School Violence Essays (1564 words) - Crime, School Bullying

School Violence Violence in society is more prevalent today than ever before. Media and entertainment have opened up violent images for children to see. Availability of weapons to school age children seems incredulous. News stories of elementary school children bringing guns to school and killing classmates are sickening yet true. What is happening to our country? What is happening to our schools? It is no secret that academic performance has declined over the last thirty or forty years. Today's students are not as proficient in the ?three R's? as are parents or grandparents was. ?Cultural illiteracy,? is rising. Cultural illiteracy indicates a failure to ?possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world,? or to ?be deficient in one's understanding of the basic terms and concepts that a person needs to function properly in our society.? (Schroder 75). As public education has grabbed the attention of parents, policy-makers, and political candidates, the problems of school violence have received increased attention. School safety has become the sixth initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Goals 2000 program. They propose Safe, Disciplined, and Drug-free Schools by the year 2000. (Perlstein B. 02) Despite heightened public attention following a surge in multiple homicides in schools, overall school crime rates are declining, according to the new 1999 Annual Report on School Safety. (Journal of American Medical Association 34) ?Although America can be glad that school crime is decreasing,? said President Clinton; ?we must take firm steps to ensure the safety of all our young people in their communities and in their schools. Congress should finish its work on the juvenile justice conference and finally pass a comprehensive and balanced bill that includes common sense gun provisions that will keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals.? (Quindlen 98) A source of conflict in many schools is the perceived or real problem of bias and unfair treatment of students because of ethnicity, gender, race, social class, religion, disability, nationality, sexual orientation or physical appearance is what a report noted. An update on hate crime legislation and related statistics is included, but the report also notes that hate crimes are often underreported and data collection is further complicated because state definitions of hate crime vary. Recent data shows that about fifteen percent of eleven, thirteen, and fifteen-year-olds have been bullied because of their religion or race, and more than thirty percent have had sexual jokes, comments or gestures directed at them. (Schroeder 75) Gun laws are an interesting issue in the never-ending civic debates that is this nation. There is hardly any true debate about them at all. Polls have long shown that the majority of the American people, even the majority of gun owners, support government efforts to make sure guns are less dangerous and less often in the hands of the violent, the deranged and the very young (Schroeder 75). This makes any reasonable person wonder how such public consensus can have spawned such an illusion of strife, and so much stillborn legislation. The answer is simple. Many of the elected officials who oppose gun laws aren't true believers. Many experts believe that the shootings at Columbine and other schools are not just a school problem. They say that problems in American society also play a role. Some experts say there is too much violence in the media, including movies, music, and TV. The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged a limit to the amount of TV kids watch because it is too violent. (Perlstein B.02) Just recently I found an article on a teenager in an Oregon school shooting who received one hundred and eleven years in jail. Kip Kinkle pleaded guilty to a jury in September of 1998 to a May shooting that injured twenty-four students at his high school. As a 15-year-old high school student, Kinkel shot his parents who were both popular Spanish teachers, Bill and Faith Kinkel, at home on the day he was suspended for bringing a handgun to school. The next morning he drove the 10 miles to school and opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle in a crowded cafeteria, killing two students. (Online 1999) While there are can be no guarantees, many cities around the country are turning to community programs

