A Tale of a War Between Two Cities essays

A Tale of a War Between Two Cities essays Government has been an essential part to our world for as long as we have existed. People who disagree with the government have been around for just as long. A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens, takes place in England and France during the French Revolution. The novel shows the impact that the revolution had on citizens of England and France. The revolution and government's effect was shown in characters in the book, such as, the Defarges, the Marquis St. Evrmonde, and Sydney Carton. The outcome of A Tale of Two Cities is formed with the help of government and the revolution. The message that A Tale of Two Cities showed throughout the book, was how war and change in government can affect the people. The wine shop in Paris was the hot spot for French revolutionists, mostly because the wine shop owners, Ernest Defarge, and his wife, Madame Therese Defarge, were leaders and officials of the revolution. Every night, the men of the revolution living in Saint Antoine, met in the wine shop to discuss their plans of the revolution. Throughout the story, Mme. Defarge knits accounts of the meeting, which is similar to a hit list'. She is a very major character in the story and is very stubborn and unforgiving in her revenge against the Evrmonde family. The story shows the vengeance that the revolutionist, Mme. Defarge, had toward the government, " Well, well, but one must stop somewhere. After all, the question is where? At extermination,' said madame." (Dickens,351) Mme. Defarge had such hatred toward the Marquis, and his decedent, Charles Darney, that she would stop at nothing to destroy them, even if it came to the guillotine. Dickens putting Mme. Defarge in the book, may sh ow his displeasure with human nature and the way the revolutionist handled their problems. Although honorable to her family, Mme. Defarge's scheme against the Evrmonde family may have been too cold and h...

Nummerberg Trials-Unjust essays

Nummerberg Trials-Unjust essays After World War II, the victorious Allies decided to hold a trial for the defeated Nazis. These trials lasted from November 20, 1945 till October 1, 1946. Although the victors claimed that they would give the accused a fair trial, upon closer inspection we can see that in reality, these trials were biased and were a victors justice. After the war, each of the Allies leaders had their own idea for how they should deal with the Nazis. Stalin suggested that they should have trials, but here everyone is guilty and afterwards is shot. What then would be the point of having a trial then? It would just appear as a play before they would perform their actual intentions. He may have suggested this also so that he could say that they were fair because they gave them a trial-but what sort of trial? Churchill even said that they should just be lined up and shot. If the leaders of the Allies were saying such things, how could we even expect the trials to be unbiased then? Each allied country had its own persecutors. All the judges at the trials came from the victorious countries as well. Most of the judges were American or Russian. During the trials, the Americans put American justice over International Justice. It was wrong and unfair however to do such a thing because those who were guilty didnt even come from the United States? Since the trials were supposed to be international in scope, they shouldnt be following the justice of one country, but rather international justice. Although the Americans were applying American justice to the trials, they didnt even follow their constitution while doing so. The US constitution states that laws cannot be made post-facto, but in Nuremberg, they created these laws (for example, crimes against humanity, and waging aggressive war) after the Germans had committed them. It is wrong however to charge defendants with crimes ...

Attentional Spotlights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attentional Spotlights - Essay Example In the study conducted by Vargha-Khadem and his associates in 2005, they have concluded that the ability to focus, organize and correlate information is important in the development of the communication and social skills that eventually set our species apart from other primates. These evolutionary developments include molecular neurological activities related to visual attention that has streamlined the brain into the identified activity centers (Mangun, 1995). According to Tong (2004), the "longstanding notion that spatial attention cannot be divided stems from the assumptions of early philosophers, such as Descartes, that consciousness itself is unitary and indivisible" is being challenged by neuroimages chronicling the neural activities that occur in the brain's retinotopic visual areas (p. 524). An important element in these changing perspectives is the technology that is becoming available for researches. There has been progression inclination towards the existence of multiple attention points in recent years. There has been evidence that attention spotlights are active concurrently at various areas of the brain given a common stimuli (Mller et al, 2003). At the same time, there are some researches that also point out that these concurrent activities many not necessarily be attention spotlights but rather are independent and unrelated cognitive neural activity (LaBerge et al, 1997). There is significant divergence in the consensus regarding the function of selective visual attention in attentional spotlight. Opinions mainly diverge on the prevalence, degree and significance of attentional spotlight. However, there is a universal realization that existing technologies and knowledge needs is still not enough to be deterministic. Current studies indicate that selective visual attention affords for flexibility and efficiency to facilitate between high level process and low sensory information. The role of spotlight serves as an accelerator of the highlighted information or stimulus (Spratling and Johnson, 2004). In the process of spotlighting, information is illuminated by the attention spotlight which has then the effect of streamlining perscotion of the said elements. However, when spatial shifting takes place, the spotlight turns off to be able to focus anew. This means that in the process of going thorugh spotlight A to spotlight B, the current consensus is that attentional spotlight does not exist. Concept Appraisal Understanding selective attention in the process of visual perception requires the recognition of the different attention mechanisms that are involved in the identification of a stimulus versus those that are involved after the process of perception (Vecera & Rizzo, 2003). Modern cognitive neuroscience experts in particular are emphasizing the need to further understand the components of selective visual attention to an attentional spotlight considering neuroanatomy and timing (Hopf et al, 2000). This is in view of its significance not only in the process of p[perception but also in the development of language and speech skills that in humans has been identified to depend significantly on the said factors (Vargha-Khadem et al, 2005). According to Chris Chatam (2006), "The spotlight metaphor of attention accords with our subjective experience: as

