High Rise’ in an attempt to illustrate the urban possibilities of modern innovations or future novelties of our evolving world. Ballard expresses how a newly designed building that seems as though it is a well thought out idea of a safe haven can turn into a dystopian underworld.A dystopian society is the idea of a community of people that live in miserable conditions of life, characterized by disease, pollution, oppression, war, violence, poverty, and the classism of systematic discrimination based on sex, age, or IQ. The tower in the novel houses the vision of a dystopia through the fictional ch aracters depicted, and how the building is the agent that pushes the society within to turn into a felonious world. Through the eyes of medical school lecturer Dr. Robert Laing, we see how minor altercations between floors quickly escalate into anarchy, harsh violence, rape, and murder.Laing is eventually dragged into the lifestyle of the tower. Since everything for essential living is located within the tower, such as shops and swimming pools, Dr. Laing has no need to leave the building other than going to work. This entrapment in the building of many residents is the cause of this anarchic activity. The building is a small vertical city (Ballard 15). Within the introduction of the novel, Laing states, that even being two miles from the city, the building that he resides in feels as if the tower were in a different world, in time and as well as space (Ballard 15).The high-rise in turn becomes an alternate world separating the people living inside from the real city giving them the higher chances of confrontation. What we perceive as development through the creation of a structure that can work independently for the common wellness of society, comes with a price to pay. With all social classism in the world, the High Rise becomes a part of the dreadful tradition. Ballard’s dystopia is divided into three classes: upper, middle, and lower class. The upper portion, floors 36 to 40, of the building is where the upper class resides in, this includes the architect Anthony Royal.The middle class’ subdivision, Where Dr. Laing lives, is located from the 10th floor to the 35th floor, from the 10th floor swimming pool to the 35th floor restaurant deck. The swimming pool on floor 10 clearly formed the boundary for everyone under that floor, the lower class residents. The lower class is subjected to faulty maintenance where they go for days without electricity and air conditioning. The residents soon find themselves in a ‘Lord of the Flies’ state of emergency where the different classes and levels of the tower are at war. Works Cited Ballard, J. G. High Rise. New York: Liveright, 2012. Print.

Pros and cons Co-education Essay

Pros: 1. The mixing of both the two sexes in co-educational environment eradicates the inherent shyness in each student. On the other hand, by studying and working in a mixed-gender school, students will be given facilities for expressing and sharing their own ideas or opinions in the presence of the opposite sex. Therefore, it provides students a great incentive to overcome their shyness and enhance their confidence. 2. It is manifest that in the future students have to live in a mixed-sex world and hence they should be well- prepared to easily integrate into the real life. A co-educational environment is reflective of today’s society since it offers students a valuable opportunity to get exposed to a broad exchange of diverse ideas, opinions, values and lifestyles; to get accustomed to working and sharing with their peer of the opposite sex. As a result, students in co-educational schools are more likely to adapt themselves into any new surroundings and get ahead. 3. In the past, education open to women was really restricted due to moral and religious grounds as well as the society’s conception of sex-role and gender-appropriate forms of work. However, with the worldwide advance of the society, there has been an overwhelming shift in women’s roles providing them with greater opportunity for involvement in life beyond the domestic sphere. Consequently, the practice of co-education has made the growth of women’s rights and the expansion of the modern education system to serve all the segments of the population. 4. So girls and boys in the class tend to compete in a healthy manner with each other. It is also seen that the girls fare better than boys in most of the cases. This is because both the sexes are enhanced by the presence of the other. In the olden times it was believed that girls were incompetent to compete with the boys but this is not true. Cons: 1. When studying together in a school, male and female students are likely to suffer from some bad distraction. For instance, some teenage students may be fascinated by their peer of the opposite sex and spend much time attracting them instead of their studying. Many school girls can be bothered by the teasing and even the flirting of the boys. If such distraction is not kept in control, then the students will be certainly lured away from their study. 2. While the world is witnessing dramatic improvements in co-education, there is a public question and concern about the connection among co-education and sexual freedom; a rise in unmarried, particularly teenage-pregnancy; and the growth of sex harassment and sexually transmitted diseases in mixed-sex schools where boys and girls students spend much time together and the safe boundary between two sexes can be broken at any time.

