Discuss the role played by Mr. Morrison Essay

Mr. Morrison symbolises the strength of Afro-Americans in the face of adversity. He is a source of courage and protection for the Logan family, acting almost as a guardian angel when papa is not home. There is an air of myth surrounding Mr. Morrison, created by factors such as his stature, his deep voice and scarred features. This makes him an interesting and thus successful character for Mildred Taylor. When the children first meet Mr. Morrison, his description relates directly to Mildred Taylor’s imagery. The attention that she pays to the significance of trees as an emblem of strength, influences her description of the powerful Mr. Morrison: â€Å"The man was a human tree in height, towering high above papa’s six feet two inches. The long trunk of his massive body bulged with muscles†¦ † The living strength and permanence of trees are a symbol of the strength which the black community draws from its history, tradition and inheritance, and the ‘roots’ which have been put down in their land. Thus, the description of Mr. Morrison is in keeping with such imagery. The timing of Mr. Morrison’s arrival assists Mildred Taylor in developing tension and suspense. He arrives on the scene in the wake of the news of the attack on The Berry Family. Mr. Morrison, we learn, was wrongly accused of starting a fight and then sacked from his job. This gives us an example of institutionalised racism and also hints that there may well be more incidents and fights. The children immediately warm to him and are deeply fascinated by his giant-like appearance. Mr. Morrison’s attributes make him immune to the physical threats by which the local whites terrorise the black community. This gives the children courage and inspiration. As a result he is a figure who earns Stacey’s respect. Stacey becomes much closer to Mr. Morrison after he makes it plain that he will not be reporting the matter of the fight to with T. J to Stacey’s mother. Indeed, such is Mr. Morrison’s positive influence, that Stacey shows increased maturity by telling his mother about the fight himself. On their way back from shopping in Vicksburg, Papa, Stacey and Mr. Morrison are ambushed by the Wallaces. Mr. Morrison shows his tremendous power by taking on three attackers and badly injuring two of them. In the following chapter he again demonstrates power and shrewd judgement too by lifting Kaleb Wallace’s truck. This act is enough for him to avoid being drawn into fighting whilst still standing up for himself. By checking the truck for a gun first, Mr. Morrison shows an admirable measured determination not to be bullied. Furthermore, Mr. Morrison is a vital calming influence upon the headstrong Hammer when the children’s uncle is seeking to avenge Cassie’s humiliation in strawberry. The image of Mr. Morrison sat watching on the porch for the nightmen is a very powerful one. To the Logan’s he is a guardian angel figure, who protects with great strength, yet is otherwise the perfect example of calm. In the stories he tells to the family we learn of an horrific past in which his family were murdered by racists. His scars symbolise the healing power and capacity to endure that are characterstic of the persecuted black people. His voice – â€Å"like the roll of low thunder† – further emphasises Mr. Morrison as a key symbolic figure in the book, as this simile echoes the title. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Introduction to Internet Addiction

Introduction to Internet Addiction Ten years ago, the only people who spent a majority of their leisure time on the computer were paid members of the technology industry. Today, however, surfing the Web has become a pastime as social and marketable as bar hopping or going to the movies. As the web has become a part of mainstream life, some mental health professionals have noted that a percentage of people using the web do so in a compulsive and out-of-control manner.In one extreme (1997)  Cincinnati case, unemployed mother Sandra Hacker allegedly spent over 12 hours a day secluded from her three young and neglected children while she surfed the Web. For better or for worse, this phenomena of compulsive Internet use has been termed ‘Internet Addiction' based on its superficial similarity to common addictions such as smoking, drinking, and gambling. Internet Addiction has even been championed as an actual disorder, notably by psychologists Kimberly Young, Ph. D and David Greenf ield, Ph. D.. However, at this time the true nature of Internet Addiction is not yet determined.In a true addiction, a person becomes compulsively dependent upon a particular kind of stimulation to the point where obtaining a steady supply of that stimulation becomes the sole and central focus of their lives. The addict increasingly neglects his work duties, relationships and ultimately even his health in his drive to remain stimulated. In some cases of addiction (such as addiction to alcohol or to heroin), a phenomenon known as tolerance occurs, wherein more and more stimulation is required to produce the same pleasurable effect.A related phenomena, withdrawal, can also occur, wherein the addicted person comes to be dependent upon their source of stimulation and experiences dramatically unpleasant (and even potentially lethal — as can be the case with alcohol) reactions when he goes without it. Sources of addictive stimulation can be chemical (as is the case with addictive d rugs such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine and heroin), sensual (as in sex) or even informational (as in gambling or workaholism).What all sources of addictive stimulation have in common is that they provoke a strong, usually positive (at first) reaction in the potential addict, who then seeks out the source of that stimulation so as to obtain that feeling on a regular basis. While many people like to engage in sexual relations, or gamble, or have the occasionally drink because of the pleasure to be had, clearly not all people who do so are addicts. Rather, the term ddiction only applies when someone's stimulation seeking gets to the point where it starts interfering with their ability to function normally and non-neglectfully at work and in relationships. Mental health professionals are split as to whether or not Internet addiction is real. No one disputes that some people use the Internet in a compulsive manner even to a point where it interferes with their their ability to function at work and in social relationships. What is disputed is whether people can become addicted to the Internet itself, or rather to the stimulation and information that the web provides.The controversy surrounding Internet Addiction is precisely whether people become addicted to the net itself, or to the stimulation to be had via the net (such as online gambling, pornography or even simple communication with others via chat and bulletin boards). Some psychologists do not believe in addiction to the Internet itself, but rather in addiction to stimulation that the Internet provides. They suggests that new Internet users often show an initial infatuation with the novelty of the Web, but eventually lose interest and decrease their time spent online back to a normal, healthy amount.Those users who do go on to show compulsive Internet utilization, for the most part become compulsive only with regard to particular types of information to be had online, most often gambling, pornography, chat r oom or shopping sites. This is not an addiction to the Internet itself, but rather to risk-taking, sex, socializing or shopping. In essence then, the chief addictive characteristic of the Internet is its ability to enable instant and relatively anonymous social stimulation. Addicted† Internet users are addicted to a favored kind of social stimulation and not to the Internet itself, although it is also true that the Internet has made it vastly easier and more convenient for someone to develop such a compulsion. Because the Internet is used by many people as a normal part of their career or education, knowing how to separate excessive from normal use becomes difficult and cannot be accomplished using simple measures such as amount of time spent online in a given period. Most fundamental in differentiating normal from problem Internet use is the experience of compulsion to use the net.Normal users, no matter how heavy their usage, do not  need  to get online and do not neglec t their occupational duties or their relationships with family and friends to get online. Help for Internet related addiction is available from multiple sources. Anyone concerned about serious problem Internet usage should consider consulting with a local licensed psychologist, social worker or counselor, specifically one with experience treating addictions. Cognitive therapy based approaches are recommendable due to their systematic and direct focus on reducing problem use and preventing relapse, and the strong scientific support for the approach.Marital and or family therapy approaches may be useful as well when an individual's Internet Addiction is affecting their larger family system (such as might be the case when a husband uses Internet-based pornography as his sole sexual outlet, leaving his wife frozen out). More than a few books and self-help resources (such as audio tape sets) are also available for those who want to educate themselves on the problem. Our Internet Addictio n Treatment article provides further detail.

Getting The Extra Bit Out Of Your Employees Essay

An employee is required to contribute 40 to 48 hours of productive work in terms of service or visible output. The very purpose of employment is for the employer to generate enough revenue so that he can not only pay your wages, but also make some profit for himself and retain a portion of the profits for contingencies. It is widely accepted that in most cases though the employer is required by law to pay the employee for all the 365 days of the year, the employee output is restricted to some 250 days or in that region. Thus, even when the employee is not working, the employer has to support him/her. The manufacturing sector can lay down norms to measure the output of each employee and relate it to the quantum of work produced. But, in the services sector it is difficult to quantify the output of each individual. The flow of work can also not be uniform in the case of the services sector. Evaluation: In this context, let us examine the working of a Supermarket. The flow of customers into the supermarket will vary during the day as also during the month. In most cases, the evenings will see more customers coming in, while the mornings will see fewer of them. The noon period of the day can be thinner still. Thus, we have a situation where the productive output of the employee is not available to the employer all through the 7 or 8 hours that he/she spends in the Supermarket. So, the effective throughput (actual time spent in producing goods/services) diminishes to anywhere between 5 and 6 or 4 and 6 hours. The employer has to earn adequate revenue to compensate the employees and even take care of eventualities. Therefore, in most parts of the world, employers, particularly in the services sector, manage to get that extra bit of work done by each employee. Institutions, enterprises or organizations strive continuously to optimize their return on investment and use employee motivation as a major tool to achieve this. After all, it is the collective performance of employees that would manifest itself into a successful enterprise. It is not essential at all times to monetize motivation. There are several other means of motivating the employees to get optimal results. For example, in the case under discussion, we need to get an extra 30 minutes of work from each employee. The employer is unwilling to pay for that extra time or simply cannot afford to. So many terminologies and reasons will be attributed to safeguard that extra bit of money. But, heads of departments still have to achieve the desired results and with no extra money available in their hands. Conclusion: Though money is very important to employees, other factors go into employment. In the instant case, the manager can explain to the employees that by spending an extra 30 minutes after the scheduled time and reorganizing the merchandise for the next day, they will be able to start right away when they commence work on the following day. Customers walking in during the first hour will be able to transact their business quickly and this in turn will bring in more of such early customers. Another method is to address all the employees together and evolve a pattern whereby some employees can report early for work and leave at the scheduled time, some employees can shrink their breaks to accommodate the extra time required, and some can even leave late. After all, every one of us spend a lions share of the daylight hours in our respective breadwinning activity. With the correct methodology employed, getting employees to contribute 30 minutes of extra work per day can be achieved without denting the employer’s purse.