Biography of Lewis Latimer, Noted Black Inventor

Biography of Lewis Latimer, Noted Black Inventor Lewis Latimer (September 4, 1848–December 11, 1928) is considered one of the most important African-American inventors, for the number of inventions he produced and patents he secured, but also for the importance of his best-known discovery: a longer-lasting filament for the electric light. He also helped Alexander Graham Bell obtain the patent for the first telephone. Latimer was in great demand for his expertise later in his career as electric light spread across the country. Fast Facts: Lewis Latimer Known For: Improved the electric lightAlso Known As: Louis LatimerBorn: September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, MassachusettsParents: Rebecca and George LatimerDied: December 11, 1928 in Flushing, Queens, New YorkPublished Works: Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison SystemSpouse: Mary WilsonChildren: Emma Jeanette, Louise RebeccaNotable Quote: We create our future, by well improving present opportunities: however few and small they are. Early Life Lewis Latimer was born on September 4, 1848, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of four children born to George Latimer, a paperhanger, and Rebecca Smith Latimer, both escaped slaves. His parents had fled from Virginia in 1842, hiding beneath the deck of a northbound ship, but his father was recognized in Boston, Massachusetts by a former employee of their owner. George Latimer was arrested as a fugitive and brought to trial, where he was defended by noted abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Eventually, a group of abolitionists paid $400 for his freedom. George Latimer disappeared shortly after the Dred Scott decision of 1857, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Scott, a slave, couldnt sue for his freedom. Possibly fearing a return to slavery, Latimer went underground. It was a great hardship for the rest of the Latimer family. Early Career Lewis Latimer worked to help support his mother and siblings. Then, In 1864, at age 15, Latimer lied about his age in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Latimer was assigned to the gunboat USS Massasoit and received an honorable discharge on July 3, 1865. He returned to Boston, Massachusetts and took a position as an office boy with the patent law firm Crosby Gould. He taught himself mechanical drawing and drafting by observing draftsmen at the firm. Recognizing Latimers talent and promise, the partners promoted him to draftsman and, eventually, head draftsmen. During this time he married  Mary Wilson in November 1873. The couple had two daughters, Emma Jeanette and Louise Rebecca. The Telephone In 1874 while at the firm, Latimer co-invented an improvement to the bathroom compartment of trains. Two years later, he was sought out as a draftsman by an instructor of children who were hard of hearing; the man wanted drawings for a patent application on a device he had created. The instructor was Alexander Graham Bell, and the device was the telephone. Working late into the evenings, Latimer labored to complete the patent application. It was submitted on Feb. 14, 1876, just hours before another application was made for a similar device. With Latimers help, Bell won the patent rights to the telephone. Edisons Competitor In 1880, after relocating to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Latimer was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for the U.S. Electric Lighting Co., which was owned by Hiram Maxim. Maxim was the chief competitor of Thomas Edison, who had invented the electric light. Edison’s light consisted of a nearly airless glass bulb surrounding a carbon wire filament, typically made from bamboo, paper, or thread. When electricity ran through the filament, it became so hot that it literally glowed. Maxim hoped to improve on Edison’s light bulb by focusing on its main weakness: its brief life span, typically only a few days. Latimer set out to make a longer-lasting light bulb. He developed a way to encase the filament in a cardboard envelope that prevented the carbon from breaking up, giving the bulbs a much longer life while making them less expensive and more efficient. Latimer’s expertise had become well known, and he was sought after to continue to improve on incandescent lighting as well as arc lighting. As more major cities began wiring their roadways for electric lighting, Latimer was selected to lead several planning teams. He helped install the first electric plants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York, New York; and Montreal, Quebec. He also oversaw the installation of lighting in railroad stations, government buildings, and major thoroughfares in Canada, New England, and London. Edison Latimer started working for Edison in 1884 and became involved in Edisons infringement lawsuits. He worked in the legal department of the Edison Electric Light Co. as the chief draftsman and patent specialist. He drafted sketches and documents related to Edison patents, looked over plants in search of patent infringements, carried out patent searches, and testified in court on Edison’s behalf. He never worked in any of Edisons labs, but he was the only black member of a group known as the Edison Pioneers, men who had worked closely with the inventor in his early years. Latimer also co-authored a book on electricity published in 1890 called Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System. Later Innovations In subsequent years, Latimer continued to display his innovative abilities. In 1894 he created a safety elevator, a vast improvement on existing elevators. Then he obtained a patent for â€Å"Locking Racks for Hats, Coats, and Umbrellas† that was used in restaurants, resorts, and office buildings. He also developed a method for making rooms more hygienic and climate-controlled, named an â€Å"Apparatus for Cooling and Disinfecting.† Latimer died on December 11, 1928, in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York. His wife Mary had died four years earlier. Legacy Lewis Latimer rose from humble beginnings with little education to play a major role in the development of two products that had massive impacts on the lives of Americans: the light bulb and the telephone. The fact that he was a black American born in the 19th century made his many successes even more impressive. Sources Lewis Latimer. Greatblackheroes.com.Lewis Howard Latimer Biography. Biography.com.Lewis Latimer. Famousinventors.org.