History of Camarines Norte Essay

From 1573 to 1829, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte formed only one political unit known as Ambos Camarines. In 1829, they were separated but reunited again in 1854. They again separated in 1857 to be reunited again in 1893. This union continued until 1919. On March 3, 1919, Camarines Norte was reestablished by the Philippine Legislature in Act 2809. When Camarines Norte was separated from Ambos Camarines in 1829, it was assigned the towns of Daet, as capital, Talisay, Indan (now Vinzons), Labo, Paracale, Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban), Capalonga, Ragay, Lupi and Sipocot. Seventeen years later, it lost Sipocot, Lupi and Ragay to Camarines Sur in exchange for the town of Siruma. Juan de Salcedo, dispatched by Legazpi to explore the island in 1571, influenced the existence of Camarines Norte. After subduing Taytay and Cainta, he marched further across Laguna and Tayabas. He visited the rich gold-laden town of Mambulao and Paracale, obsessed by them about which he heard from natives there of existing gold mines. When Francisco de Sande took over from Legazpi as Governor General, Spanish influence started to be felt in the region. He established a permanent Spanish garrison in Naga to control the region and defend it from Chinese and Muslim pirates. Capt. Pedro de Chavez was assigned to head this force. There were already native settlements here when the Spaniards arrived. The flourishing towns of Mambulao and Paracale were two of them. Indan and Daet were the other settlements besides Capalonga and others. But Paracale remained the most sought after because of its gold mines. ** The national hero Jose P. Rizal and other Filipino expatriates who lived in Madrid and other cities of Spain, called ‘Los Indios Bravos,’ established â€Å"La Solidaridad,† their publication advocating for reforms in the Philippines from the Spanish governm ent. One of the editors of ‘La Solidaridad’ was Jose Maria Panganiban, born in Mambulao (now Jose Panganiban) on February 1, 1863. Lovingly dubbed by his compatriots the â€Å"Avenger of Filipino Honor† or â€Å"El Vengador del Honor Filipino,† this genius, nationalist, scientist and writer died on August 19, 1890 at age 27 of pulmonary tuberculosis in Barcelona, Spain. His remains were brought back to the Philippines by Dr. Domingo Abella in 1958 and to Jose Panganiban in 1985 – 122 years to the day since his birth – â€Å"to rest in eternal repose in the bosom of his beloved native town (Mambulao) on February 1† by MP Roy B. Padilla, Sr., Batasang Pambansa. The entire country and province respectively bestowed upon him a belated but rousing honors. The towns were chiefly inhabited by Tagalogs; the rests were of Visayan strain. However, most of the immigrants were from Mauban, Quezon. The Spanish missionaries did not falter in their mission to Christianize the natives. ** Daet Revolt : APRIL 14-17, 1898 – Local members of the Katipunan led by Ildefonso Moreno and other illustrious patriots staged an uprising against the Spanish authorities here who have fortified themselves in the house of one Florencio Arana, a Spanish merchant and a long time resident of Daet. Sporadic encounters started on April 14 until April 16 when the rebels occupied Daet and surrounded the Spaniards in the house of Arana. But the Katipuneros failed to repulse the reinforcements which arrived in Barra (now Mercedes) from Nueva Caceres on April 17. Said reinforcements broke the siege of Daet. This resulted in the death and/or execution of many patriots, including Ildefonso Moreno, Tomas Zaldua and his two sons, Jose Abaà ±o, Domingo Lozada and Aniceto Gregorio, among others. While the Daet revolt collapsed, it signaled the start of a series of rebellion throughout the Bicol region. ** Another illustrious son of Camarines Norte, Gen. Vicente R. Lukban of Labo wrote a golden page in the history of the province in particular and the country in general. On September 28, 1901, Sunday, he led Filipino rebels, armed only with bolos and sharpened bamboo poles, in an attack against the contingent of American forces in Balangiga, Samar. Only 36 troopers of Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment of the US Forces survived the attack against 16 casualties among the Filipino rebels, giving the encounter its famous label â€Å"Balangiga Massacre† in Philippine history. This feat of arms is celebrated annually in Balangiga, Samar, and in Camarines Norte, with appropriate activities. By virtue of Act 2809 of March 3, 1919, Governor General F. B. Harrison separated Camarines Norte from Camarines Sur with the installation of Don Miguel R. Lukban as its first governor. â€Å"In functional sense, April 15, 1920, was the date of the organization of Camarines Norte, as directed by Executive Order No. 22 dated March 20, 1920, in conformity with the provisions of Act No. 2809,† according to Serafin D. Quiason, former chairman of the National Historical Institute (NHI). Presently, Camarines Norte consisted of 12 towns: Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Jose Panganiban, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Sta. Elena, Talisay and Vinzons. Daet remained as its capital town. ** Wenceslao Q. Vinzons, Sr. – Lawyer, orator, labor leader, writer, youngest delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention and youngest signatory of the Charter at the age of 25, governor in 1940 and congressman-elect in 1941, this provincial hero, refusing to surrender, evacuated the provincial government during the Japanese occupation to the hinterlands of Labo and led a guerrilla force against the Japanese forces here, capturing one town after another in Camarines Norte; organized an all-out attack on Daet, the capital town, and captured it on May 3, 1942; ***together with his father Gavino Vinzons and then Gov. Basilio Bautista, he was captured on July 8, 1942, but he refused vehemently to collaborate with the Japanese; ***few days later his wife Liwayway and children Aurora and Alexander were likewise abducted; he and his father mysteriously disappeared on August 7, 1942; â€Å"the remains of Vinzons, his father, his wife and two children had never been found;† the town of Indan where he was born on September 28, 1910, was re-named Vinzons in his honor and became the venue of the province-wide annual celebration of his birth anniversary. ** First Guerilla Encounter – The first guerilla encounter in the Philippines during the second world war in the Pacific, occurred on December 18, 1941 – 11 days after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941 and 10 days after the attack on Clark Airbase in Pampanga on Dec. 8, 1941 – at Laniton, Basud, Camarines Norte when the Vinzons guerrilla group with some elements of USAFFE units engaged the vanguard of the Japanese Imperial Army advancing towards Daet, the capital town; a shrine was put up in Laniton to mark this historic feat of arms while surviving veterans and the sons and daughters of veterans who fell commemorate this event every Dec. 18 with fitting programs and activities in Basud and Daet under the auspices of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines – Camarines Norte Chapter (VFP-CN), Basud Municipal Government and the Provincial Government.