Response Paper 3 - Feminist (Human Resource Development) Essay

Response Paper 3 - Feminist (Human Resource Development) - Essay Example Initially the feminist wave was that women can also work the way men do and become economically as productive as men are. However, the thought has now taken a new direction. Hughes mentions that most late-twentieth-century feminist are (rightly) resistant to the simplistic arguments, say of men with objectivist, distanced, positivistic, scientific methods and women with subjectivist, connected, interpretive, non-scientific methods. Few feminists would endorse a wholesale science-bashing that smacks more of ideological excess than of a genuine quest for knowledge. Nor would feminists unanimously opt for the essentialism that identifies quantitative methodologies as male, qualitative ones as female; and positivism as male, ‘interpretationism’ as female (Code, 1995 cited in Hughes, 2000, p. 51). Hughes supports the view of the new breed of feminists who have come way ahead of crude assumptions related to two genders and believe in understanding the minute similarities and d ifferences among men and women. Though it has not got much attention of the HR departments as yet, this study can benefit HR the most as there the two genders are supposed to be treated as equal. Also since it is the responsibility of the HR department to train the human resources for the organisational need, a better understanding of the process of learning of the two can facilitate their training process to a great extent. Hughes rightly defines her purpose as to begin to delineate the ways in which the field of human resource development would be enriched through the incorporation of feminist perspectives (Hughes, 2000, p. 63) Even as the number of women in the managerial spheres of organisations has increased, the learning styles and working styles of men is still taken as a norm. Female managers are forced to confirm to men’s style of learning and working. Else they are assumed to be inefficient. Though the women’s way of working in cooperation with other colleagu es can be extremely beneficial for the organisation, till date the independent working approach of men is considered to be a norm. The reason behind such an approach is that the top level management in most of the organisations is still dominated by men. Giving data from three developed countries, Fiona M. Wilson quotes that U.K. has only 18% of women in managerial positions, Germany has 25% while U.S. has only 5% of the senior managerial positions filled by women (Wilson, 2003, p. 17) Since several years, the society has groomed men and women in a way that they use two different modes of reasoning. Hughes rightly differentiates the two. She says that more men used the mastering, impersonal and individual modes and more women used the receiving, interpersonal and interindividual patterns of reasoning (Hughes, 2000, p. 55). Based on an interview study, Hughes quotes that the gendering pattern of mastering, impersonal and individual patterns was stronger than the receiving, interperso nal and interindividual patterns (Severeins et al., 1998 cited in Hughes, 2000, p. 56) Another strong belief was that men are more target-oriented than women and women are better in doing repetitive work. However, these generalizations do not always hold true. Women also look for more satisfying and challenging jobs as shown in a study on job satisfaction and employee attrition. Many women, like men, express the need for personally satisfying

Evaluating Civil Engineering in Modern Day Technology as a Career Path Research Paper

Evaluating Civil Engineering in Modern Day Technology as a Career Path - Research Paper Example Civil engineers are analytical thinkers and are more comfortable dealing with concrete facts. When presented with a problem, they like to solve it. I have selected Civil engineering because of its importance in the everyday life and the solutions it gives to the various problems being faced by human beings on Earth which have originated due to the scarcity of resources. Selecting Civil engineering as a profession directly influences the every day life of individuals as the impacts of the environmental issues, the problems due to rapid urbanization and limited resources are equally evident to each and every individual of the society and every individual of the society is equally responsible for solving these issues however, a Civil engineer is in a much better position to propose solutions to these problems and thus he can become an effective member of the society. After selecting this profession an individual does not remain a mere spectator of the problems faced by mankind but can t hink about various different solution available to solve the issues resulting in a remarkable change in the everyday life of the individual who selects civil engineering as a profession. ... For example, only a Civil engineer can think about recycling waste water in Qatar as a solution to water scarcity, a Civil engineer can propose the mechanism to make earthquake resistant buildings in Tokyo, a Civil engineer can propose the mechanism to limit the discharge from industries to conserve air quality in Bombay, a Civil engineer can propose the use of micro-hydro potential of waters in China as a solution to energy crisis, a Civil engineer can propose damping mechanism to limit the vibrations of Millennium bridge in London; in short a Civil engineer sees things differently from other individuals of the society and can provide solutions to the problems which are affecting the everyday life of human beings. Civil engineers design facilities to improve the quality of life of people in the whole world. The various tasks which civil engineers do for improving the quality of life include designing and construction of railways, roadways and bridges to ease traffic congestion, meet ing the increasing energy needs of the world through providing various new non-conventional solutions for power generation and the planning and development of urban areas; all these works are related to the everyday life of individuals living on this planet. Goals and Objectives for a Civil Engineer Civil engineering is a very vast field and has many sub-disciplines as well as interdisciplinary fields. Studying Civil engineering at undergraduate level will allow me to get an understanding of the various sub-disciplines of this field and thus after studying the civil engineering for a few years I will be in a better position to specify my goals and objectives.