CRITICAL CLAIM MAJOR PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRITICAL CLAIM MAJOR PAPER - Essay Example This paper argues that the ad wants to suggest that Chanel, as a brand, is a seductive and sophisticated brand because of its sexual and affluence themes, although it is criticized for suggesting that women are men’s sexual objects. This Chanel advertisement suggests that women can only attain power, if they fully submit to the sexual desires of men. The entire scene of the ad is oriental in look, which uses the theme of Orientalism, where the Oriental is the â€Å"Other† that the dominant party uses for their own personal interests. Orientalism includes Asian and Middle Eastern signs and colors. The golden bed, golden bed sheets, and golden wall paper with its Middle-Eastern-looking designs signify Orientalism. They look exotic and different than usual Western designs. Orientalism is about power over what is different. Chanel wants to say that with an Oriental look, it is the one in power. The woman in bondage signifies power even more. She is the â€Å"product† that shows that Chanel is a powerful brand. It holds people, as if they are held captive. At the same time, the Oriental look shows sophistication. It suggests mastery over something; in this case, it is mastery over the weaker sex, the woman. Chanel might not be meaning to make it look like it is demeaning women or â€Å"Orientals,† but the entire picture looks like it is using the woman for its personal purposes, so that it can have power, the kind of power that is based on people’s weaknesses. The woman then cannot have power of her own, unless she becomes an Oriental entity. Furthermore, bondage is a sexual symbol, and Orientalism sexualizes the â€Å"Other† too. Chanel might just be saying that it is a powerful and sophisticated brand through the use of an Oriental woman. On the contrary, the use of a woman indicates sexual oppression. Even if the woman is white, her surroundings Orientalize her, thereby making her the â€Å"lower† person. Orientali sm, as an underlying theme, indicates the pervading sexual oppression of women in this advertisement. The entire dress and footwear signify Oriental beauty, specifically a trampled and used beauty. The skirt has beads and golden designs. It is the most Oriental-looking in the whole ensemble. The shoes and blouse are modern in design. The shoes have high heels, with the heels upside down. The down part is the woman, who cannot escape her bondage. The blouse is checkered with frill ends. The model wears a headband that matches her blouse. Her handcuff is her bag. The blouse, bag, and headband indicate that they reinforce each other. In other words, they strengthen the proverbial chains around the woman. Though the model has a modern fashion style, the entire effect is Orientalism because of the Muslim-inspired background. By looking as an Oriental, she becomes a maiden in distress, not a white modern woman in power. She is weak, so she is easily trapped, and she must be saved. Chanel saves her with its fashion sense. But why must she be imprisoned in the first place? The act of imprisonment suggests that she has no power to begin with. As an Oriental, she is a prisoner of the one in power. The power play is clear in the uneven relationship between the brand and the woman. Chanel is the authoritative brand, when it comes to sophisticated and modern tastes. It imprisons women with its

The meaning of Thanksgiving and the separation of church and state Essay

The meaning of Thanksgiving and the separation of church and state - Essay Example .† In Mourt’s Relation, Edward Winslow writes, â€Å"And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty (Winslow).† The first official proclamation of Thanksgiving was by George Washington in 1789 and it contained an overtly religious message. Washington said that Congress implored him, "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.† However, Thomas Jefferson refused to deliver a Thanksgiving proclamation and one of the primary reasons was because he believed it violated the policy of separation of church and state. As is evidenced by the above referenced material the majority understanding of Thanksgiving was clearly as a religious holiday and Jefferson’s rejection of it on the national scale would be similar to a contemporary President embracing Easter for the expressed celebration of Jesus resurrection. It’s worth noting that Jefferson did issue a Thanksgiving proclamation as a governor, a fact some historians attribute to Jefferson’s understanding of the constitution as restricting matters of religion in the Executive Branch, but leaving them open for interpretation on the state level. Yet this didn’t step other Presidents from drawing connections between religion and Thanksgiving well into the 20th

Security Measures and How Far They Should Go Coursework

Security Measures and How Far They Should Go - Coursework Example Like so many areas of IT, security would be invincible if it were not for letting people use the systems and applications, sadly this has to happen and so systems get corrupted, hacked and generally brought to their knees. Both by users and external attacks by hackers, etc. Security has been stepped up over many years as better understanding of where problems can come from and what must be done to stop them. But, now very often the very security is itself the biggest problem as it gets in the way of productive work and can cause major problems for IT personnel trying to control users and still give them sufficient mobility to do their job well. Problems come from areas such as giving someone permissions to do a task on a mission critical application, the person goes on holiday and gives another person in the department the passwords to get into the application, that person is not well trained and promptly crashes the system on Monday morning, what then? The holidayer and substitute person will be punished then they say â€Å"oh well its impossible to get permissions for something as short as a week off, but the reports have to be done† what should managers think, it has been done for the best of motives, but the outcome is a disaster for the company security systems and for productivity. Making staff aware there can be bad outcomes is all very well, but if they find they cannot work well then human nature says find a way around the problem system or process as it’s no good. The other way will be for staff to say well we cannot do it because of the system and then productivity takes a tumble. Managers are left swearing at the whole mess, which has an apparently impossible set of outcomes.   

Were the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance the Gateway from Research Paper

Were the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance the Gateway from Oppression for African Americans to Become Business Owners - Research Paper Example The study will look into African American businesses from the earliest periods of post-emancipation through to the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the Second World War, the Civil Rights Movement and the current day. The contention is to see how business ownership improved the socio-economic status of African Americans and how these historical events allowed African Americans to own and operate businesses. African American businesses in the United States are older than most people would suppose. The earliest African American owned and operated businesses date back to the post-emancipation period from the rural and racially oppressive South. The presence of a large African American population coupled with racial segregation meant that African Americans were confined to using shops from their community alone. The prominent African American thinker W. E. Du Bois aptly observed: â€Å"It is the density of the Negro population in the main that gives the Negro businessman his best chance.† Given the constant oppression of the rural South, the African America population began to move in large numbers to the industrialized North that presented better economic opportunities as well as greater racial freedoms. The early twentieth century saw a large African American exodus from the racially polarized South. The first of these series of movements, labeled the Great Migration, forced some 1.6 million African Americans into the North. The influx of African American immigrants saw slow business growth since most ended up joining the industries in the north as blue collar workers. Racial segregation continued in the North though not as harshly leading to the development of some African American businesses. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance that distinctly recognizable African American businesses began to appear in the urban landscape.

Funding Sources For Action Research Project On At-Risk Children For Essay

Funding Sources For Action Research Project On At-Risk Children For Literacy In First Grade - Essay Example The children develop effective reading and writing strategies so that they can continue to work independently, and meet grade-level expectations. (Center for Reading Recovery Website). FEDERAL FUNDS: Title 1, Part A: This program provides financial assistance through State Education Agencies (SEAs) to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and schools with large numbers of poor children, to ensure that all children meet state academic achievement standards . Some federal grants are awarded to the LEAs directly by the United States Department of Education. Title 1, Part B: Reading First: This is a focussed nation-wide effort to enable all children to become successful early readers. Funds are dedicated for establishing high quality comprehensive reading instruction in kindergarten through grade 3. Building on a solid foundation of research, reading programs are developed to help the teachers, and to ensure accountability through ongoing valid and reliable screening, diagnostic and classroom- based assessment. State Education Agency awards sub- grants to Local Education Agencies on a competitive basis . In the Reading First initiative, participation is voluntary, no timeline is indicated and funding level Is FY02- $900 million. States participating in Reading First have to submit Annual Reports and show significant progress in the program.

Transformational leadership highlights the importance of trait theory Assignment - 1

Transformational leadership highlights the importance of trait theory critically evaluate the trait theory of leadership and how - Assignment Example This piece of research paper attempts to address the transformational leadership and to detail how it highlights the trait theory of leadership. This paper critically evaluates the trait theory and analyzes how and why it is relevant in today’s business contexts. Transformational Leadership Out of various types of leaderships, Charismatic and Transformational leadership styles are found to be quite similar in character. Charismatic leadership is the ability of a leader who derives his leadership quality through some unknown and God-given gif to him (Sashkin and Sashkin 2003, p. 56) and therefore his ability is often considered to be divine as they make an emotional impact on subordinates as they appeal both of their hearts and minds (Daft, 2007). Transformational leadership, though quite similar to Charismatic, is very special quality to develop innovative ideas and bring changes to the organization by recognizing the needs and concerns of his subordinates, and by helping them solve older issues in newer strategies and encouraging them to question the status quo (Daft and Lane 2009, p. 424). Wart (2007, p. 74) identified three significant successive stages for transformational leadership. ... 469). Transactional leaders, Servant leaders and Situational leaders are some other commonly discussed leadership models. Transactional leaders are those who define the roles and tasks and related requirements of their subordinates by providing proper rewards and trying to meeting their social and other needs (Daft and Lane 2009, p. 424). Situational leaders act best according to situations. Servant leaders are those who function in responsibility for subordinates and for the society and they thus serve others in good manners, rather than their subordinates serving them (changingminds.org, 2010). Why trait theory is important today Leadership trait theory describes intrinsic traits of leaders and it is based on an assumption that leaders are born with some specific leadership abilities. Intelligence, dependability, energy, drive, enthusiasm, ambition, self confidence and cooperativeness are some of the traits that are found in today’s leaders. Trait theory is very important to day because it can be used to identify qualities that distinguish today’s leaders. Advantages and disadvantages of Trait theories Trait theory can be used to explain why some people are more effective and successful leaders even if they are not trained and why some others, who are trained, are not so successful in leadership. But, trait theories are mostly psychological in approach. Social elements like social class, religion, education, gender and ethnicity are fully ignored in trait theories. It is argued that trait theory makes its difficult to establish whether traits have direct bearing on success as a leader or if a surplus of one trait may compensate for the shortage of another trait (Adeniyi, 2007,

The Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Essay Example for Free

The Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Essay The paper presents e-commerce business idea that could be realized at the Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Mission Statement of MusicWorld.com It is MusicWorld.com’s goal to enhance the development of electronic music by being the premier, comprehensive resource on the Internet for electronic music aficionados and producers of MusicWorld.com will democratize music, creation, distribution and consumption by: assisting artists in the production of their music by providing samples and sound fonts at no cost giving talented artists with few connections or resources the chance to distribute their music giving small record labels the chance to distribute their music online, increasing their viability allowing a fan of the music anywhere in the world instant access to a huge selection of releases from across the globe at very reasonable prices. Executive Summary A formidable opportunity has arisen from the combination of the advent of the Internet as a medium for music distribution, and the rise in popularity of a genre of music that is entirely composed with computer software electronic music. This genre has been largely ignored by most mainstream retailers and labels because of its non-traditional song formats that make it non-conducive for radio play. It is MusicWorld.com’s plan to market the electronic genre of music via a web site whereby consumers will download the music to their PCs. As a convenience, MusicWorld.com will write the purchased songs to CD and ship them directly to consumers who are not yet equipped to download music. The web site is designed for maximum user-friendliness, unlike any other music site today. MusicWorld.com’s unique web design allows users to browse the selection effortlessly, while being able to automatically hear excerpts from each virtual CD. The electronic genre of music is ideal for online distribution for the following reasons: There is a proliferation of artists worldwide within this genre because of the low price and accessibility of the necessary equipment and software The music is created on PC; artists simply send MusicWorld.com music files via the Internet from anywhere in the world Even very popular artists within this genre are accessible to negotiate contracts with since they tend to be self-distributed, or own small record labels Because of the genres rapid evolution and its individualistic nature, aficionados constantly demand new material MusicWorld.com is distinguished from its competitors in that: The site uses flash software, the latest generation in web site technology that allows users to view complex graphics and animations, and hear high-quality audio It uses a push marketing approach in that there is no need to download individual music files It combines the advantages of CD-quality, piracy-protected downloadable music, custom-mixed shipped CDs, an electronic focus, event information, and musician resources The market The market for electronic music is largely composed of University students. According to Jupiter Communications: College students, typically have free broadband access that makes digital distribution much more feasible, not to mention the highest penetration rate of any online demographic. This audience is the first that will be compelled to purchase writable drive peripherals specifically for the digital delivery of commercial music. (3) Aficionados of electronic music are raised in the age of the World Wide Web, making Internet distribution in tune with their lifestyle. Offer and Use of Proceeds The estimated net proceeds to be received by MusicWorld.com from the sale of common shares, is GBP 166,666 (including GBP 16,666 of expected expenses associated with the offering). MusicWorld.com intends to allocate GBP 27,777 of the net proceeds towards the purchase its web site design, and the balance, in the amount of GBP 138,888, towards funding salaries and working capital. The investor will receive 10% of the common shares in exchange. Capitalization The following table sets forth the capitalization of MusicWorld.com as at the dates indicated, before and after giving effect to the issue of common shares contemplated hereby. Shareholders equity Pro forma as at April 30, 20## Pro forma as at April 30, 20## after giving effects to the Common shares No. of common shares (without par value) 1,650,000 1,833,333 Book value of equity (in GBP) GBP 165 GBP 183,498 Summary Financial Information 1,833,333 outstanding shores 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Revenue GBP 405,752 GBP 1,622,987 GBP 4,900,662 GBP 12,964,445 GBP 30,145,945 Net Income (GBP 56,483) GBP 232,377 GBP 1,051,891 GBP 3,275,671 GBP 8,034,936 Net Book Value GBP 39,468 GBP 271,846 GBP 1,323,738 GBP 4,599,409 GBP 12,634,346 Return on Ave. Equity GBP 103,743 GBP 156,368 GBP 812,923 GBP 2,982,460 GBP 8,790,386 Gross Margins 30% 30% 30% 30% 30% Earnings per share (GBP 0.28) (GBP 0.016) GBP 0.07 GBP 0.31 GBP 2.43 The Opportunity The music industry is experiencing two major changes: Music has been traditionally sold in a physical format that required manufacturing, including the record, the eight-track tape, the cassette, and the CD. Recently, with the advent of the Internet and increasing bandwidth, music has been reduced to a digital entity as witnessed by the proliferation of MP3. This is the biggest change the recording industry has possibly ever seen. As we look ahead, we anticipate that the convenience of digital delivery of phonorecords may soon make digital transmission services the music distribution method of choice for many consumers.(4) Music used to be classified into a narrow range of genres. These included classical, pop/rock, country, and jazz. Tastes have fragmented over the last decade, such that there are many more genres of music today most likely due to the proliferation of low-cost technology that allows artists to self-publish. This phenomenon was virtually unheard of in the past due to the enormous costs involved. Once upon a time, people bought pop music. Then they bought rock music. Now, they buy grunge, ambient, illbient, acid house, acid jazz, drum n bass, Eurodance, hip-hop, trip-hop, lounge, techno, glam, industrial metal, lo-fi, dream pop, psyche rock or riot grill. Digital technology encourages this fragmentation by giving each new splinter genre easier access to the means of producing and distributing its wares.(5) Despite its growing popularity, electronic music has been practically ignored by mainstream record labels and radio stations, which are just beginning to catch on. Internet radio stations are discovering that the genre can be lucrative however. One of these is amino Radio: AminoRadio is a 24-hour station devoted completely to music including techno, drum n bass, house, turntablism, and other forms of electronic music. AminoRadio is The Eclectic Radio Companys answer to the huge demand for techno electronic music that is not being provided by any other form of broadcast media. (6) Launched in August 1998, amino Radio now has over 15,500 listening sessions per month, and is growing at a rate of 300% each quarter. The lack of electronic musics traditional radio play is possibly due to the unusual format of the songs, which have erratic lengths. Some tracks are ten seconds long, while the majority are at least seven minutes long. This does not fit well with the traditional radio format of three and four minute songs. With virtually no radio play, record labels do not want to risk the investment of producing electronic artists music. The result? An invisible community of electronic music lovers who hear the music through Internet radio, at dance clubs, and buy it from specialized record stores at a premium. The record stores are supplied by small record labels, which have grown out of the success of certain artists. MusicWorld.com plans to take advantage of the resulting opportunity by positioning itself as the premier online source for electronic music and culture. The Music History Whether we are prepared to admit it or not, technology has always defined popular music. From the development of the microphone that allowed Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to croon softly on top of a big band to Keith Richards discovery of the pleasures of an overdriven guitar amplifier, the excitement generated by pop music is often the thrill of exploration and the sense of possibility provided by the use and misuse of new technology. Electronic music is about the era of the proliferation of digital technology; an age in which the boundaries between human and machine are becoming increasingly blurred. (7) Possibly the most significant difference between electronica and other musical genres is the importance of the DJ in reinterpreting and re-mixing what artists produce. Indeed, there is a significant shift in recognition from the musicians themselves to the DJs who perform it live, and who also record their work. This began in Chicago with the advent of House music, which was pioneered at a local venue called the Warehouse. The tradition continued later in Detroit, the birthplace of techno. The importance of the DJ can be attributed to the fact that the music is disseminated by being played live, and by the fact that only a professional working full-time could possibly afford the time and cost involved to gather such rare music from various countries. In Germany, where electronica occupies a significant portion of the Top 40, it is bona fide pop music. (8) Music production process The following explains how electronic music is created using current technology: The minimum equipment needed is a computer with at least a 150MHz processor, 32 Megs of RAM, a MIDI-compatible sound card (e.g. Soundblaster), 1 gig of hard disk space, and music composition software (MIDI), e.g. Cubase already affordable. The sound card is capable of generating sounds which fall into 2 categories: synthesized, and sampled Synthesized sounds are generated from simple tones, whereas sampled sounds are recorded from various sources, often using a microphone Using MIDI software, the musician creates a score which plays these sounds, which effectively act as instruments (think of the MIDI score as sheet music, the sound card as the instruments, and the computer as the musicians) The result of the MIDI file playing these sounds is a WAV file. This file can then be uploaded to MusicWorld.com. The Products and Services A comprehensive electronic music web site has been designed for maximum user-friendliness, unlike any other music site today. The unique design allows users to browse MusicWorld.com’s musical repertoire effortlessly, while being able to automatically hear excerpts from each virtual CD. The site uses Flash technology, the new generation in web site design that allows users to view complex graphics and animations, and hear high-quality audio by streaming the content to them as they browse the site. Music fans can: Listen to various tracks/clips of their favorite artists and/or DJs Download a complete CD in 10 minutes through use of a high bandwidth connection for GBP 4.00 (this includes downloading the cover art as well). They then have the choice of burning the file to a CD, or playing it through their computer. Have a custom CD burned by MusicWorld.com’s staff, and have it shipped for an additional fee (GBP 3.00) Find out about electronic music events in their area, or elsewhere Read/listen to interviews with their favorite artists/DJs Electronic artists can: enter into a distribution agreement with the site whereby their music is available for purchase download (and post) musical samples which are used to create their music at no charge agree to be interviewed to increase awareness of their work DJs can: sample songs/clips of various artists before buying have access to the latest tracks from even the most obscure artist from anywhere in the world virtually instantaneously enter into a distribution agreement with the site whereby their music is available for purchase agree to be interviewed to increase their recognition post tour information Labels can: use MusicWorld.com as an additional distribution vehicle for their talent, at no marginal cost use MusicWorld.com to run promotions for new releases (e.g. sneak previews, etc.) By making sure the site offers not only music to consumers, MusicWorld.com is ensuring authenticity. Web sites that only aspire to be stores, forget why people surf the Internet in the first place: for information. MusicWorld.com intends to provide high-quality information on the topics that interest the target market to ensure frequent visits to the site, and a positive brand image. The intent is to be the premiere resource for electronic music and related information on the Internet. A site of this caliber does not presently exist. Operations Technology   Site Operations Standard operations for MusicWorld.com consist of three major facets: updating the site with new information, adding musical content to MusicWorld.com’s repertoire of products, and distributing such content to online customers. The addition of musical content to the MusicWorld.com site consists of: Artists submitting their music (and cover art, created on their home PCs) to MusicWorld.com’s submissions department as a digital audio file, or on a conventional CD MusicWorld.com screening musical content for quality and appropriateness (a qualified Artistic Director, see the Employees section on page 25) Artists signing a digital distribution contract, whereby they earn 50% of the sales price (before shipping) of each full album or individual track Converting content into a format (Liquid Tracks) that can be played by customers Liquid Music Player or Real Player using the Liquifier Pro music publisher Uploading it to our server The second facet involves distributing content to customers: Hosting the site through a dedicated server Providing samples of music, which are streamed with the Liquid Music Server software. Providing this music for purchase via a secured credit card transaction. This is provided by a third party that specializes in this service, iBill see www.ibill.com) Delivering the selected content from MusicWorld.com’s server (managed with the Liquid Music Server software) MusicWorld.com will be paying a one-time licensing fee (GBP 16,666) for the use of Liquid Audios Liquid