Bisexuality Politicised Essay Example for Free

Bisexuality Politicised Essay This paper asks the question how can bisexuality be or become a danger to the dominant sexual script which I problematise as produced racism, sexism, homophobia, and monosexism. That this brand of heterosexuality occupies 99% of our cultural space in entertainment, education, history and public expression and is considered inevitable and unchallengable for 90% of peoples relationships is, I will argue, the victory of white patriarchal science. I intend to show the nature of this victory and imagine what counter struggle and victories might emerge from the site of my bisexuality. The Historical role of Biphopia- Policing the Treaty. Underpinning this paper is the belief in that many if not all heterosexual identifying people can be bisexual and that the majority are to some extent not privately monosexual. The majority status of bisexuality does not make it normal nor ideal however I mention it because it is important to realise that the invisibility of bisexuality requires extraordinary effort to maintain and it’s repression occurs against all people not just a few â€Å"natural† bisexuals. To understand the historical role that biphobia has played and the historical position of bisexuality it is necessary to recognise homosexuality as a creation of western patriarchal and homophobic medical science. Women have always loved women and men have always loved men but the classification of these experiences as a sexuality with little or no element of choice and a biological or individual psychological basis was given currency in the 19th century by a professional class that feared same sex desire. Their construction of homosexuality shaped and informs Western cultural understanding of sexuality â€Å"not in the first place because of its meaningfulness to those whom it defines but because of its indispensableness to those who define themselves against it. † (Segal, L. p145) for it was and is needed â€Å"not only for the persecutory regulation of a nascent minority of distinctly homosexual men (and women) but also for the regulation of the male (and female) homosocial bonds that structure all culture – at any rate all public or heterosexual culture. † (Eve Sedgewick in Segal, L. pp194-5) Early psychoanalytic texts were quite explicit that the project was to police all male and female relationships warning â€Å"teachers and parents not to take too lightly friendships among girls which become passionate† and society to â€Å"be more concerned with the degree of heterosexuality or homosexuality in an individual than they are with the question of whether he has ever had an experience of either sort†. â€Å"The real danger from homosexuality† was seen to lie â€Å"not in actual sex association but in homosexual attitudes towards life† such as the negative attitudes of â€Å"thousands of women †¦ toward men, marriage and family life† influenced by â€Å"latent homosexuality† for â€Å"neurotic attitudes about love and marriage can prove contagious. † (Caprio, F. pp 6 -11) Generally, prior to this the western world had relied on Christianity to dictate the terms of sexuality. Whether sexual attraction was â€Å"natural† was no defence under a regime which tended to view â€Å"natural† sexual desires as needing control from a religious authority. The medical establishment faced the dilemma of replacing religious authorities without having any utilitarian basis for the repression of same sex desire. The construction of homosexuality as a distinct condition was to define normality as exclusive heterosexuality. In fact heterosexuality was simply the condition of being human. Sexual behaviour became a product of a persons condition; the â€Å"human condition† producing normal heterosexual behaviour. There was now no need for a religious justification for preferencing the heterosexual over the homosexual because behaviour was not a matter of choice but a matter of whether or not you were ill; Well or sane people simply didn’t want to have sex with people of their own gender. This was presented as a more humane response to homosexuality than religious condemnation or incarceration. Psychiatrists often called themselves compassionate as they argued for an adoption of â€Å"scientific† curative responses to homosexuality. (Caprio, F, p. xi) The majority gay and lesbian movement accepted the shifting of sexuality into an area for science and have embraced the notion of a biological basis or early psychological basis for sexuality. Their fight has largely been for homosexuality to be treated as incurable and it follows natural and equally valid alternative to heterosexuality, jettisoning any agenda to argue that is better. Only a minority have argued that homosexuality is a political choice and an option for everyone. With both sides ceasing hostilities1, when homosexuality was delisted as a mental illness in 1973 (Altman,D. ,p5), institutionalised heterosexuality and gays and lesbians overt interests have moved to coincide. Victories to normalise homosexuality also normalise heterosexuality’s dominance by depoliticising sexuality in general. In 1993 when a homosexuality gene was â€Å"discovered† a genetic basis for the majority status of heterosexuality was created though not declared. Anyone who would argue that the commonality of heterosexuality might have something to do with social programming and institutional support can now be said to be messing with nature. The proud bisexual threatens this peaceful coexistence of the heterosexual majority and homosexual minority. Recognition of our bisexuality requires a validation of our sexual relationships with people of our own gender based on choice rather than the agreed legitimate biological basis. Such choice may be personal or circumstantial but also political or moral. Normalising bisexuality with a biological cause won’t defuse it’s threat though it could contain it if it relegates us to a fixed minority status. Society still has to reckon with why we choose to validate relationships with people of our own gender by identifying as bisexual. We reopen old debates that many who have found safety in