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mrs. Fields Cookies Growth - Case Study Example The information system configured for Mrs. Fields’ Cookies was actually based on the ‘fit’ between the organizational structure, culture and the organizational goals. It was built distinctively for the operations of Mrs. Field’s Cookies within a given business market (fresh baked cookies) and it addressed the needs and requirements of the firm in forecasting demand, anticipating sales, allocating resources, tracking sales records and measuring the performance of each of the different outlets. Apart from these, the information management system was also equipped with ‘strategic intelligence’ in assisting managers (regional or store managers) making decisions fast without wasting time dealing with paperwork or any bureaucratic procedures. In general, the information system management approach undertaken by Mrs. Field’s Cookies was very enhancing and facilitated the growth and expansion of the firm as it enabled Debbi and Randy to maintain control on the one hand through centralization of operations and management. At the same time, however, employees were left to do work that was essential for business growth and which involved primarily the promotion of sales. The Acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie Within the expansion strategy of Mrs. Cookies Fields’, diversification was attempted through the acquisition of La Petite Boulangerie (LPB). Randy and Debbi show that acquisition as an excellent way of leveraging marketing opportunities by capitalizing on their brand name (according to the case study â€Å"the Mrs. Fields' name was demographically well established, and Randy believed whatever they put it on would sell†) and by extending the concept of a simple cookie store to diversifying into a ‘combination’ store (sit-down cafe). In undertaking LPB, Randy and Debbi sought to further stimulate the growth of the firm by diversifying its initial business and offerings. Their aspirations were ba sically driven by two factors: the first factor relates to the fact that Mrs. Field’s Cookies was a growth-oriented company and therefore opportunities offered were quickly grasped (despite the fact that in the early years Debbi was rather reluctant in growth because of her perceived control loss). In addition to that, Mrs. Fields’ Cookies had already acquired other firms in the past (within the expansion strategy program) and had managed to successfully incorporate them into the business structure, philosophy, and culture of the company (as in the case of the Famous Chocolate Chip Company).  

'The importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to Essay

'The importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to ...... (use the company featured for your portfolio my portfolio company is GOOGLE - Essay Example Social responsibility enables a company to build a good name about itself which over time earns it a good reputation. A good reputation is very important to any organization that is success oriented and its benefits cannot be underestimated. It makes people want to be associated with the firm since almost everyone is proud of it and this in turn is beneficial to the company (Paetzold 2009, p.33). It is thus a great marketing asset that has a high potential of increasing sales and customer loyalty, which as a result can translate, to perpetual dominance of the firm in the sector it operates in. Google Company because of being socially responsible has built a good reputation in the market that has made many people across the globe to be loyal to its products. This has enabled the company to excel in marketing its products and generally it has contributed significantly to its overall success (Scharl 2007, p.200) Organizations that give back to the community are associated with greater employee satisfaction and productivity than their counterpart that do not engage in empowering the society (Ulrich, Goldsmith & Carter 2004, p.40). This is mainly because the workers are able to rightly identify themselves with their employer without fear since the firm has built a strong brand of itself out of its involvement in social empowerment activities. They in turn become more motivated in their work and hence they consciously or unconsciously become more productive benefiting their employers. Furthermore firms which are ethically responsible usually attract the most qualified and talented employees mainly because these workers believe that they will be treated well. This strong belief that they will be treated well stems from the reasoning that if the company treats outsiders in such a good manner then it must be kind to its staff. Google Company over the past three years has donated over three hundred