History Of Home Video Game Consoles

History Of Home Video Game Consoles Entertainment and technology have worked hand-in-hand on the path of progress since the beginning. Computer gaming has had an ever changing face ever since it was first introduced. We take a look at the predecessor of the heavily upgraded video consoles in the market today. A Video Game console is a device generally used for playing video games for non-commercial purposes. The video game console can be either an interactive computer or an electronic device. It produces a video display signal that is displayed using a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a video game. The term video game console and is used to differentiate a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal computer, which has many other functions, or arcade machines, which are designed for video game businesses. The video game console requires a monitor, be it a television screen or a computer monitor, to display the images. The video game console is termed such to differentiate between arcade game machines, which are used for commercial purposes and personal computers, which offer many more features to the end-user. The first video game console was the brainchild of Ralph Baer of Sanders Associates. It was termed the Magnavox Odyssey and was released in 1972. Later, Atari came up with the extremely popular PONG games, which brought a flurry of Pong and Pong related games into the market. Apart from PONG, the other players in the market were Coleco Telstar and APF TV Fun. These consoles are known to be the first generation of video game consoles. The term videogame console was first used by Fairchild Systems for their Video Entertainment Systems (VES) in 1976. This was the first console to contain a programmable microprocessor. Soon, other manufacturers like RCA and Atari came up with microprocessor based video game consoles. These consoles are known as the second generation of videogame consoles. The Video Game console market faced its second and biggest crash in 1983. While the first crash in 1977 was mainly due to obsolete gaming consoles being sold at a loss-making price, the crash of 1983 had entirely different reasons behind it. In 1977, manufacturers of older, obsolete consoles sold their systems at a loss to clear stock, creating a glut in the market and causing Fairchild and RCA to abandon their game consoles. It was not until Atari released a conversion of the arcade hit Space Invaders in 1980 that the home console industry was completely revived. Many consumers bought an Atari just for Space Invaders. Its unprecedented success started the trend of console manufacturers trying to get exclusive rights to arcade titles, and the trend of advertisements for game consoles claiming to bring arcade experience home. Other companies released video game consoles of their own, throughout the early 1980s. Many of them were technically superior to Atari 2600. However Atari dominated the console market in the early 1980s. By 1983, the video game console market was in full bloom, and a number of companies had invested money and released either their own console games or consoles. Many of these were low on quality, high on advertising products which tried to bank on the popularity wave of video game consoles. One such game which gained massive unpopularity, and is often blamed (wrongly) for the video game crash of 1983 is E.T. The game was made with only six weeks of development time and tried to bank on two of the biggest booms at that time, E.T the movie and the video game console boom. It was full of programming bugs, improper and illogical programming and features and concepts which made the game unplayable. It has been dubbed as the worst video game of all time by many. This was critical in putting to an end the second generation of video game consoles. In 1983, Nintendo came up with the Famicom (Family Computer) or NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) series of games, which brought about a change in the video game console market. The NES series featured full colour, high resolution and longer games with detailed graphics. The game was bundled with a plastic Robot and a light gun. Like Space Invaders for the 2600, Nintendo found its breakout hit game in Super Mario Bros. Nintendos success revived the video game industry and new consoles were soon introduced in the following years to compete with the NES. The NESs massive success with Super Mario Bros, which heralded the return of video game consoles. This wrapped up the success of the third generation of video game consoles. Nintendo ran a tight ship as regards its NES system. It introduced a lockout system, which forced game manufacturers to go through Nintendo only for their games. Also, it allowed third party game manufacturers to make only five games per year for the NES. The fourth generation of video game consoles saw the release of Segas Master System and Segas Sega Mega Drive. The Sega Mega Drive was released on October 29, 1989, two years before the release of Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Sega extended the Mega Drive with the Mega CD/Sega CD, to provide increased storage space for multi-media based games that were then in vogue among the development community. Later Sega released the 32X, which added some of the polygon processing functionality common in the fifth-generation machines. However the peripheral was a commercial failure due to the lack of software support, with developers more keen to concentrate on more powerful machines, with a wider user base, such as Saturn that followed shortly after. The fifth generation video game consoles were feature-rich and had many other capabilities as compared to their previous counterparts. Chief among these was the Sony PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. The other players in the market were 3DO and Atari. Atari Jaguar and the 3DO, both of these systems were much more powerful than SNES or Mega Drive. They were better at rendering polygons, could display more onscreen colours and the 3DO contained discs that contained far more information than cartridges and were cheaper to produce. Neither of these consoles were serious threat to Sega or Nintendo, though. It was not until Segas Saturn, Sonys Play station and the Nintendo 64 were released that fifth generation consoles started to become popular. The Saturn and PlayStation used CDs to store games, while the Nintendo 64 used cartridges. All three cost far less than the 3DO, and were easier to program than the Jaguar. The Saturn also had 2D sprite handling power on par with the Neo-Geo. The sixth generation of video game consoles saw updates and new releases. This generation saw a move towards Pc-like architectures in gaming consoles, as well as a shift towards using DVDs for game media. This brought games that were visually more appealing. Furthermore, this generation also saw experimentation with online console gaming and implementing both flash and hard drive storage for game storage. Sonys released the next version of the PlayStation, the PlayStation 2, while Nintendo and Microsoft fought competition with the GameCube and the Xbox respectively. Sega came up with the Dreamcast, but has since then stopped production. The Xbox heralded a new age in video game consoles, by being the first console to have a hard disk drive. It had many similarities to a low end computer. The features introduced in the seventh generation include the support of the new disc formats: Blu-Ray Disc, utilized by the PlayStation-3, and HD DVD supported by the Xbox 360. Another new technology is the use of motion as input, and IR tracking (as implemented in Wii). Microsoft kicked off the seventh generation with the release of the Xbox 306 in 2005. It featured processing power never before seen until Sony stroked back with its PlayStation 3 one year later. The software used on these dedicated computer systems has evolved amazingly from the simple rectangular blips used in Pong. Games today feature richly textured, full-colour graphics, awesome sound and complex interaction between player and system. The increased storage capacity of the cartridges and discs allows game developers to include incredibly detailed graphics and CD-quality soundtracks. Several of the video game systems have built-in special effects that add features like unique lighting or texture mapping in real-time. Each new generation of console hardware made use of the rapid development of processing technology. Newer machines could output a greater range of colours, more sprites, and introduced graphical technologies such as scaling and vector graphics.}