a biological basis for their monosexual identity want to keep closed. (I will revisit this fear in the last section, Bisexuality and the Future when I discuss Bi supremacy. ) A bisexual identity simply has to be defined as confused or an exception to the rule. Individuals have to be pressured to fit themselves into one or the other category. In a secular society without moral taboos people can’t be allowed to entertain the idea that their partners gender is political. Also, understandably gays and lesbians know those moral taboos still hold significant power so many still see their best option as policing the treaty based on the attribution of their sexuality to a biological or psychological cause. Bisexuality and identification – Withdrawing our support for the status quo. The bisexual identifying person is not predominantly someone who feels attraction equally to both genders or without any reference to gender2 and in terms of actual sexual or emotional experience the majority could be classified as predominantly homosexual or heterosexual. â€Å"Why then, don’t you call yourself gay or straight? † is the inevitable response to this confession. And confession it feels like because to indicate a â€Å"leaning† puts at risk the validity given to a bisexual identity within contemporary discourse. Sexual expression is usually presented as representative of something innate rather than a mediation between a person and their world. Consequently the woman who says she usually finds women easier to make emotional connections with is seen to be describing her â€Å"innate† difficulty emotionally connecting with men rather than her experience of men and their culture. Asserting a bisexual identity in the face of this invalidation is about contextualising sexual responses rather than finding invisible internal reasons for them. A bisexual identity in the above circumstance keeps open the possibility that a preference for emotional relationships with women could change if men and male culture changed. Alternatively a preference for sex with men might be attributable to homophobia. (Weinberg, M. S. , p221) The reasons for choices are not always positive ones but the possibility for counter argument exists. Holding onto a bisexual identification based on potentiality, rejects the conservatism of describing reality by the status quo. However a bisexual identity is also partially an attempt to accurately relate personal history as well and this too has a radical power. Most monosexual identifications represent people only by concealing some bisexuality. By identifying as bisexual a person accepts and celebrates those aspects of their life that are inconsistent with a monosexual identity. The power of metanarratives within modernism, including descriptions of sexuality, relies on such inconsistencies being deemed insignificant. Hence a public bisexual identity is a confrontation of generalist theories with lived experience. If people promote such a solidarity with their experiences and the people who compose them that is greater than any to a proposed theory then expounders of metanarratives (including myself) will lose power. Our authority to dictate â€Å"from above† will be replaced by a decentralised authority based on being â€Å"up close† to our own reality. Bisexuality and other oppressions. Sexuality forms alliances across genders, ethnicities, and classes so any bisexual movement which fails to take gender, race or class issues into account poses a real danger of obscuring differences and concealing oppression. (This is also true for a multiplicity of issues such as disability or mental illness). My discussion of bisexuality and other basis for oppression are not intended to present bisexual identification as the panacea of the worlds ills. Social change must be inspired by a diversity of experience and informed by a range of critiques. Given the above it is presumptious for me as a half-wog male to seek to resolve ongoing debates about a bisexual political agenda among feminist women or debates among black women and men on how to connect bi pride with anti-racism. To do so would be to pretend that I can speak from only my bisexuality and abandon any white, male perspctive. As a long term unemployed person I believe I can speak on class issues from the inside to some extent but also still acknowledge the privelage of my university education. This is not to say that I think that sexism is a womens issue or that the responsibility for opposing racism is solely non-whites. Nor am I comfortable being accountable to lesbian or straight feminists on the issue of bisexual profeminism or placing beyond reproach the homophobia of some black liberationist theorists like Eldrige Cleaver. What to speak on and when in regard to a radical bisexualitys’ impact on patriarchal, white supremist and class oppresion is best defined as problematic. As a simple way out I hope to show how I see a politicised bisexuality contributes to my pro-feminism, anti-racism and support for class struggles. It is my hope that this will have relevance for a wider audience. Radical Bisexuality and Pro-feminism. Judith Butler states that â€Å"the heterosexualisation of desire requires and institutes the production of discrete and assymetrical oppositions between â€Å"feminine† and â€Å"masculine† identities. † (Segal, L. p190) Monique Wittig goes further to argue that a woman’s place in heterosexuality is a class of oppression and that the lesbian escapes her class position. (Wittig, M, p. 47) I agree that â€Å"hetero†-sexuality (literally a sexuality based on opposites) reproduces and supports womens oppression in other spheres by creating a binary gender system. Men need to realise that their love for women is problematic when it is that â€Å"love† of the â€Å"feminine identity† that belongs to this sytem. This is the attraction for the other and requires women’s difference to be exaggerated and emphasised. These exaggerations shape women as not-men while we men shape ourselves and are shaped into embodiments of the ideal. The seeming irony of male heterosexuality where women are objects of love being consistent with misoginy where women