Music System, a commercial hosting package that includes the Liquifier Pro (copy-protected music publisher), Liquid Music Server (music delivery management software), and the Liquid Music Player (digital audio listening software). The Liquid Music System not only meets our requirements for efficient, trouble-free software to manage and publish musical data, but also equally offers superior performance and flexibility. The Liquifier Pro is the first professional software that allows MusicWorld.com to prepare and publish CD-quality, copy-protected music for purchase and delivery via the Internet to PCs and Macs everywhere. It transcends audio features by providing the capability to include lyrics, credits and artwork all contained within one file, the Liquid Track. Furthermore, Liquid Audio uses Dolby Digital encoding, resulting in the highest quality audio for streaming and downloading of CD-quality music on the Internet. To ensure audio quality, regardless of different connection speeds, the Liquifier also provides a unique preview capability before publishing to the Liquid Music Server. Target Markets MusicWorld.com target market is very specific, as it comprises those people who already listen to electronic music. MusicWorld.com conducted a survey of 100 respondents, mostly in the UK area, with approximately 10% of respondents were from abroad, (surveyed via the Internet). As this market research revealed, the target market is young (average age 25), well educated (average 1-3 years University), and predominantly male (65%). They have computers at home (81%), Internet access (97%), and spend more time on the Internet than most people (9 hrs/wk). They also are more likely to have access to a high bandwidth connection (31%) than average Internet users, and are also more likely to possess a CD burner (29%). They also buy more CDs than the average consumer. A high proportion (12%) of electronic music fans actually compose their own music, which supports the fact that a high proportion of them (75%) would like to support a retailer, which rewards artists at a higher level than the industry average. This is part of MusicWorld.com’s marketing strategy. Possibly the most important characteristic of electronic music listeners is that they are dispersed all over the globe. For the purposes of marketing communications, however, MusicWorld.com’s main target markets are in the U.S., Germany and the UK. This is because the consumers in these countries are either English speaking or highly fluent in English, have the highest sales of CDs per capita, and the highest concentration of electronic music fans for historical reasons. Since MusicWorld.com’s main distribution channel is via the Internet, an English speaking person anywhere in the world with Internet access can be attracted to our site and make a purchase. Product MusicWorld.com conducts an electronic commerce that aims to fulfill all the needs of electronic music fans and artists. The site will have an image that fits with that segments lifestyle and tastes. This will come naturally, given that MusicWorld.com’s founders are part of the target market. Thus, in the very short term, MusicWorld.com’s goal is to become the most complete online resource for electronic music lovers, regardless of whether the people frequenting the site actually purchase anything. The idea is to get consumers used to using the site for information such that when they are in the market for a new CD, they use MusicWorld.com’s site as opposed to another that has not served their needs so well. After this initial period, the site must continue to innovate and respond to the consumers needs. Even beyond this, it must anticipate what customers want before they want it. This way, it will be hard to take away the first-mover advantage that the site will have in this niche market. MusicWorld.com will rely on some independent, unsigned artists for the sites content, however, MusicWorld.com will also target certain small electronica-focused record labels in order to add their roster of artists to MusicWorld.com’s repertoire. These small labels have much to gain from partnering with MusicWorld.com. Partnership offers a way of earning 40% of sale price while incurring no marginal cost whatsoever. In fact, MusicWorld.com’s site can be seen as a way of popularizing the labels roster of artists. MusicWorld.com will find unsigned talent through posting on Internet Newsgroups, which is free of charge. In fact, MusicWorld.com already has found numerous artists through market research who are enthusiastic about the possibility of the online distribution of their music; f(y)u, for example, whose CD is included at the back of this document. MusicWorld.com will have a qualified artistic director screen submissions, and only make the highest quality music available in order to preserve   brand image. Distribution In terms of the delivery of music, MusicWorld.com’s primary market research showed that our potential customers are mainly concerned with the following: Security of transactions (5.72 on a scale of 1 to 7) Speed of download (5.48 on a scale of 1 to 7) Technical problems (5.17 on a scale of 1 to 7) The site will provide secured credit card transactions as well as alternative modes of payments to satisfy all customers. In the first three months these aspects are taken care of by Liquid Audio, by being a part of the Liquid Music Network. Download times will be reduced as high bandwidth connections become the norm. MusicWorld.com will ensure that the customers who so choose will be able to download their CD without running into any of the above-mentioned problems through the use of proven, easy-to-use software from Liquid Audio. As the customer profile suggests, the target segment is very narrow and would be difficult to reach with traditional distribution methods. The spread of customers has so far made this market very small and unattractive. However, the Internet overcomes the obstacles of geography in the sense that almost everybody can be reached from a web site. Pricing MusicWorld.com’s primary market research showed that its customer have a large amount of disposable income (average income of GBP CAD 15,000, yet many are students), spends money on technology (81% have computers and 92% have Internet access) and is not particularly price sensitive (average importance of price on a scale of 1-7 was 4.8). The average downloadable CD price suggested by respondents was GBP 5,50 CAD. At the time of the survey (Feb. 1999), there were no sites offering whole CDs available for download. Sites were offering individual tracks for GBP 0.55, however. Now, Good Noise Inc. is offering full albums for GBP 4.99, although they do not have any electronic (genre) music, which tends to be more expensive because of the high import rate. The selected price-point for MusicWorld.com’s album downloads will be GBP 4 /unit, as compared to the price of actual CDs (physical copies) sold in retail outlets for GBP 6-8/unit domestic, or GBP 9-16 for imports. This GBP 4 price is composed of GBP 2.48 profit margin (56%), GBP 1.70 in artist/label royalties, and GBP 0.18 credit card processing fees. Such a cost structure is made possible by the online nature of MusicWorld.com’s distribution, which bypasses many levels in the distribution channel, and thus many overhead costs normally incurred by wholesalers/retailers. MusicWorld.com is selecting the GBP 4 price point for several reasons: To encourage first time purchases To discourage new entrants from entering the niche A very competitive introductory price will encourage loyalty. This cost structure allows not only offering a better price to consumers (with a faster speed to market), but also better royalties to artists. Under the traditional record label contracts, artists can expect to earn 10% of sales at the most. With MusicWorld.com’s method, unknown artists gain worldwide distribution overnight, and royalties of GBP 1.70 per album sold. This offers significant incentives to artists who either arent known enough to sign major record deals, or dont have an interest in dealing with major labels. There is also a significant opportunity for labels to be able to distribute their artists work worldwide risk-free, with no marginal costs, no marketing costs, and no administrative hassle. Promotion MusicWorld.com will use public relations, advertising, personal selling and an Associates Program to meet sales goals. Public relations Post MusicWorld.com to all Internet search engines (e.g. Excite, Altavista, etc.,) (free) with the help of analytical software, Webposition Gold, which optimizes meta tags for each search engine, as they all have different preferences Post links to MusicWorld.com on smaller related sites, such as hyperreal.org and Technoindex.com (free) Post newsgroup messages in the appropriate newsgroups, e.g. alt.emusic, alt.music.techno, alt.music.house, alt.music.jungle (free) Send press releases to all relevant media, including electronic music print and Internet magazines, campus radio stations, and alternative newspapers in urban areas Sponsor electronic music events, by posting signage, passing out flyers, and video Advertising MusicWorld.com will advertise in several print publications, which cover the UK and Germany, the U.S., and Canada. Respectively, they are: Mixmag, XLR8R and Tribe. MusicWorld.com will also advertise on the Internet, primarily on Technoindex, an index site which lists all relevant electronica sites, and on aminoRadios Internet radio site (exclusively electronica) Positioning Electronic music fans should view MusicWorld.com as the comprehensive one stop shop for all of their electronic music related needs. This means their actual musical needs, their need for information on artists, DJs, upcoming events, films, etc., and their need to contact other fans of the music. Composers of electronic music should view MusicWorld.com as a source of samples and sound fonts to create their music with, and as a fairly remunerated means of distributing their music and gaining recognition. DJs should view MusicWorld.com as a source of the latest in cutting edge material for their repertoires, and as a means of gaining exposure via actually distributing their music or by consenting to be interviewed, and/or posting tour information. An important note to make is that it is essential that MusicWorld.com reaches all three of its positioning goals, as it is the combination of the three that will lead to success. By having the site supported by leading DJs and talented artists, it gains credibility as an authentic place to purchase music. This puts it way ahead of a simple retailer who is merely selling music. In contrast, MusicWorld.com should become a part of the consumers lifestyle. Competitors and Substituting Products Online Players Downloadable Music CD Quality Piracy protected Custom CD shipped Event Info GBP 11 or less Push marketing Electronic focus Musician resources MusicWorld.com x x x x x x x x x CDuctive x n/a x x raveworld.net x x thewomb.org x x MP3.com x x x CDnow n/a Amazon.com n/a hyperreal.org x x x technogenesis x x x a little x X-radio.com x Astralwerks x GoodNoise x x   To compete with these firms, MusicWorld.com must successfully bundle these three characteristics greater source of information, greater variety of innovative electronica, and downloadable content and build brand equity to be recognized as THE electronica site. MusicWorld.com will continue to offer online order processing for regular shipping to accommodate electronica fans that have not yet acquired the latest technology. MusicWorld.com’s greatest competitors generally offer real-time streaming audio of sample tracks (to listen to directly with RealAudio), or downloads of single tracks, mostly using MP3, and online ordering of conventional CDs. Most are small, independent outfits, formed over the last three years, and appear to be privately owned. Competitors generally price conventional CDs at GBP 5.55-8.88, and downloadable tracks at GBP 0.55 each, plus a base price of GBP 2.772 GBP 3.3285 for a custom CD. The market for online music is already consolidating, as big players merge to create bigger entities with wider revenue bases (e.g. CDNow and N2K), in hopes of protecting themselves from new entrants. Investors belief in the explosive potential for online (downloadable) content distribution is reflected in market capitalization of these companies shares. This threat of new entrants is very real, as witnessed by the extension of Amazon.coms retail mix into CDs for home delivery, and the recent creation of online mega-distributors such as Spree.com and Buycomp.com. The next logical step for such distributors is to offer online downloads. Meanwhile, a variety of small, independent sites are also appearing with alarming frequency. Major record labels such as Warner and Sony Records have recognized the digital threat and are moving to develop competitive alternatives. Some have even begun to recognize the potential of the electronica market, and are signing contracts with major artists (e.g. Fatboy Slim and Virgin Records). Some are even developing separate labels to cover electronica Virgin Records Astralwerks is now a significant player in terms of variety offered. They have not given any indication that they plan to offer downloadable music. The speed with which this industry is moving can cause MusicWorld.com’s window of opportunity to close rapidly. Any investment initiative that is to be undertaken in this venture will have to be taken now. References: Jupiter Communications, Music Industry and the Internet, p.5 Techno Tackles the Net, Niall McKay and Christopher Jones, http://www.wired.com/news/print version/culture/story/16764.html?wnpg=all Jupiter Communications, Music Industry and the Internet, September 1998, p.9 National Music Publishers Association, http://www.nmpa.or2/nmpa.html The Music Industry. A Note of Fear, The Economist, Oct. 31, 1998. AminoRadio press kit. http://www. Aminoradio.com Modulations treatment (Caipirinha productions), Peter Shapiro, available at: http://www.modulations.com/ Quantum Fireball as quoted on www.egghead.com on April 20, 1999. http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user surveys/survey-1997-04/graphs/purchase/OnIine Seeking And Purchasing.html Calculated from lFPl and Statistics sources. Prices obtained from www.CDuctive.com on April 20,1999. Prices obtained from www.technogenesis.com on April 20, 1999.