Lady Macbeth is a Feminist Role Model and a Despicable Human Being Essa

This fall, the second instalment of the Hunger Games trilogy was released in theatres. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is a brave, intelligent, female character with an exceptional level of physical and inner strength. Even 50 years ago it would have been considered unacceptable to present this type of female in entertainment and media has made significant strides when representing women in such a positive way. Yet in the 16th century, Shakespeare crafted a character that shared many of the same traits as Katniss while simultaneous pleasing an audience with traditional views on femininity. As a result, Lady Macbeth is a feminist role model before the rise of feminist ideology in the mainstream and a truly evil person as well. Lady Macbeth is shown to be a leader as it is her ambition that is the driving force behind the murder plot and her husbands actions. She had the strength to go through with the plan to kill King Duncan and holds it together for both she and Macbeth afte r the muder is complete. Finally, in elizabethan England the idea that a women could be capable of such evil wrongdoing would have been inconceivable. The fact that Lady Macbeth had murderous thoughts makes her equal to the men she was surrounded by. It is through these points that Lady Macbeth’s character can be both vilified and explored as a feminist role model. An audience who would have attended Macbeth in the 16th century would have believed that women we're incapable of ambition and leadership. Lady Macbeth shatters this when she latches onto the idea that Macbeth will be king and creates a plot to murder Duncan. While Macbeth is hesitant about assassinating the current monarch, Lady Macbeth doesn't have a second though; she tells her husband... ...he makes a plea to â€Å"Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse† (1. 5. 33-37). Her character broke down the notion that women are somehow more pure than men. She does an awful thing and as a result she sheds a light on the difference between the evil in men and women, there is none. If Shakespeare was alive today the story of Macbeth might have gone a little differently. People are multidimensional, they can be motivated by terrible thing and feel hesitation and guilt for these forces at the same time. As a result, Lady Macbeth could be the only Macbeth if the play has been written after the 20th century. She is both the face of women in power and a prime example of what happens when power gets the best of you. Lady Macbeth uses her ambition, leadership skills, emotional strength, and sheer absence of remorse to gain the throne for her husband.

Discuss and research theories/ studies relating to the formation of relationships

There are many theories relating to formation of relationships. These include the filter theory, the matching hypotheses, social-biological theory and the reinforcement-affect theory. Kerckhoff and Davis came up with the filter model of attraction. They believed that we rely on social and personal factors to filter potential relationships from the field of eligibles. There are five criteria; proximity, similarity, physical attractiveness, complementarity of needs and competence. We narrow down the people whom we may form a relationship with, through a series of selection filters. The criteria tend to be used a different stages. In initial attraction, proximity is the obvious filter; we form relationships with those who live close by, this is how we may become aware of the person. Similarity is important because the people who we share the same ethnicity, background and occupation we are more likely to talk and come in contact with. Once this stage of filtering has taken place, people then consider weather we share the same attitudes as the other person. Duck and Gillmor believed if we do share similar attitudes then the relationship is more likely to be pursued. Caspi and Herbener carried out a survey which found that married couples who were more similar were more satisfied with their marriage. People may have been initially drawn together because of their similarity, but it may become apparent that one person has characteristics that the other lacks, for example someone who is domineering may be attracted to someone who is submissive. Physical attraction plays an important role when forming relationships. Many studies have supported this, for example in Walters computer dance study; couples where randomly selected and assigned to each other for an evening dance, Walster found that physical attractiveness was the single best predictor of how much person liked their assigned ‘date'. However this study has been criticised as it lacks relevance to real life relationships. In Initial attraction, physical attraction has been said to be important. However people are not attracted by the most attractive person. The Matching hypothesis said that we are more likely to form a relationship with some who has a similar level of attractiveness; a possible reason for this is a fear of rejection. The matching hypothesis has been supported by Murstien. In his study people were asked to rate photos of couples and rate them in terms of physical attractiveness. Murstien summarized his findings â€Å"individuals with equal market value for physical attractiveness are more likely to associate in an intimate relationship such as engagement, than individuals with disparate values.' However this is not always the case as some couples may be seen to be physically ‘miss matched'. It is argued though that those who are miss matched balance out in other areas problems can occur in miss matched couples, the less attractive person might feel insecure or jealous of the attention given to their partner, this could also effect the less attractive person self-esteem; which could threaten the long term success of the relationship. Another theory in formation of relationships is the socio-biological theory. Wilson argued that human sexual attraction and behaviour may be explained through an understanding of ‘survival efficiency.' The theory suggests that men like to impregnate many women as it increases there chances of there genes to be carried down to generations. However a woman's best chance of her genes surviving is to ensure that her offspring is healthy and caring for them. There are problems with this theory, it overemphasis on reproduction, not all couples want children and it also excludes homosexual couples. The theory raises an ethical concern as it can be seen to be supporting gender stereotypes, allowing men sexual ‘privileges' and freedoms which woman are denied. Another criticism of this theory is it lacks revalance in the modern world, the socio-biological theory may once have been relevant but not suit those today. The reinforcement-affect model suggest that we like people because we find them rewarding, we associate them with some pleasant. May and Hamilton carried out a study to support this theory; female student were asked to look at photographs of male's, some looked at the photos while pleasant music was played while other looked at the same photos while unpleasant music was played. A comparison also looked at the photos but no music was play. They found that students who looked at the photos while listening to the pleasant music rated and liked the males in the photos best. This study and many others have shown positive feeling can lead to attraction. A lot of the theories and studies in formation of relationships have been criticised. Much of the research is seen as artificial and ‘leaves out most of the things people do in everyday life' Duck 1999. Another reason they have been criticised is research focuses on romantic relationships and leaves platonic friendships. Theories and studies also have not taken into count the influence of others such as family and friends as they can have an affect on relationships we form. Also in polygynous cultures, a man may have several wives at the same time. No characteristics are absolute, all are relative. We may like a characteristic in someone attractive at some point in relationship but find it negative at another time, for example; as fall in love someone we may like someone's unpredictability but as well fall out of love with them we may see it as irresponsibility. Other questions have also been raised; does familiarity always lead to liking? Do we like people more because we spend time with them? Or do we spend we spend more time with them because we like them? Frequency of interaction does not always result to greater liking. It was demonstrated by Warr that it can produce more disliking.