are objects of hate makes perfect sense through the operation of oppositional heterosexuality precisely because the love requires women to be less than men. A love that does not require partners to be different than ourselves is not possible within exclusive heterosexuality because it fails to provide the argument to repress same sex desire. It is necessary for heterosexual men to confront their homophobia which demands they repress or invalidate their same sex desire before they can love their female partners as their â€Å"own kind† and not another species. An additional benifit to patriarchy of discrete gender identities that is liable to be lost when men reject oppositional heterosexuality is the regulation of male social interaction. The arguments to exclude gay men from the military reveal the mindset deemed necessary to produce a war machine; â€Å"We are asking men in combat to do an essentially irrational thing – put themselves in a position where they are likely to get killed †¦ One of the few ways to persuade men to do that is to appeal to their masculinity †¦ You cannot have an adrogynous military †¦ The idea that fighting is a masculine trait runs deep. As a cultural trait it predates any written history. It may even be a genitic trait †¦ Just think what it would mean to demasculinize combat. The effect on combat effectiveness might be catastrophic. † – Charles Moskos, Military Socioligist quoted in Colonel R. D. Ray, Military Necessity and Homosexuality (Gays:In or Out, p63) It is regrettable that non-heterosexual men and many women are proving they too can make excellent soldiers. 3 However the above quote exaggerates a fact that male â€Å"buddy† relationships are relied on by the military and that this requires a repression of same sex desire. This is because same sex desire is preferential – it is not a love of all men equally – but of a few and potentially for a time. The same-sex loyalty that is demanded by patriarchy including it’s military needs the stability of exclusive heterosexuality; â€Å".. the recognition of homosexuality is a threat to that peculiar combination of male camaraderie and hierachy on which most organisations depend; sexual desire is too anarchic, too disrespectful of established boundaries to be trusted. † (Altman, D. p63) Unravelling their heterosexuality is not the most important thing men must do to support feminism however it is a legitimate part of this support for â€Å"it is the repressed recognition of this fact (that everyone can be homosexual) that does much to fuel homophobia, but equally acts so as to promote male bonding and certain crucial authority structures. † (Altman D. ,p XI) Radical Bisexuality and Racism. The construction of homosexuality as a â€Å"natural† difference from the heterosexual norm shares and competes for the same conceptual space as constructions of race as biological differences from the white norm. This is particularly true because the hetrosexual ideal is represented as white with the sexuality of non-whites traditionally seen as untamed, violent, promiscuous or otherwise deviant even if heterosexual. Non-whites are considered only ever partly heterosexual while white queers are considered not proper whites. The competition for the limited conceptual space has led to historical difficulites in linking white supremacy with heterosexism (exacerbated by white queer activists own racial interests) and in fact has unwittingly linked Gay Power with white power. â€Å"Homosexuality as a race† has developed into a gay and lesbian ethnicity. For whites under racism where their whiteness is considered the norm and thus unnamed, this ethnicity is their only ethnicity, the lesbian/gay â€Å"language† their only language, and lesbian/gay history their only history, to the point that it is not seen as a difference within whiteness but a difference from whiteness. (Blasingame, p52) While we (white queers) are unconscious of our whiteness queer cultural politics consequently becomes a way of colonising non-white cultures with a new white culture, white leaders and white history in a particularly insidious way. While not as powerful as heterosexual institutions for people wanting to be publicly non-heterosexual we have considerable power; in the framing of beauty along racist lines, in the support of white non-heterosexual bourgeoius or political leaders and in the very conceptualisation of sexuality. As one example Brenda Marie Blasingame in Bisexuality and Feminism speaks of a history of sexuality in U. S. black communities which did not include placing people in particular â€Å"boxes† and accepted the practice of bisexuality. A part of moving into the white gay and lesbian movement for her was the requirement to come out as a specific sexuality and accept the marginalisation of bisexuals. For many people who are not white taking up a gay or lesbian and to a different extent bisexual identity requires an abandonment of their own ethnic politcal identity or view. (Blasingame, pp. 51 – 53) The common conceptual space of non-heterosexual and non-white however can and should however produce queer anti-racism provided white queers realise that this conception of their sexuality is wrong. There is a shared interest in anti-racism and anti-heterosexism in critiqing normalcy and naturalness. As only one example the construction of beauty posits that naturally â€Å"Gentlemen prefer Blondes†. Not only is this sexist for reducing women to a hair colour (and the Blonde is meant to be read as a woman) but it is heterosexist and clearly as racist as â€Å"Gentlemen prefer whites† when Blonde is only a white persons natural hair colour. When we politicise our sexuality we can open up not only the arguments against heterosexual dominance but the arguments against the sexual sterotypes of non-whites including the framing of Asian men as â€Å"young girls† represented in this regrettable quote from the 70’s magazine Gay Power; â€Å"I dig beautiful oriental men. Asking me to shoot at them is the same thing as asking heterosexual soldiers to shoot at beautiful young girls that they would like to fuck. † (Teal, D. p99) Radical Bisexuality and Class. It