Divided And Unified Government

Divided And Unified Government The presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan are clear examples of divided government, in which they both served under terms where they were contended with the opposing party within Congress. In the presidencies of James Carter, in which he served under terms where he had complete control of the Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate, and control over the Executive Branch. At the beginning of the United States government the most prevalent form of government was that of unified government. Yet after the 1970s and more specifically the Watergate scandal, divided government became the more prevalent as a response to this scandal. The comparison of the efficiency of divided government and the efficiency of unified government is significant to understanding whether commonly held myths about government are true or false. By analyzing the facts of the comparison in efficiency of the amount of major lawmaking and major investigations between divided and unified government, there can be better commonly held knowledge among the populace of the United States, which will allow for better informed voters in the near future. By understanding the commonly held myths about government, there can be better comprehension into the decisions and mindset of voters in the United States. If it is possible to debunk a commonly held myth about divided government, it is entirely possible to create a government that works in the best interest of the general public. The root at which I hold my interest in this subject is at the fact that many voters in the United States are uninformed about the politics of our government. Through the analysis of both types of government that can sprout in the United States, I might be able to enhance the mindset of many voters. It is not that voters are incorrect about their ideals; it is more closely related to the fact that many voters dont understand how to get their ideal through to the representatives that they have voted for. The entire system in which major lawmaking and major investigations occur is very interesting to say the least. The Legislative branch and the Executive branch are both spreading the reach at which their powers extend. It is therefore critical to understand the process by which I can become an informed voter that is able to get my ideals across to the representatives that I will be able to vote for soon. Literature Review Unified / Divided Government The United States of America has sustained two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democrat Party. These two parties have allowed the United States government to have separations in party control over two branches in our government. These two branches are: the Legislative Branch, which is the Congress and Executive Branch, which is the President. Although, unified government has been the norm since the creation of our government. Due to the scandal of the Nixon Administration in the Watergate Scandal, the United States has popularized the use of the divided government, to be able to keep the other party in check. The separation of the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch is the United States separation of powers. This separation of powers leads to a checks and balances on the federal government. Many voters view divided government as a good thing; Parties jointly in power are seen to perform a service by checking each other. (Mayhew, 1991), therefore many vot ers prefer it as a system of checks and balances. The United State government has functioned for so long because it is able to bend and become malleable to the needs to two political parties. Within a unified government, which was the preferred government at the creation of the United States, one political party is in control of the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. A unified government is prevalent in the presidential career of President James Carter. On the other hand of the spectrum, within a divided government, this is where either the Executive Branch or the Legislative Branch is controlled by two different political parties. This is the preferred government after the Watergate Scandal during President Nixons career. The efficiency of both types of government has been crucial to determining which type of government will best suit the needs of the United States. Nixon Administration The United States has been governed under the authority of President Nixon during the years of 1919 to 1974. As our 37th President of the United States, and the only one to resign, he has gone through a great ordeal. The events leading up to his resignation are crucial to understanding the significance of the backlash against unified government. President Richard Nixon faced great adversity with the Vietnam War; he was put into a situation where most of the United States citizens wanted an immediate withdrawal of troops out of Vietnam, but he couldnt do that without looking weak. President Nixon has prevailed through many obstacles during his career, yet he has also accomplished a great deal. For example, President Nixon gained the United States great relations with China. The Watergate Scandal of President Nixon career was the most distraught event that could have happened to President Nixon. The Watergate Scandal was all of the mischievous and clandestine operations that President Nixon ordered, which were to bug many offices of people who were opposition to President Nixon. President Nixon used his power as President of the United States through many of his executive branches to gain valuable knowledge about the opposition. President Nixon made a fatal mistake, when he sent five men into the Democratic Party Headquarters and they were caught. This Watergate Scandal ended in the ultimate resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1974. Carter Administration During the Carter Administration, President James Carter was the 39th President of the United States. President James Carter faced the U.S. energy crisis, deregulation, and the United States boycott of the Moscow Olympics. The U.S. energy crisis was declared by President Carter through a televised speech and this lead to him advising each and every citizen to conserve energy. President James Carter went through deregulation with his cabinet, the cabinet discussed regulatory reform. We estimate that government regulation cost $100 billion this year about 5 percent of our GNP. Were trying to cut down on regulation, having had remarkable success in the airline industry maybe a good example. (Carter, 2010); President Carter went through deregulation not only with the airline industry, which the United States removed government control over fares, President Carter deregulated the American Beer Industry, which allowed home brewing. President James Carter went through the U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics. Although this action wasnt popular to the many people who were waiting for the Olympics; President Carter took this action to respond to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. By boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics, President James Carter was able to accomplish nothing. The Soviet Union left Afghanistan long after President Carter left office. President James Carter was able to get plenty done in a unified government, which allowed him to easily pass deregulation laws. Reagan Administration The Reagan Administration, marked with the 40th President of the United States, President Ronald Reagan. President Ronald Reagan served during the years of 1981 to 1989. President Ronald Reagan brought about the idea of Reaganomics; he survived an assassination attempt and went through the Iran-Contra affair. President Ronald Reagan brought up the concept of Reaganomics, which was his way to increase the growth of the economy. President Ronald Reagan tried to spur this growth by advocating a reduction of tax rates. Furthermore, President Ronald Reagan introduced the government in the control of the money supply to try to reduce inflation. President Ronald Reagan went through deregulation, just like of that of his predecessor, President James Carter. President Ronald Reagan did his best to reduce the United States government spending. President Ronald Reagan actually survived an assassination attempt on his life by a man who was not convicted on the plea of insanity. President Ronald Reagan went through the Iran-Contra affair which made his executive branch take part of illegal and scandalous operations to fund weapons to Iran to receive seven American hostages in return. Research Statement The United States governments method by which they utilize their legislative power is through the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch. The Legislative Branch, which is composed of the Congress, which in itself is composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is the driving force of where divided government and unified government occurs. The Executive Branch, controlled by the President of the United States, is in a way, the supreme voice for his political party. The President of the United States determines which laws are passed; therefore the Congress must come to terms to be able to pass a law that suits the President of the United States. The presidencies of Nixon and Reagan showed clear divided government and the presidency of Carter showed clear unified government. All of the presidencies contained great ordeals and hardships. The efficiency of the two types of government: divided government and unified government are contended. Divided government is a form of government that induces conflict between the Congress inner workings and the Executive Branch. Unified government is a form of government that induces union and ease of lawmaking between the Congress inner workings and the Executive Branch. Does the commonly held myth that a unified government works more efficiently than a divided government uphold when considering the presidencies of Nixon, Carter, and Reagan? Does the frequency of major lawmaking or major investigations in government determine whether a unified government is more efficient than a divided government? The posed questions are significant to understand which type of government is best for this generations lifestyle. By posing these two questions, the concept of lawmaking and major investigations is enlightened. It is important to understand how the process of lawmaking and major investigations occurs within our legislative branch and executive branch. It is also important to understand the efficiency at which these two types of governments operate at. By understanding this efficiency, it is possible to determine how we should run the United States government. Research Findings Efficiency of Unified and Divided Government The efficiency of divided government compared to that of unified government is commonly held that divided government holds a stalemate of sorts when the two political parties in control hold their ground and refuse to give ground to what they consider to be their enemy. On the level of lawmaking, this process can be interrupted with divided government; this means at least that significant lawmaking can be expected to fall off when party control is divided. (Mayhew, 1991) Divided government can come to this standstill if both political parties are unable to compromise for the benefit of others. The divided government by which the post Watergate generation has been accustomed to has been deceived or for a better term, they have been misled to believe that a unified government is much more efficient for their generation than that of a divided government. In terms of the efficiency of each type of government, the efficiency is determined by the frequency of major lawmaking and the effectiveness of that major lawmaking. Within the legislative process, it is quite simple to pass a law when the government is unified. However, the efficiency of this law derives from its effectiveness for the purpose of bettering the general public of the United States. An array of elected officials presidents, senators, and House members heaved up by different constituencies at different dates and enjoying fixed terms and constitutional powers. (Mayhew, 2008) Frequency of Major Lawmaking / Investigations Power struggles between conservative Republican and liberal Democratic elected politicians in the White House. The Senate and the House of Representatives are based upon the rapidly changing ideological composition of voters who make up the Democratic and Republican parties and nominate their respective parties candidates. (Black Black, 2007) The frequencies at which major lawmaking and major investigations within a divided government and unified government occur differ slightly when compared. Within a unified government, the frequency of major lawmaking and major investigations occurs slightly more frequently than that of a divided government because within a divided government, the opposing parties are unable to compromise and therefore never gain common ground to have major lawmaking as frequently as unified government. In unified government, there is only one party in control, and therefore the President, such as that of President James Carter is able to bring both the House of Representatives and the Senate to an agreement with deregulation and the energy crisis. On the other hand, within a divided government, such as the career of both President Richard Nixon and President Ronald Reagan, they both were able to bring the opposing parties within Congress to have an efficient government. With the presidency of Ronald Reagan, he was able to bring Congress together to pass laws of deregulation. On the basis of the efficiency of divided and unified government, the overall answer is that divided government brings about compromise within the Congress that is valuable to creating laws that benefit all, instead of a unified government that only implements its ideals.