Story and Details Regarding the Magic Barrel Essay Example

Story and Details Regarding the Magic Barrel Essay Example Story and Details Regarding the Magic Barrel Essay Story and Details Regarding the Magic Barrel Essay Malamud is considered one of the most prominent figures in Jewish-American literature. His stories and novels, in which reality and fantasy are frequently interlaced, have been called parables, myths, and allegories and often illustrate the importance of moral obligation. Although he draws upon his Jewish heritage to address the themes of sin, suffering, and redemption, Malamud emphasizes human contact and compassion over orthodox religious dogma. Malamuds characters, while often awkward and isolated from society, evoke both pity and humor through their attempts at survival and salvation. Biographical Information Malamud was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 26, 1914 to Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents, whom he described as gentle, honest, kindly people, were not highly educated and knew very little about literature or the arts. Malamud recalled, â€Å"There were no books that I remember in the house, no records, music, pictures on the wall. † Malamud attended high school in Brooklyn and received his bachelors degree from the City College of New York in 1936. After graduation, he worked in a factory and as a clerk at the Census Bureau in Washington, D. C. Although he wrote in his spare time, Malamud did not begin writing seriously until the advent of World War II and the subsequent horrors of the Holocaust. At that time, he questioned his religious identity and started reading about Jewish tradition and history. He explained, â€Å"I was concerned with what Jews stood for, with their getting down to the bare bones of things. I was concerned with their ethnicality- how Jews felt they had to live in order to go on living. † In 1949 he began teaching at Oregon State University; he left this post in 1961 to teach creative writing at Bennington College in Vermont. He remained there until shortly before his death in 1986. Major Works Malamuds first novel,  The Natural  (1952), is one of his most symbolic works. While the novel ostensibly traces the life of Roy Hobbs, an American baseball player, the work has underlying mythic elements and explores such themes as initiation and isolation. For instance, some reviewers cite evidence of the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail; others apply T. S. EliotsWasteland  myth in their analyses. The Natural  also anticipates what would become Malamuds predominant narrative focus: a suffering protagonist struggling to reconcile moral dilemmas, to act according to what is right, and to accept the complexities and hardships of existence. Malamuds second novel,  The Assistant  (1957), portrays the life of Morris Bober, a Jewish immigrant who owns a grocery store in Brooklyn. Although he is struggling to survive financially, Bober hires a cynical anti-Semitic youth, Frank Alpine, after learning that the man is homeless and on the verge of starvation. Through this contact Frank learns to find grace and dignity in his own identity. Described as a naturalistic fable, this novel affirms the redemptive value of maintaining faith in the goodness of the human soul. Malamuds first collection of short stories,  The Magic Barrel  (1958), received the National Book Award in 1959. As in  The Assistant,  most of the stories in this collection depict the search for hope and meaning within the grim entrapment of poor urban settings and were influenced by Yiddish folktales and Hasidic traditions. Many of Malamuds best-known short stories, including â€Å"The Last Mohican,† â€Å"Angel Levine,† and â€Å"Idiots First,† were republished in  The Stories of Bernard Malamud  in 1983. A New Life  (1961), one of Malamuds most realistic novels, is based in part on Malamuds teaching career at Oregon State University. This work focuses on an ex-alcoholic Jew from New York City who, in order to escape his reputation as a drunkard, becomes a professor at an agricultural and technical college in the Pacific Northwest. Interweaving the protagonists quest for significance and self-respect with a satiric mockery of academia, Malamud explores the destructive nature of idealism, how love can lead to deception, and the pain of loneliness. The Fixer  (1966), is considered one of Malamuds most powerful works. The winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for literature and the National Book Award, the narrative is derived from the historical account of Mendel Beiliss, a Russian Jew who was accused of murdering a Christian child. Drawing upon Eastern European Jewish mysticism,  The Fixer  turns this terrifying story of torture and humiliation into a parable of human triumph. With  The Tenants  (1971), Malamud returned to a New York City setting, where the theme of self-exploration is developed through the contrast between two writers, one Jewish and the other black, struggling to survive in an urban ghetto. Within the context of their confrontations about artistic standards, Malamud also explored how race informs cultural identity, the purpose of literature, and the conflict between art and life. Malamud further addressed the nature of literature and the role of the artist in  Dubins Lives  (1979). In this work the protagonist, William Dubin, attempts to create a sense of worth for himself, both as a man and as a writer. A biographer who escapes into his work to avoid the reality of his life, Dubin bumbles through comically disastrous attempts at love and passion in an effort to find self-fulfillment. Malamuds next novel,  Gods Grace  (1982), differs from his earlier works in scope and presentation of subject matter. Set in the near future immediately after a nuclear disaster that leaves only one human being alive,  Gods Graceexplores the darkness of human morality, the nature of God, and the vanity and destruction associated with contemporary life. Critical Reception Malamuds place as a major American novelist is secure by the accounts of most critics, though most place him with Phillip Roth and Saul Bellow as a Jewish-American novelist. Largely considered one of the foremost writers of moral fiction, Malamud is also considered a writer in the tradition of Anton Chekhov and Fyodor Dostoyevski. Despite the preponderance of Jewish characters and subject matter in Malamuds works, critics argue that his stories extend far beyond Jewish literature. Malamud, Bernard (Vol. 27) Introduction Bernard Malamud 1914– American novelist and short story writer. Malamud ranks as one of the most significant contributors to contemporary American literature. His fictional world, most often urban and Jewish, is formed around the struggle for survival of characters who face the particular hardships of modern existence. Their survival depends upon their ability to combat lifes inevitable suffering by breaking through the barriers of personal isolation and finding human contact, compassion, and faith in the goodness of others. The typical Malamudian hero stumbles through this process in a tragic yet comic way, invoking both pity and humor. Although Malamud is a prolific writer and the recipient of many prestigious literary awards, he is perhaps best known for his novel  The Fixer  (1967), which was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The Natural  (1952), Malamuds first novel, is perhaps his most symbolic. On the surface, the novel explores the life of an American baseball player; yet, as with all of Malamuds works, there are various interpretations of the deeper levels of meaning. For instance, some critics cite evidence of the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail, while others apply T. S. Eliots wasteland myth in their analysis. In many ways it foreshadows predominant future concerns: a suffering protagonist struggling to reconcile moral dilemmas, to act according to what is right and good, and to come to grips with his existence. These themes recur in Malamuds second novel,  The Assistant  (1957), in the portrayal of the life of Frank Alpine, a cynical anti-semitic youth who goes to work for a Jewish grocer. Through this contact Frank learns to find grace and dignity in his own identity. Described as a fable, as are many of Malamuds stories, this novel affirms the redemptive value of maintaining faith in the inherent goodness of the human soul. Malamuds first collection of short stories,  The Magic Barrel  (1958), was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Like  The Assistant, most of the stories in this collection depict the search for dignity and meaning within the grim entrapment of poor urban settings. They often resemble the Yiddish folk tale in their humor and their use of character-types drawn from Hasidic traditions. Many of Malamuds short stories have been reprinted recently in  The Stories of Bernard Malamud  (1983), a collection which includes two new stories. Based in part on Malamuds teaching career at Oregon State University,  A New Life  (1961) superimposes the heros quest for significance and understanding on a satiric mockery of academia. Malamuds next novel,  The Fixer, is one of his most powerful works. Derived from the historical account of Mendel Beiliss, a Russian Jew who was accused of murdering a Christian child, and also drawing on East European Jewish mysticism,  The Fixer  turns this terrifying story of torture and humiliation into a parable of human triumph. The Tenants  (1971) returns to an urban setting, where the theme of self-exploration is developed through the contrast between two writers, one Jewish and the other black, struggling to survive in a New York City ghetto. Within the context of their confrontations, Malamud also explores the conflict between art and life. The protagonist of  Dubins Lives  (1979), as with Harry Bernard Malamud 1914–  Ã‚ © Thomas Victor 1983 Lesser and Willie Spearmint in  The Tenants, attempts to create a sense of worth for himself, both as a man and as a writer. A biographer who escapes into his work to avoid the reality of his life, William Dubin bumbles through comically disastrous attempts at love and passion in an effort to find self-fulfillment. Gods Grace  (1982) differs from Malamuds earlier works in its scope and presentation of subject matter. Set in the near future immediately after a nuclear disaster which leaves only one human being alive,  Gods Grace  explores the darkness of human morality, the nature of God, and the vanity and destruction which has become an integral part of the human race. Critical reception to this work varies immensely: some critics feel that the contrast between the serious moral fable and the humor of a situation, in which the protagonist alternately converses with God and a group of apes, provides a uniquely intriguing narrative. Others, however, feel the structure of the novel does not support the seriousness and ambition of its themes. But in common with his other works,  Gods Graceexpresses Malamuds intensely humanistic concerns, along with the humor and insight that have made him a leading American author. See also  CLC, Vols. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 18;  Contemporary Authors, Vols. 5-8, rev. ed. ;Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 2; and  Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook: 1980. ) W inner of the National Book Award for Fiction Introduction by Jhumpa Lahiri Bernard Malamuds first book of short stories,  The Magic Barrel, has been recognized as a classic from the time it was published in 1959. The stories are set in New York and in Italy (where Malamuds alter ego, the struggleing New York Jewish Painter Arthur Fidelman, roams amid the ruins of old Europe in search of his artistic patrimony); they tell of egg candlers and shoemakers, matchmakers, and rabbis, in a voice that blends vigorous urban realism, Yiddish idiom, and a dash of artistic magic. The Magic Barrel  is a book about New York and about the immigrant experience, and it is high point in the modern American short story. Few books of any kind have managed to depict struggle and frustration and heartbreak with such delight, or such artistry. Praise In the short story, Malamud achieved an almost psalmlike compression. He has been called the Jewish Hawthorne, but he might just as well be thought a Jewish Chopin, a prose composer of preludes and noctures. Mark Shechner,  Partisan Review There are thirteen stoires in  The Magic Barrel  and every one of them is a small, highly individualized work of art. This is the kind of book that calls for not admiration but gratitude. Richard Sullivan,  Th e Chicago Tribune   Is he an American Master? Of course. He not only wrote in the American language, he augmented it with fresh plasticity, he shaped our English into startling new configurations. Cynthia Ozick Gods Grace  (1982), Bernard Malamuds last novel, is a modern-day dystopian fantasy, set in a time after a thermonuclear war prompts a second flood-a radical departure from Malamuds previous fiction. The novels protagonist is paleolosist Calvin Cohn, who had been attending to his work at the bottom of the ocean when the Devastation struck, and who alone survived. This rabbis son? a marginal error? inds himself shipwrecked with an experimental chimpanzee capable of speech, to whom he gives the name Buz. Soon other creatures appear on their island-baboons, chimps, five apes, and a lone gorilla. Cohn works hard to make it possible for God to love His creation again, and his hopes increase as he encounters the unknown and the unforeseen in this strange new world. With  Gods Grace, Malamud took a great risk, and it paid off. The nove ls fresh and pervasive humor, narrative ingenuity, and tragic sense of the human condition make it one of Malamuds most extraordinary books. The Magic Barrel Bernard Malamud The following entry presents criticism on Malamuds short story The Magic Barrel, which was first published in 1954 and later revised and included in  The Magic Barrel  (1958). See alsoBernard Malamud Criticism  (Volume 1), and Volumes  2,  3,  5,  8,  9,  11,  18,  27. INTRODUCTION The title story of Malamuds prizewinning first short story collection, The Magic Barrel is one of his most frequently discussed works of short fiction. Described by Sanford Pinsker as quintessential Malamud- in form, content, and perhaps most of all, in moral vision, the story combines elements of realism and fantasy in an urban, Jewish setting and centers on the protagonists struggle to break through the barriers of personal isolation. While Malamuds handling of such themes as love, community, redemption, and Jewish identity has been widely praised, he is also noted for his creative use of ambiguity. Consequently, The Magic Barrel has generated a wide array of interpretations. Plot and Major Characters The Magic Barrel focuses on the interaction of two main characters: a young, unmarried rabbinical student named Leo Finkle and Pinye Salzman, a vulgar, yet colorful, marriage broker who smells distinctly of fish. At the storys outset, an acquaintance advises Finkle that it will be much easier for him to find a congregation after graduation if he is married. Having spent his life studying, Finkle has little experience in the area of romance and reluctantly decides to engage the services of Salzman. The marriage broker shows Finkle numerous pictures of potential brides from his magic barrel and comments on their qualities, particularly their ages, educational backgrounds, family connections, and the size of their dowries. Finkle, however, seems uninterested in Salzmans usual selling points and constructs flimsy excuses for rejecting many of the candidates. Salzman eventually convinces Finkle to meet a woman named Lily Hirschorn. During his traumatic encounter with Hirschorn, Finkle recognizes that his life has been emotionally empty and that he has lacked the passion to love either God or other humans. Finkles discovery of a picture of Salzmans daughter, Stella, prompts him to act on his new self-knowledge. Distinctive from the women in the previous photographs, Stella appears to be someone who has lived and suffered deeply. Salzman refers to her as a fallen woman, stating that she should burn in hell, and argues that the presence of her picture among the others was a mistake and that she is not the woman for Finkle. Finkle, however, remains strongly attracted to Stella and envisions an opportunity to convert The Magic Barrel Bernard Malamud her to goodness, himself to God. The storys concluding tableau is highly ambiguous. It depicts Finkle running toward Stella, who is standing under a lamppost dressed in a white dress and red shoes, while Salzman stands next to a wall around the corner, chanting the kaddish, a prayer for the dead. Major Themes Like many of Malamuds short stories, The Magic Barrel is essentially a love story that incorporates themes of suffering and self-discover y. Finkles search for a wife leads to his realization of his essentially dispassionate nature, and his love for Stella stems in part from his recognition of her suffering as a mark of having truly lived. The story also suggests the presence of the miraculous in everyday life. In the final tableau, for instance, violins and candles are said to be floating in the sky, and events in the story often suggest that Salzman possesses supernatural abilities. Such images and suggestions contrast with the storys surface of realistic detail and also further the theme of the rational versus the irrational. Finkle, for example, begins the story as a representative of reason but eventually falls in love with and seeks out Stella despite Salzmans logical arguments against such a match. Other events in the story focus on the theme of Jewish identity. Some critics argue that Finkles relationship to Salzman strengthens his connections to the Jewish community, while others posit that his attraction to Stella signifies a break with Jewish values. Critical Reception Critical reaction to The Magic Barrel has centered on the imagery of the storys concluding tableau and the ambiguity engendered by Salzmans prayers for the dead. As Lionel Trilling has remarked: Much of the curious power and charm of The Magic Barrel is surely to be accounted for by the extraordinary visual intensity of a single paragraph, the last but one, which describes the rendezvous of Leo Finkle and Stella Salzman. Nothing the storys ambiguity, critics argue that Salzmans prayers either signify Finkles abandonment of the Jewish faith or celebrate the death of his old self and the beginning of his new life- one which will be enriched by the lessons that he has learned from Salzman. Commentators have addressed issues concerning the archetypal nature of the characters a s well. Salzman, for example, has been linked to such mythical figures as Pan and the Trickster, while Stella has been described as a symbol of eroticism. Scholars have remarked favorably on Malamuds mixture of folk and realistic treatments of his subject matter and have proposed links between The Magic Barrel and the paintings of Marc Chagall. Commenting on the storys conclusion, Mark Goldman has remarked that the last scene, like many of Malamuds sudden, summary endings, is a consciously ironic parable and not an escape from tragedy. All the complex meaning is fixed, flashed back upon the story itself in a kind of Joycean epiphany that runs counter to the neatly packaged endings of the naturalistic tale.