is worth noting that capitalism which I understand as the continual oppression of the poor that patriarchy is for women is no longer wedded to heterosexuality in Western affluent nations as it has been in the past. This is because Western nations are primarily consumer societies of fairly easily produced goods (easily because their production is either located in the Third World or in the Quattro Monde – the world of the Western underclass or because their production is automated). Western capitalism can therefore relax the â€Å"restraint and repression† which was necessary to both control factory floors and ensure a ready supply of human capital through reproduction. (Altman D, p90) Part of this is also due to unemployment and global capital mobility being sufficient to obtain cheap labour and another contributing factor has been Western women raising their education so they are more useful in employment than at home. Also marriage was the institution by which women were given the role of providing a whole range of services capitalism wouldn’t such as aged care and child raising as well as supporting adult men. Now many of these services are provided by profitable private institutions so traditional marriages are actually in competition with capitalism. Of course the worlds poor can’t afford these services and Thirld World countries remain supportive of compulsory heterosexuality (Altman, D, p90) but in the Western consumer-capitalism there is a an interest to increase consumption through the market of previous services fulfilled by women’s unpaid labour. In order to perpetuate consumption growth capitalism must also locate new disatisfactions like teenage angst, at an alarming rate while also offering at a price their answer. In this context gay, lesbian and even bisexual identities as well as transgenderism, S+M and fetish celebrations are eagerly embraced by many industries as the basis for new markets. Our anxiety for recognition, meaning, ceremony and a positive celebration of our sexuality are easily exploitable. â€Å"†¦ one of the possible negative side-effects of the popularity of ‘lesbian chic’ was that it codes lesbianism as merely a kind of fashion statement, something that requires certain consumer goods to mark the individual as lesbian. † (Newitz & Sandell) Bisexuals have to be mindful that while we seek recognition, capitalism is looking for new markets and while these interests coincide this will only be true for those of us who can afford it and it will be on the backs of the world’s poor involved in the production of our new consumerables and bearing the greatest brunt of the waste from our new consumption. One positive way to resist becoming merely another market is by applying the awareness of the political nature of sexual desire to the desire for consumer goods and services. Both desires are constructed to serve particular interests and not fundamentally our own. Through working to ensure that all of our desire works for liberation we will resist commodification as we achieve recognition. Bisexuality and the Future To outline what I see as the goal of Radical Bisexuality I will illustrate two scenarios depicting false victories and one which I believe genuinely opens up the greatest possibility for liberation. Scenario 1. Recognition of bisexuality as a third alternative way that people unchangably are. To some extent as I have said earlier this can’t overcome the capacity of bisexuals to fit in as straight and thus can’t conceal the choice to embrace the homosexuality within the heterosexual that they represent. However there are arguments that could be presented that bisexuals have to express their same sex desire or become depressed (â€Å"go mad†). These arguments could form the basis of depoliticising and medicalising bisexuality as has been done with homosexuality. This may make bisexual lives easier to defend and add to the options for young people but relegates bisexuals to the same minority status as is currently given to gays and lesbians. Most people who admit to loving their own gender in straight society would face the same oppression bisexuals now face as â€Å"heterosexual experimenters† and recruitment of the majority would be difficult as they would remain â€Å"true† heterosexuals as unable to change as â€Å"true† bisexuals or gays and lesbians. Further it could also trade the oppression that is invisibility for bisexuals with the oppression that is hyper-visibility for straight men and women, and increasingly gays and lesbians. Having recognised sexuality’s repression but not it’s production we will be easily exploitable by capitalism and our liberation may mean as being as marketed to and ritutalised as heterosexuality. Scenario 2. Bisexuality is considered the only natural sexuality which equates it with the only right sexuality. Heterosexuality would be patholigised along with homosexuality as both are considered to have unnatural â€Å"blocks† to loving one or the other gender. This is Bisexual Supremacy which I acknowledge as a justification for gays and lesbians to distrust bisexuals. While it is unlikely to be widely accepted it is possible that it could dominate queer spaces as a pocket of resistance to heterosexual dominance in the same way as celebrations of gay and lesbian purity have. It is certainly more likely to be targetted at lesbians and gays than straights and while this is the fault of heterosexism’s power, not my own, it must be refuted. This is not to say that politicising sexuality will not require some gay men in particular to reassess their rhetoric. Mysoginistic comments which denegrate women’s bodies deserve political criticism and can’t be assured the right to be accepted. However the wider charge of institutionalising the sexual oppression of women and supporting male social bonding can’t be levelled at male homosexuality and certainly not at lesbianism. Indeed at certain points in the struggle against institutionalised oppression different sexual identifications and choices will be appropriate. Because bisexuality is as deliberate a sexuality choice as any other and not a submission to some biological imperative (and