Can Infrasonic Waves Kill You?

Can Infrasonic Waves Kill You? Introduction Have you ever experienced nausea, paranoia, and the feeling of being watched? If so, you might be under the effects of infrasound. Infrasound is any sound lower than 20 Hz (Hertz). Infrasound can be created by man-made objects or nature. It can be created by nature from things like severe weather, surf, lee waves, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanoes, bolides, waterfalls, lightning, calving of icebergs, upper-atmospheric lightning, and auroras and it can be created by human made objects like sonic booms, explosions, machinery, wind turbines, and subwoofers. Infrasound can be used as many things like a weapon, an early warning of natural disasters, or it can be used to locate things. Elephants, whales, giraffes, rhinoceros, alligators, and okapis also use infrasonic waves to communicate. (Wikipedia, 2012), (Trueghost, n.d.) An example of infrasound as a weapon is that in World War I it was used to locate things such as artillery, which facilitated soldiers to know what to do because they knew the location of the enemys weapons not allowing the enemy to do a surprise attack. Another example is that it is used to locate tornadoes minutes before they touch down. Another example in which infrasound is used is that migrating birds use infrasound when they migrate. They sense infrasound from turbulent airflows as a navigational aid or GPS. (Wikipedia, 2012) A very frequently asked question is Can infrasonic waves kill you? The answer to this question is yes but dont worry because not all frequencies of infrasound can really hurt you. This lethal frequency lies in 7 Hz. It is believed that 7 Hz is lethal because it matches the frequencies of your brain and organs. This match of frequencies can cause serious damage to your body or even death. Nausea, nervousness, cold, paranoia, depression, and blurred moments in peripheral vision are some common feeling that can be caused by infrasound. (Wikipedia, 2012), (Lowertheboom, n.d.) In this experiment our research question is Can humans sense infrasound? Our hypothesis for this project is that if we take at least four test subjects (two male and two female) and put sounds less than 20 hertz then, we will be able to know if humans can sense infrasound because of our results. Through our research we found that when people are exposed to infrasound they end up feeling uncomfortable. That makes us think that even though humans do not necessarily hear infrasound they can sense it. (Lowertheboom, n.d.) Natural disasters such as earthquakes can produce infrasound. If we could sense or feel the infrasound waves we would be able to predict or protect ourselves from a natural disaster without the need of modern technology. Also if this experiment goes the way we expect, humans would be able to use it in their favor. We will also help people to prevent infrasonic waves so that people wont harm themselves. (Serendip, 2012) We predict that all of our human subjects will sense infrasound. We think that all of our human subjects will sense infrasound because with our research we have seen that when people are exposed to infrasound they have side effects.The most common side effect will probably be headache and nausea.Some of the human results can vary because of age or gender of the subject. We hypothesize that the younger test subjects will be able to sense infrasound better because of theirage.

The Cloning of Human Beings :: Science Papers

The Cloning of Human Beings I examine five concerns held by the general population regarding human cloning and argue that they show either a misunderstanding about the process and/or result of cloning, or else ignorance about what we already do. Put differently, I argue that human cloning is not in principle more questionable than other current practices. However, I do have serious concerns about the uses to which the new technology will be put. I argue that the reasons currently proposed for human cloning are not persuasive. My position is that human cloning is not objectionable in principle, but practical application of the technology raises serious concerns. In my opinion, present circumstances do not seem to warrant it. As soon as Scottish scientists announced that they had successfully cloned a sheep from cells of another sheep, people began to be alarmed at the prospect of cloning human beings. Editorial after editorial warned that we'd be "playing God", that we'd be creating Frankenstein-like soul-less creatures, and that we'd be encouraging people's tendency towards egoism to reach its ultimate expression by enabling human beings to clone themselves. President Clinton banned all federal funding for research leading to the cloning of human beings and called for a voluntary moratorium on private research. Pope John Paul II denounced "dangerous experiments" that harm human dignity. I, too, have some concerns about cloning human beings; but I think that most of the fears people have are misplaced. As a philosopher who has worked on issues concerning personal identity and, more recently, medical ethics, I have a different perspective on the issue of human cloning from most commentators. Perhaps I can make a useful contribution to the discussion of this topic. I would, first, like to examine five concerns the general population seems to have about cloning human beings and argue that they show either a misunderstanding about the process and/or result of cloning, or else an ignorance of what it is that we already do. I shall argue that there is nothing in principle more questionable about the cloning of human beings than practices we currently engage in. However, I do have two serious concerns about how the new technology is likely to be used; and, since I am not convinced that that there are any really good reasons at the present time for cloning human beings, I too would vote against permitting it. I 1. It has been claimed that if we cloned human beings that we'd be "playing God.

Great Britain and the Industrial Revolution Essay -- Essays Papers

Great Britain and the Industrial Revolution Why did Great Britain lead the Industrial Revolution? The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century changed Europe forever. At the front of this change was Great Britain, which used some natural advantages and tremendous thinking and innovation to become the leader of the Industrial Revolution. First, Britain had some tremendous natural attributes. It was naturally endowed with many deposits of coal and iron ore, which were used heavily in the early stages of factory production. In addition, Britain was situated at a critical point for international trade. Its position between the United States and the rest of Europe allowed them to have a serious impact in all matters of trade. Likewise, a multitude of navigable waterways, easy access to the sea, and a mild climate all contributed to the onset of industrialism. Britain's topography was conducive to industrialism because its diversity allowed for the production of many agricultural products, preventing any sort of shortage or famine. Evans remarks, â€Å"Each single such advantage could be replicated in other European countries and some could be accentuated, but no other nation enjoyed such a rich combination of natural bounties† (111). Furthermore, the nation was free of many trade tariffs that hampered indus try in other European nations while featuring a real opportunity for upward movement in society which provided a great incentive for acquiring wealth. Britain also experienced tremendous population growth which provided a potential workforce as well as an increase in the demand for goods. In addition to all of these natural assets, there was also great innovation and technological advance in Britain. One of the b... ...not on governments, but on men of initiative, determination, ambition, vision, resourcefulness, single-mindedness, and (not infrequently) good, honest greed† (117). The Industrial Revolution, led by Great Britain, greatly changed the existing attitude of powerlessness towards nature to one of power because now people were able to produce enough goods and food to support the expanding population. The ability to produce a surplus that arose from the ongoing industrialization meant that people no longer had to worry over nature and its effects on the economy. The Industrial Revolution led by Great Britain radically changed Europe's social and economic ways of life and provided the impetus for the tremendous progress of the 19th century. Work Cited Evans, Eric J. The Forging of the Modern State: Early Industrial Britain. London and New York: Longman, 1996.