Excel Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Excel - Assignment Example The airline is also socially responsible in ensuring that it relates well with the public. Good relationship with the public is a good move and this helped the airline to increase its profit margins. It can also be noted in the table 1 of sheet 2 that the revenues of the airline were increasing as the sales continued in different quarters. This can as well be seen with the increment in the net profit of the business. Success of a business is seen by increment in profits, reduction in expenses or even when the production gets reduced further while the passengers realize the full consumption of the commodity. In my position as the sales and marketing director, I use all the resources within my proximity in the attracting of passengers to use our airline and make them know and came to reality that the services we offer are of high quality and that they cannot regret the value of their money after the consumption of the transport service. A lot of factors need to be well addressed by the management on the operations of the airline effectively and efficiently. In this, it is worth considering that the airline is operating in different market and with the expansion, it is therefore important for the management to do proper supervision on the staff in the other markets as well as thorough auditing of the financial records that are prepared by the accountants in those markets. In this regard, what can been be very useful to prevent any losses that may rise due to in accuracy, omission and commissions. The management should also give discounts to the passengers who make online reservations as this will make most of them o book online whenever will want to travel. Online reservation is a good way to save the time for the various passengers as it also reduces the cost of spending say for the people living far away from the operating locations of the airline. It is also a safer way since

Evolution Of The Contemporary World System Politics Essay

Evolution Of The Contemporary World System Politics Essay Together, all international actors and their interactions with one another form an international system (Papp, 2002). Ironically, international system itself is also a very important body that greatly influences the behaviors and interactions of its creators, especially the states. There is no single global system that dominates the history of mankind. This system always evolves as the realm of power shifts together with the changing in the way that power is demonstrated. Remarkably, the 20th and the early 21st centuries have been a very dynamic period when there were frequent fundamental changes in world politics and international system. The beginning of the 20th century, when states were still the solely crucial players, global affairs were under the Balance of Power System. This system came to an end together with the breakout of the World War I when the perception of balance of power was absent in the mind of state actors. Central power, namely German and Austria-Hungry, attacked the Allied countries consisting of France, Belgium, Serbia and others (Keylor, 2008). After the war, a new but short-lived system emerged, international collective security. Again this ineffective system ended in global conflict, the World War II (Papp, 2002). It was the failure of the League of Nations when Britain and France ignored the German invasion of Poland. Following the horrifying and destructive war, Bipolar System made its appearance in world politics. The new system in which two super powers competed and dominated the international arena. By this time the world has already experienced the terror of nuclear weapon as two bombs were tested and demonstrated in Japan to conclude the war. Some arguments believe that this weapon of mass destruction also did contribute significantly in preventing direct war between the U.S. and USSR, the war that could inevitably end the world as we know today. However, the effect of cold war between the two giants on smaller countries around the world still can be seen as bloody as the wars that came before it. Civil wars and proxy wars in Cambodia, Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan, Korea peninsular and many other conflicts erupted with the two dominant ideologies acting behind the scene. This bipolar system was the main characteristic of the international affairs until the demise of Soviet Union at the end of 1991 that marked the official conclusion of bipolar world. From then, according to Charles Krauthammer, the United States is now the unchallenged power supported by its Western allies (Krauthammer, 2002). Therefore, the international system now becomes unipolar. Political an d economic powers are the two most important variables in determining the strength of one state. With nuclear warhead and other advanced military technology, naturally, the United States gained significant amount of political power in international arena. More importantly, the U.S. is the world largest single economy thanks to its annum GDP worth of over 10 trillion dollars , more than one-sixth of world GDP (World development indicators, 2010). However, this claim did not address a number of fundamental changes happened even before the bipolar system ended. From the second half of the 20th century, there have been many remarkably and extremely important trends in global politics as well as the international structure. The emergence of nonalignment movement creates the single and stronger voice for the weak and poor states to bargain with the rich and powerful states, especially in the UN General Assembly. It was seen as the North-South conflict. The rise of China, India, and Brazil in their economic and political power is questioning the dominant power and unilateralism of the U.S. in international affairs. For instance, the Chinese economic miracle from the 1970s has put the concrete role of