even if it were I reject the claim that naturalness equals rightness) we can’t claim an non-contextual ideal status. Its political usefulness is only that of any tactic relative both to the circumstances and to the person, meaning that for some and at some times other sexual choices and identifications are more appropriate. Bisexual supremacy also prioritises the effort to be bisexual over other efforts to unravel heterosexist, patriarchal and racist programming. I have already stressed the need for a variety of critiques of power to inform social change which Bisexual supremacy ignores. In particular men in relationships with women need to realise that doing their share of the housework is far more meaningful than maintaining or developing their capacity to love other men. Scenario 3. The Dream. Realising our sexualities are scripted will hopefully prompt redrafts along feminist, anti-racist and anti-capitalist lines. No-one should be the sole author of this project even with their own sexuality as we all need to listen to the perspectives our privelages rob us off. Certainly a part of this will be a dialogue between political lesbians, bisexuals and straight women which already has a history and whose future I don’t want to conclude. Consequently my dream is vague. What I don’t see in this future is the fetishisation of wealth, whiteness or gendered difference. Women in relationships with men will recieve support and encouragement as full humans. Advertisers will be incapable of capturing our consumption with snake oil as we demand economic production satisfy new needs that we create, for justice and community. Pleasure including sexual pleasure will mean enjoying our values not forgetting them. Bisexuality like other sexualities will have to argue it’s political legitimacy but not it’s existance. Sexual identifications such as â€Å"Confused† may replace bisexual for many if it is recognises more of their personal truth and political terms like Anti-racist may be key elements of sexual identification. Radical bisexuality wont end all struggles but the raw energy of sexuality will be accountable to and in the employ of the great project of improving the world . Bibliography Altman, Dennis, The Homosexualisation of America, The Americanization of the Homosexual, St. Martins Press, New York, 1982 Sedgewick, E. K. , â€Å"How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay†, pp. 69 – 81, Fear of a Queer Planet : Queer Politics and Social Theory, Warner,M. (Editor), University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1993 Segal, Lynne, Straight Sex: Rethinking the Politics of Pleasure, University of California Press, U. S. A. , 1994. Foucalt, Michel, The History of Sexuality, Volume 1:An Introduction, Allen Lane, London, 1978 Newitz, A. and J. Sandell,â€Å"Bisexuality And How To Use It: Toward a Coalitional Identity Politics†, Bad Subjects, Issue # 16, October 1994 Caprio, F. S. M. D. Female Homosexuality:A Psychodynamic study of Lesbianism, The Citadel Press, New York, 1954 Weinberg,M. S. , C. J. Williams, D. W. Pryor, Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality, Oxford University Press, Inc. , New York, 1994 Blasingame, B. M. , â€Å"The Roots of Biphobia: Internalised Racism and Internalised Heterosexism† in Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism, Edited by E. R. Wise, Seal Press, U. S. A. , 1992 Colonel R. D. Ray, Military Necessity and Homosexuality , reprinted in Gays:In or Out: The U. S. Military & Homosexuals – A Source book, Brassey’s, March 1993. Teal D. , The Gay Militants, Stein and Day Publishers, New York, 1971. Wittig, M. , The Straight Mind and Other Essays, Beacon Press. Boston, 1992 Descriptors for Sexual Minorities †¢ Front Page †¢ What is h2g2? †¢ Who’s Online †¢ Write an Entry †¢ Browse †¢ Announcements †¢ Feedback †¢ h2g2 Help †¢ RSS Feeds Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend! Descriptors for Sexual Minorities | Asexuality | Homosexuality Heterosexuality | Bisexuality | Polyamory | The Kinsey Scale | The Gender Pronoun Game | Coming Out Embarrassing Questions About Sexual Orientation | Going Back In – Sexuality U-turns Modern culture has developed a number of terms and symbols to set apart its sexual minorities. Some of these originated within the different communities themselves. Others evolved from scientists, psychologists, legislators, and newspaper reporters trying to describe their gay, bisexual, transsexual, and polyamorous subjects. Many include obscure references to history that go largely unrecognized. Words Lesbian The word lesbian comes from the Greek island Lesbos, where the poet Sappho lived in 600 BC. Sappho wrote numerous poems about her female love, most of which were destroyed by religious fanatics during the Middle Ages. While the first usage of the word lesbian is unknown, it was used in several academic books as early as 1880. The word became more popular during the 20th Century, especially during the feminist era. The term ‘lesbian separatist’ was commonly used to distinguish feminists who wished to avoid the company of men altogether. Fag, Faggot, Fag Hag ‘Fag’ and ‘faggot’ are American insults for gay men. The term ‘faggot’ first started being used in this way in around 1914, but it is not clear where the word came from. A faggot is a bundle of sticks, used for firewood and tied up for carrying around. In the 16th century it was used as an insulting term for a useless old woman as something that weighs you down, in the same way that ‘baggage’ is sometimes used nowadays. But it’s quite a jump from 1592 to 1914 with nothing recorded in between. Gay men in the latter half of the 20th Century began using the term ‘fag hag’ to refer to straight women who frequently gather at gay establishments, partly as an insult and partly because of the rhyme. Dyke Contrary to popular belief, the origin of the insult ‘dyke’1, in reference to lesbians, has nothing to do with waterways or canals. The word first appeared in 1710 in British newspaper stories about presumed homosexuals Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. The two women captained a very successful pirate venture and