Competitive advantage through employees Essay

Organizations that seek to gain competitive advantage through employees must be able to manage their performance. A 360-degree feedback process is a popular means of managing and improving organizational performance. This method means a person receives feedback from a full circle of other people who work around him or her, which includes peers, subordinates, supervisor and even themselves (Atwater & Brett, 2006). The 360-degree approach recognizes that little change can be expected without feedback, and that different constituencies are a source of rich and useful information to help managers guide their behavior. In a traditional performance evaluation, such as supervisor-subordinate, the supervisor tends to look at a person’s performance from an evaluative viewpoint. In 360-degree reviews, the purpose is more from a feedback viewpoint, which can help the organization to increase or gain competitive advantages by providing feedback to leaders and managers. For instance, a subordinate’s perspective likely will be distinctly different from that of the supervisor. Furthermore, Research has shown that 360-degree feedback can enhance communications and performance (Bernardin & Beatty, 1987). Because it gives a sense to employees that their opinions had been actively sought and heard, which ultimately led to a more open and communicative environment (Carson, 2006). However, misuse of the 360-degree feedback, can lead to hurt feelings, increased anxiety, and even loss of key personnel (Carlson, 2006). What’s more, preparation and implementation of 360-degree feedback is costly as investing time and money. And the process may generate tension between the manager and those who provide ratings (Hautaluoma, et al, 1992). Further, it may set up potential conflict by highlighting the need to be â€Å"different things to different people†. As a result, negative information becomes more powerful and difficult to deny, especially when raters agree; and easy to distort or perceive selectively, especially when raters disagree. In conclusion, regarding to the 360-degree feedback, how it can be used to add great value to organizational effectiveness and development, depends very much on the organizational culture how you implement it and how you can use the results. References: Carson, M 2006, ‘Saying it like isn’t: The pros and cons of 360-degree feedback’, Business horizons, vol. 49, pp. 395-402 Kramar, R, Bartram, T, Cieri, De Cieri, H, Noe, RA, Hollenbeck, JR, Gerhart, B, & Wright, PM, 2014, Human Resource Management in Australia,5th Edition, Mc-Graw Hill, North Ryde, NSW. Lepsinger, R. & Lucia, A.D. 1997, 360 degree feedback and performance appraisal, Minneapolis. London, M & Beatty, Richard, W 1993, ‘360-Degree Feedback as a Competitive Advantage’, Human Resource Management, vol. 32, issue 2/3, pp. 353-372, 20p, 6 Diagrams

I woke up with the worst headache ever – Creative Writing

I woke up with the worst headache ever. I could hardly move but I managed to sit up with difficulty. I was in forest. I looked around to see if I could recognise where I was, but I didn't. Then it hit me. Who I was and what I was doing there? How did I get there? Where am I from? What's my name? I didn't know. My heart was thumping and I started screaming but I realised no one could hear me. I saw that a few trees had been burnt, recently burnt. I touched something, something liquid but it was too thick to be water. I went closer to it wondering what it could be I discovered it was blood. There was blood around me but I wasn't bleeding. I didn't get it. As I was trying to get up my leg hit something too heavy to be pushed away. I was on my feet wondering what it was I'd hit. She had dark eyes, black hair, she was beautiful, stunning but had been stabbed in the stomach. It was her blood I had all over my hands, her blood that my clothes had been drenched in. I thought for a while. This couldn't have been what I thought it was. Was I that sort of a person? Well if I was, I knew I had changed. I bent down and closed her eyes but they re-opened and her hand moved. I was so happy, I might not have known her but I was still happy because death is a terrible thing. Then she grabbed my hand in a tight grip, tight enough to get me on my knees. Struggling she put he arms around my neck and whispered, â€Å"Help me please.† Then she fell into my arms. I started to panic. I had some keys in my pocket, and one of them looked like car keys. I kind of guessed I owned a car. I picked her up and started walking. I had no idea where I was going and after twenty minutes I realised I was lost. But I didn't lose hope, I kept on going for I didn't care how tired I was. All that mattered to me was for this girl to stay alive and not to die. About ten minutes later I came to a car park. I was relieved. I took a look at the keys to see what car I had to look for. Within a minute I found the car I as looking for. A jaguar convertible and I was surprised, I expected a ford or a normal non-expensive car. I opened the passenger seat and put her in. I looked at her closely and muttered to myself, † I couldn't have stabbed her.† I sat in the drivers' seat and found a wallet. I opened it and there was a picture of a guy in it. Next to it there was the name Tyler Epps and the address 4208 Link, Connecticut Lane, Maryland, Silverspring. I looked in the mirror and realised that I was the guy in the picture and also had blood on my face. I didn't know whether to drive up or down? East or West? I decided to look for the main road and there might be signs that may help me. When I got to the main road, there were signs and I looked at them and tried to see if I recognised any of the places. I didn't but to my luck I saw † Newn Hospital 1 mile † I was so glad. When I got there a lady at the desk saw me and screamed, † Got a doctor urgently we have a stabbed patient.† I saw nurses rushing. They took her from me and put her on one of those wheely beds. I watched them vanish at the end of the corridor. A lady came to me to go and get my face cleaned up. There was a massive cut around my temple. A very deep one too, so I had been after all. It was really starting to hurt now. I was so shocked and scared before that I couldn't feel the pain. She asked me who she was, but I told her I had no idea. Then all of a sudden there was blankness. I woke up and to no surprise I found myself on a hospital bed. â€Å"Well good morning Mr. Epps,† a lady's voice said to me. I turned to my left and there was a nurse standing beside me. She was injecting me with something. â€Å"This will make you feel better,† she said as she was writing down something on a piece of paper. I didn't bother asking what it was as I could feel it working already. I didn't feel as weak anymore. â€Å"How long have I been here?† expecting her to say at least three hours. â€Å"Since November the 15th sir.† She paused looking too deep at whatever she was writing. † And today is the 17th of November sir.† She then walked out. I couldn't believe it, I had been unconscious for two days. I wondered what had happened to me to cause this. â€Å"Hey Tyler.† I looked up and it was her. The girl from the forest, she was alive. â€Å"The doctors said I'm going to be out of here soon,† she said with excitement. I was puzzled, she was very confident talking to me. Her face rapidly changed to normal. â€Å"Oh, I forgot,† She said sadly â€Å"Forgot what?† For I had no idea what she was going on about â€Å"Well the doctors told me you had lost your memory in the accident,† she said quietly. â€Å"What accident?† â€Å"I guess I will have to start from the beginning.† â€Å"We were going through the forest on our way to the lakeside, when this guy came to us and asked for the direction to the car park. Then all of a sudden he pulled a knife and stabbed me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She then took a heavy breath. â€Å"You turned and the knife but just as you were about to pull it out he hit you on the head with something, but I didn't quite see what it was.† She had a tear in her eye. â€Å"So, who are you?† She could be my cousin, my best friend, I had to know. â€Å"I'm Kyla, your girlfriend,† she smiled. â€Å"Girlfriend, whoa I can handle that.† I didn't know what else to say, I had a girlfriend and I didn't even remember her. Then again I could see why she's my girlfriend. No doubt she was a beautiful girl and she seemed like a nice person. The nurse came back, † Mr Epps, I've got good news. Your condition seems to have healed rapidly, therefore you can go home in two days, but we will have to run a few tests before that, just to be sure.† â€Å"That's good news, we get to go home together,† she said getting all excited again. â€Å"Home? Together?† I was still confused. † Yeah, we live together.† â€Å"We†¦live together?† â€Å"Tyler I'm your girlfriend you know and the least you can do is sound to surprised.† She was angry. â€Å"Well I am sorry, it's just that I don't even know myself and everything is moving too quick,† I said slowly and calmly. † I am sorry too, it's just that I'm not used to seeing you like this.† † Doesn't it feel good to be home?† â€Å"I don't remember home, but it sure does feel better thin that hospital.† My house as massive, so I kind of figured out that I was rich. I owned a jaguar and a massive house. Living with Kyla was great. She took me to see all my friends and family and helped me with all the things I needed to know and do. I proposed to her and she said yes. After about a year, I was gaining my life back, getting re-adapted to the worlds and living with Kyla. I realised that my life was worth living. I had a great family and a wonderful fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½e. I really did love her. How couldn't I? She was just perfect for me. She was beautiful, intelligent and never did anything wrong or anything to hurt me. She was the reason I lived. During that year Kyla let out the secret, our secret that nobody could know. We are different from everybody else. Kyla had the ability to control the mind and objects, which was weird but really cool. But as for me I just love fire I am a pyromaniac. It was real cool how I could make fire by looking at things. She told me what happened that night. The night in the forest, a night I could never forget. She has a brother named Camen. His power was to actually get into the anyone's body including animals. He didn't † Erm excuse me, I'm Aaron.† â€Å"And†¦Ã¢â‚¬  † I'm Kyla's brother†