Barometer Definition and Function (Science)

Barometer Definition and Function (Science) The barometer, thermometer, and anemometer are important meteorology instruments. Learn about the invention of the barometer, how it works, and how its used to forecast weather. Barometer Definition A barometer is a device that measures atmospheric pressure. The word barometer comes from the Greek words for weight and measure. Changes in atmospheric pressure recorded by barometers are most often used in meteorology for forecasting weather. Invention of the Barometer Usually youll see  Evangelista Torricelli credited with inventing the barometer in 1643,  French scientist Renà © Descartes described an experiment to measure atmospheric pressure in 1631 and Italian scientist  Gasparo Berti constructed a water barometer between 1640 and 1643. Bertis barometer consisted of a long tube filled with water and plugged at both ends. He placed the tube upright in a container of water and removed the bottom plug. Water flowed from the tube into the basin, but the tube did not completely empty. While there may be disagreement over who invented the first water barometer, Torricelli is certainly the inventor of the first mercury barometer. Types of Barometers There are several types of mechanical barometer, plus now there are numerous digital barometers. Barometers include: water-based barometers - most often consists of a sealed glass ball that is half-filled with water. The body of the ball connects below the water level to a narrow spout, which rises above the water level and is open to the air. The water level of the spout rises when atmospheric pressure is lower than it was when the glass ball was sealed and drops when air pressure exceeds the pressure when the ball was sealed. While not particularly precise, this is a simple type of barometer easily constructed at home or in a lab.mercury barometers - uses a glass tube that is closed at one end, standing in a mercury-filled reservoir that is open to air. A mercury barometer works on the same principle as the water barometer, but is much easier to read and more sensitive than a water barometer.vacuum pump oil barometers - liquid barometer that uses vacuum pump oil, which has an extremely low vapor pressureaneroid barometers - type of barometer which does not use liquid to measure pressure, instead relying on expansion or contraction of a flexible metal capsule barographs - uses an aneroid barometer to move a pen or needle to make a graph of pressure changesmicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS) barometersstorm glasses  or Goethe barometersmartphone barometers How Barometric Pressure Relates To Weather Barometric pressure is a measure of the weight of the atmosphere pressing down on the Earths surface. High atmospheric pressure means there is a downward force, pressure air down. As air moves down, it warms up, inhibiting the formation of clouds and storms. High pressure typically signifies fair weather, particularly if the barometer registers a lasting high pressure reading. When barometric pressure drops, this means air can rise. As it rises, it cools and is less able to hold moisture. Cloud formation and precipitation becomes favorable. Thus, when a barometer registers a drop in pressure, clear weather may be giving way to clouds. How To Use a Barometer While a single barometric pressure reading wont tell you too much, you can use a barometer to forecast changes in the weather by tracking readings throughout the day and over the course of several days. If the pressure holds steady, weather changes are unlikely. Dramatic changes in pressure are associated with changes in the atmosphere. If pressure suddenly drops, expect storms or precipitation. If pressure rises and stabilizes, youre more likely to see fair weather. Keep a record of barometric pressure and also wind speed and direction to make the most accurate forecasts. In the modern era, few people own storm glasses or large barometers. However, most smart phones are able to record barometric pressure. A variety of free apps are available, if one doesnt come with the device. You can use the app to relate atmospheric pressure to weather or you can track the changes in pressure yourself to practice home forecasting. References Strangeways, Ian.  Measuring the Natural Environment. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 92.The Invention of the Barometer, Weather Doctors Weather People and History, retrieved October 6, 2015.