completed several lucrative raids of the British Empire before agreeing to be interviewed. Reporters often noted their predilection for wearing men’s clothing, and one editorial avoided the unpleasant connotations of cross dressing by using a French word which refers to men’s clothing, dike. Over the years, this term was corrupted to the modern form ‘dyke’. Since then, general misunderstanding about the term’s origins have inspired many stand-up comedy routines and bad puns. Polyamory, Polygamy, Monogamy The prefix ‘poly-‘ means many, while ‘mono’ means one. The suffix ‘gamy’ was originally from the French word for marriage, but has since been misunderstood as referring to sex. These terms refer to the number of consensual romantic partners taken by each adult in a family. Of course, the suffix ‘amory’ refers to love. Polyamory is a relatively new term coined by modern practitioners, and is greatly preferred by them. Polygamy and the now defunct term bigamy were coined as early as 1800, as the practice of multiple marriages was outlawed in most Western nations. The state of Utah in the USA applied for Statehood three times before finally accepting an injunction against the polygamy practised at that time by the Mormon church. Polygamy is commonly understood as referring to heterosexual relationships where the man has multiple partners. However, with modern polyamory any combination of genders and orientations fulfills the definition. It is not necessary for all parties in a polyamorous relationship to be involved each with the other. Gay During the 1800s and early 1900s, ‘gay’ was simply a state of jubilant happiness. However, during the late 1800s gay was sometimes used to describe prostitutes in much the same way that the phrase ‘happy hookers’ is used today. One theory is that gay came into use to describe homosexual men because of the rise in numbers of male prostitutes during the 1900s. Another theory is that ‘gay’ was Bisexuality Politicised. (2016, Aug 04).

We See and Understand Things Not as They are But as We are Essay

We See and Understand Things Not as They are But as We are - Essay Example But they often arrive at different conclusions because of different abilities of perceptions by different people. For example consider the consumer habits. Same product might be perceived differently by even siblings or twins. It is not necessary that two people making a purchase of mobile phone from a supermarket may opt for same brand or model even if their financial abilities are the same. Both of them may purchase different cell phones because of their difference in perceptions. In this paper I will investigate why we see and understand things not as they are but as we are. Furthermore, I will investigate whether the sight is the only way of perception that relates to how we understand things; and whether â€Å"things† is an indication of physical or abstract objects, theories and ideas. The perception of an object is actually the interpretation and sensation of the object’s reality that may be affected by our beliefs and expectations. It is therefore, important to analyze human behavior in terms of actions that are based on rational or irrational decisions. Various philosophers and social scientists have propounded theories that try to explain human behavior under normal and extreme circumstances. But they agree that the rational or irrational behavior is subjective to one’s approach and understanding of the issue that broadly confines to individual’s choice and thereby his or her actions. Hence, whatever we do, it is based on reasoning or motivating forces that influence the way we think. For example, a lady perceived as a beautiful angel by a male might be a devil for another male because of their changes in the way of thinking. Here same object, the lady, perceived differently by two persons even though the lady did not undergo any changes. Although, we react according to our individual perception of the event, it is equally true that our reactions are also influenced by the manipulations of the information that are retained in the

Macroeconmics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Macroeconmics - Term Paper Example gh a combination of stable prices of goods and services across the economy coupled with a low inflation level and level of confidence of the investors in the currency of the country. The Fed comes out with the monetary policy in order to ensure a certain key objectives like, delivering price stability with a low inflation level coupled with an objective to support the Government’s economic objectives of growth and employment. To understand how the Fed monitors price related regulations to keep a check on inflation, we may consider a small example of the regulation of house and property prices. To take any decisions related to interest rates keeping in mind the ongoing inflation rate, the Fed must be thorough with the booming property prices and must take steps to ensure that the prices are not artificial. Government intervenes through its central bank to regulate the prices of many commodities; similarly it also regulates the prices of houses like any other important commodity. Fed has the responsibility to keep a check on asset prices including the prices of houses. There can be a number of reasons why the prices of houses may shoot up, like the simple rule of demand and supply has a definite impact. (Demand and Supply for Housing). Other reasons behind a change in property prices can be Mortgages. A mortgage is the money borrowed to buy a house, as for most people buying a house is not easy. Over the years mortgage market has picked up greatly and the current scenario is totally different from the one that existed in the beginning. Mortgages were supplied only by the building societies. Building societies were non-profit institutions and encouraged only the members for the grant of loans, so the people who were members and had contributed to an extent for a considerable period of time got loans easily and account with building societies became the only means to get mortgages. Soon these societies had to compete with the banks and other financial