Emerson concepts in ‘Kite Runner’ and ‘Giovanni’s Room’ Essay

â€Å"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. † (Emerson. 2) Thus we live in a world, where in order to fit we must ‘conform’ but Emerson believes that â€Å"whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist,† (2) and that â€Å"nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. † (2) Self reliance and independence of thought, which are fundamental to Emerson’s perspective, are integral to the understanding and analysis of the characters in ‘The Kite Runner’ (Hosseini, 2003) and ‘Giovanni’s Room’ (Baldwin, 1956). ‘The Kite Runner,’ is a tale of two boys in 1970’s Kabul; growing up amidst discrimination, bigotry and class structure in society – in this case Afghan society – Hassan, a Hazara – a minority group of Afghanis who follow Islamic beliefs called Shi’a – although a friend and half-brother, is a lower-class servant to Amir. Amir, a Pushtun – the majority, who believe they are a better class than the Hazara and who follow the Sunn sect of Islam – although raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse as Hassan, lives in a different sphere of existence. Amir is the legitimate son of Baba, a prominent and wealthy man, whereas Hassan is the illegitimate one and raised by Baba’s servant. Both lost their mothers – Amir at birth and Hassan a week after birth, when she ran â€Å"off with a clan of singers and dancers. † (Hosseini 4) â€Å"For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure,† (Emerson 4) and thus Baba, rather than be subjected to the displeasures of his society, opts to conform to its rules and customs that â€Å"loves not realities and creators, but names and customs,† (Emerson 2) and not reveal that Hassan is his son by a Hazara woman. His justice, or what Emerson characterizes as ‘compensation’ (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) is the loss of Hassan and his love. This same class difference between Amir and Hassan, largely dictates and limits their relationship. â€Å"It is easy enough for a firm man who knows the world to brook the rage of the cultivated classes,† (Emerson 4) and Hassan, the victim of such discrimination and class structure, remains completely devoted and loyal to Amir, both as his servant and as his friend. He shows his loyalty when he and Amir are terrorized by Assef, â€Å" a word for the creature that Assef was †¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢sociopath’ (Hosseini 25-26) who admires Hitler for eliminating the Jews and with whom he aims to emulate by destroying the Hazaras. Hassan stands up to Assef and his friends. Although frightened, he holds â€Å"the slingshot pointed directly at Assef’s face† (Hosseini 28) and shouts â€Å"if you move, they’ll have to change your nickname from Assef the ‘Ear Eater’ to ‘One-Eyed Assef. † (Hosseini 29) Assef, never forgetting a slight, plots revenge. Just as Hassan makes Amir’s breakfast, folds his clothes, and cleans his room, so does he cater to Amir in kite tournaments. Even though Hassan shares in the excitement of kite fighting, he does not actually have control over the kite. Hassan may help the kite â€Å"lift-and-dive,† but Amir is the one who claims a victory. Hassan may catch a cherished rival kite and hold it in his arms, but always to bring it back to Amir, to whom it then belongs. His joy is explicit, special, and secondary just like his experience of wealth and privilege while living in Baba’s household. So it is that Hassan is subjected to rape because of his nonconformity to his position as a Hazara and he relies on himself to â€Å"go alone; to refuse the good models. † (Emerson 5) Assef and his friends attack Hassan after he runs for the ‘blue kite’ but although terrified of what is going to happen to him he claims â€Å"Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly, this is his kite. † â€Å"Amir agha and I are friends. † (Hosseini 50) Hassan is brutely raped by Assef but never gives up the kite and brings it back for Amir. Later, when the Taliban came to â€Å"investigate and interrogated Hassan† (Hosseini 149) and ordered him to leave the house – Amir’s father’s house – he again shows his loyalty to Amir by protesting. The Taliban â€Å"ordered him to kneel †¦ and shot him in the back of the head. † (Hosseini 150) Hassan dies because he â€Å"accepted the divine place that providence had† found for him; (Emerson 1) he had violated the social expectations of conformity by favouring â€Å"self reliance †¦ its aversion† (Emerson 2) by standing up to his aggressors in loyalty to Amir. Amir, contrary to Hassan, lacks self trust and conforms totally to society, and although enjoying time spent with Hassan, never really calls him his friend. When confronted with Assef the first time he shows his cowardice by wanting to tell Assef that Hassan is â€Å"not my friend,† â€Å"he’s my servant. † (Hosseini 28) It is ironic that when Hassan stands up for Amir against Assef, and calls him ‘Agha,’ Amir â€Å"wondered briefly what it might be like to live with such an ingrained sense of one’s place in a hierarchy. † (Hosseini 28) Yet he himself lives in such a way as to lose himself – his self worth and reliance by conforming to society and its customs. For many years, Amir feels as though he and Hassan are adversaries for Baba’s love and he is envious of this, together with Hassan’s abilities: â€Å"Hassan made his stone skip eight times. The most I managed was five†¦ Baba †¦patted Hassan on the back. Even put his arm around his shoulder. † (Hosseini 8-9) Amir greatly desires his father’s acceptance and approval and very seldom receives it. He overhears his father say that â€Å"there’s something missing in that boy† and that he believes â€Å"a boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything. † (Hosseini 15) Amir decides â€Å"there was no other viable option† than to â€Å"win that winter’s tournament,† and ‘run that last kite. † (Hosseini 38) He believes that his â€Å"life as a ghost in this house would finally be over† and that he would show Baba â€Å"once and for all that his son was worthy. † (Hosseini 38) On winning the race, he experiences the â€Å"greatest moment of [his] twelve years of life, seeing Baba on that roof, proud of [him] at last. † (Hosseini 45) Following Hassan, who has gone running for the kite, Amir wants â€Å"to make a grand entrance, a hero, prized trophy in [his] bloodied hands. †(Hosseini 46) He finds Hassan â€Å"standing at the end of a blind alley† (Hosseini 49) blocked by Assef and his two friends. But rather than help Hassan, even after seeing the â€Å"look of the lamb† (Hosseini 53) on Hassan’s face Amir runs, telling himself that â€Å"I was a coward† â€Å"afraid of Assef and what he would do† â€Å"afraid of getting hurt† (Hosseini 53) but in reality it is â€Å"the price [he] had to pay, the lamb [he] had to slay, to win Baba. His reasoning â€Å"He was just a Hazara, wasn’t he? † (Hosseini 54) After the rape, Hassan’s very existence infuriates and irritates Amir because it reminds him of his cowardice – his guilt. He tries to forget what he has done to Hassan and treats him like a servant instead of a friend; he lies about him being ill â€Å"he’s got a cold or something,† (Hosseini 56) he hits him with ripe pomegranates, he asks his father â€Å"have you ever thought about getting new servants? ’ (Hosseini 61) Finally he frames Hassan for theft and Hassan again takes the blame rather than reveal Amir for what he is. Nothing works however, because he cannot discard his guilt as easily as he can discard Hassan himself. Even after later leaving Afghanistan for America with his father, he is never really able to forget and later he realizes you can bury the past but that it â€Å"claws its way out. † He realizes that he has been â€Å"peeking into that deserted alley† where Hassan was raped â€Å"for the last twenty six years. † (Hosseini 2) After returning to Afghanistan and learning of Hassan’s death and his orphaned son Sohrab, Amir endeavours to right his wrongs – â€Å"there is a way to be good again† (Hosseini 2) by locating Sohrab, who is in fact his nephew. He finds Sohrab in the hands of Assef, now a Talib, and being used as a sexual plaything. This illustration of man’s inhumanity to man, gives evidence to Emerson’s belief, that â€Å"the differences among the members of a race are greater than the differences between races. † (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Amir must fight and defeat Assef if he is to redeem himself and his past; thus Amir finds his strength of character, the inner strength that he had all along, but believed was somehow missing – Emerson’s ‘self reliance’ and ‘trust in himself. ’ Ironically however, it is Sohrab who saves Amir in just the same way as his father Hassan had saved him before – with his slingshot. Amir’s lack of self-acceptance, his desire to win his father’s heart and his envy of Hassan causes him to live his life conforming to an unjust and class conscious society. He places blame on Hassan for the lack of his father’s love and blame on himself for his conformity and the terrible injustice he has caused on Hassan. According to Emerson, one must be able to find a â€Å"blameless living† if they are to be a â€Å"whole man,† (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and Amir clearly illustrates his lack of living blamelessly. Just as Hassan was socially alienated, so to is David, in ‘Giovanni’s Room,’ wherein he is faced with a choice between his American fiancee (value set) and his European boyfriend, so ultimately he must grapple with being alienated by the culture that produced him. In other words, does he conform or does he not? Does he be honest with his true self and be reliant on himself? David, unlike Hassan, takes the easy way out and marries Hella. David has been running from himself since his first sexual encounter as a teenager, with Joey, and although he has a profound connection with Joey, he deserts him and spurns his friendship afterwards. In other words, like Amir he conforms rather than live with â€Å"the integrity of his own mind. † (Emerson 2). He becomes what Emerson terms as an ‘imitator’ and lives a life of deceit and denial. Although mixing with the gay crowd, he proclaims his heterosexuality. Later he meets Giovanni and they fall in love. Afraid to commit to Giovanni he has a one night stand with Sue, another American lost in Paris. As with Joey, David deserts Giovanni, whereupon Giovanni goes into a downward spiral and because of lies, false promises, abuse and humiliation he eventually kills and is sentence to death by the guillotine. Giovanni dies because of the people around him; they are envious of his beauty, openness and inward freedom; they pretend to be what they are not ‘imitators’. David remains forever trapped in his own ‘room’, closet, or hell of his irreconcilable identity. (Zaborowska, M. J. 1) He fails in his journey of self-discovery within a society where gender, race and sexuality impacts on national identity. David remains loyal to America, the land of the free but never finds happiness, becoming emotionally dead and hollow, unable to love others, but mostly himself. In summary, we can recognize the lack of Emerson’s concept of self-reliance in the pivotal characters of Amir and Baba in ‘The Kite Runner’ and David in â€Å"Giovanni’s Room,† while at the same time we see evidence of nonconformity to social standards by Hassan and Giovanni. â€Å"High be his heart, faithful his will, clear his sight, that he may in good earnest be doctrine, society, law, to himself. † (Emerson 10) References Baldwin, J. Giovanni’s Room. Dell Publishing, NY. 1956 Emerson, R. W. Essay II Self Reliance 1841 As published on http://www. emersoncentral. com/selfreliance. htm Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner courtesy of Shahid Riaz, 2003 http://esnips. com/UserProfileAction. ns? id+ebdaae62-b650-4f30-99a4-376c0a084226 The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Ralhp Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) http://www. iep. utm. edu/e/emerson. htm December 6, 2008 Zaborowska, Magdalena J. University of Michigan. 2003 http://www. litencyc. com/php/sworks. php? rec=true&UID=4964