View of God in the New Testament Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

View of God in the New Testament - Term Paper Example The promise of a coming Messiah was awaited hoping that He would free people from the bondage of exile, and of subordination. But God had other plans of freedom in mind. It had been some two thousand years ago when a man named Jesus changed human history on earth. He was born in a carpenter’s household, in a manger, by a virgin. He was the prophecied Messiah as the Christian community holds upon. He is known for turning water into wine, for calming the storm and for producing food enough to feed the five thousand. He did not deny the case of Him being God himself—in human form. And with Jesus’ claims, was sentenced to die. He died the most shameful death a man could ever have during their time, a death on a cross. The story does not end there. After three days in the tomb, Jesus is resurrected back to life, he shows up to his disciples, he still eats with them, serves them food, and preached some more. It’s theological significance marked the victory of th e human race against death, against sin, against bondage, and everything else in between. He is soon then raised up into heaven after forty days upon his death and resurrectionand is presently seated at the right hand of God, the Father. The whole story can be of two natures. (1) This person named Jesus was a total lunatic who claimed He was God, a make believe story fanatics have made up to appease their fear of the afterlife—as some would say, or, (2) He changed the eternal destiny for each and every human being’s soul by purchasing with his own life and blood, as how prophecies foretold. â€Å"He has healed the blind, made the lame walk, raised the dead, and preached the good news to the poor.† (Mark) Though the question arises, why is this story still relevant to any of the estimated 7 billion people on earth in the 21st century, including me? And what would this mean for the daily habitual routine of an average American? The story may have been told a trill ion times. Some may have been twisted by some, improvised by many, and forgotten by a million, yet, its claims of being the most historical shifting event have ever offered in the Spiritual sense. It turned around, again in theological aspects, how people would and/or could actually relate and describe a divine. This story of Jesus actually changed the way the whole world can and/or will ever have to relate with the God who was viewed as a distant, angry God hundreds, and even thousands of years before the coming of Jesus Christ. The event gave being to the blueprint of the idea of a God to realting to a sinful human being. In Jesus, a fullness of how a God would walk, talk, act, weep, speak, and mourn was revealed. Jesus was, as described in the Bible, â€Å"is the image of an invisible God, the firstborn over all creation...†. It was a revelation of a diety made tangible and can be grasped. In the study of His life, He is presented as the mediator between man and God, makin g Him equal with God, at the same time, a full human being. He is presented as the Incarnate Person of the Trinity that stands in mankind’s place, this means that when God looks at the human race, He sees the person Jesus Christ instead. The doctrine of the God in the New Testament was a God shown in the person of Jesus Christ who was the sacrificial Lamb that paid the debt of mankind’s sin. This makes the whole difference as far as the Old and the New Testaments are concerned. Jesus is the mark that draws the

Does the Conservative- Liberal democrat coalition have coherent Essay

Does the Conservative- Liberal democrat coalition have coherent ideological roots - Essay Example Despite the differing ideologies held by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, they were able to come up with a coherent plan with which to run the country. The ideological roots of the coalition were introduced because the two parties needed a framework in which they could work together. Since the ideologies of the parties were normally so different, they had to identify some of the main differences and resolve those issues before the coalition could be formed. This was a big step because it identified 11 different issues that would have to be examined before moving forward with the coalition. The first issue they examined was the reduction of the deficit. They decided that the best way to speed up the deficit reduction was to reduce spending, rather than increasing taxes. Members of the coalition decided to implement an emergency budget 50 days after signing the coalition agreement. They also scrapped the Labour Partys jobs tax, which could have cost the country many jobs. This was an important ideology for the coalition because it helped decide how the UK’s money would be spent. The next issue to discuss was the countrys spending, since they knew that they would have to make some significant cuts to reduce the deficit. The coalition began by providing more money for the National Health Service and freeing up funds for underprivileged students. They took this money from outside of the education budget to ensure that it would not be cut later on in the process. The Liberal Democrats wanted to see Britains nuclear deterrent eliminated, but decided to have the agreement renewed for the time being because the issue was important to the Conservatives. For taxation, the parties increased the income tax allowances in the country. This means that lower income earners would not be taxed unless they made over  £10,000 by the year 2015. The plan was also to providing tax exemptions for individuals starting businesses on their own, while taxing non-business