China in global political arena again. China has been busy in advancing its military capability and inserting power and influence globally. The presence of Chinese investment in African sub-continent is the clear manifestation of Sino- expansion going global. From economic perspective, China is building up its economic empire, the process that requires a lot of resources from Africa; nevertheless, looking from political perspective, Africa holds about one-fourth of the UN General Assembly seats. Using power capital in Africa and other area, China can easily control the voting result at the UN. In addition, there are also other emergence of former powers as well such as Japan and Germany. Despite both countries still have limited military capacity in international arena, but as the third largest economy, Japan, and world biggest exporter, Germany, the two giant economic powers are also trying to increase their influences in world politics. As we can see that they have maintain the seat in the United Nation Security Council by using economic power such as bilateral aid. New international actors such as Intergovernmental Organizations like the UN and NATO, regional grouping, the EU and ASEAN, and other International Nongovernmental Organizations like the ILO are also increasing their role in changing the world stage. States cooperate through those INGOs. For instance, through ASEAN, the countries in Southeast Asia are trying to limit the influences of great powers in their region. Even though it has not become powerful enough to achieve all it goal and objective, it surely has change the way in which international relations operate especially for the U.S. when it deals with the countries in Southeast Asia. More importantly, the increasing power of Multinational Corporations and private power capital make the international affairs even more complex because those actors even have great influence in many domestic political affairs of many countries especially the developing countries, but their intention and goal are sole profit, which are so different from the state actor. Advancement of technology, communication, and transportation has helped the transnational social movement possible. From the woman rights groups to environmental advocators, they actively involve in world politics. All of these changes and new actors have made the international system even more complex and complicated with so many level and facets. Understanding this contemporary state of affairs is extremely important for all actors to achieve their survival, goal, and objective. It is even more extremely significant for an actor like a weak state since it is the most vulnerable and sensitive to the decisions made in global affairs and world politics. Cambodia was small and vulnerable country. During French colonial period, Cambodia was isolated from international politics for most of the time; however, at independence, this country faced its most critical challenge that was to survive and prosper in the arena of international political system. Unfortunately, the world politics at that time was not really a peaceful period especially for a newly independent country that has not established strong and stable political system not to mention other wide range of internal problems like economic underdevelopment, unemployment and poverty. Stuck in the middle of cold war between two super powers, the U.S. and USSR, Cambodia understood very clearly that it has no choice but to play its part in the political game of bipolar system. Cambodia started to develop good relation with U.S. and received a lot of aids for its economic development. It also tried not to confront directly with the increasing-power communism. However, things changed ra pidly when the Vietnam War started to spill over Cambodia. Prince Sihanouk cut off relations with the U.S. in 1965 in regard with U.S. bombing in the kingdom and the increase influence of American in Cambodia armed forces (Lum, 2007). This move has put Prince Sihanouk in critical position for the U.S. Despite relation was restored in 1969, the coup led by Lon Nol and backed by the U.S. put a new government in Phnom Penh (Sophat, 2010). This marked the point of deep internal breach between Cambodians who supported Lon Nols regime and those who love the former one. The 30-year civil war began. New government officially declared war against communist Vietnam to please the U.S. However, Lon Nol not only fought the North Vietnam but he also has to deal with Pol Pot, a rapidly increasing Cambodian guerrilla forces supported by communist Vietnam. Then in 1975, the Phnom Penh government collapsed and replaced by Khmer Rouge. Despite the killing in the country, this regime lasted until 1979 when the Vietnam launched full-scaled military attack against Pol Pots regime. After the regime was forced out of power, Cambodia was still struggling in civil war having three fractions backed by different foreign actors fighting along the north and western borders. Khmer Rouge supported by China, and the free Khmer groups gained the support from the U.S. Inside the country, new government has aligned itself with the East block, which was Soviet Union, and maintained a very close relation with Vietnam. The situation more or less remained hostile for another decade. The dark age of Cambodia on ly came into an end in 1993, the election led by the UN has helped unified the country again once again in a very long time. Khmer Rouge was still fighting, but without any support from outside powers, its role was not significant anymore. The history gives one invaluable lesson for Cambodia: to deal with foreign power carefully and be friend with all of them. Cambodia After the 1993 UN-backed election, as small and developing country, Cambodia turned around its foreign policy and welcomed the world for friendship, diplomatic relations, and cooperation. Cambodia has been perusing a very friendly foreign policy with its neighbors, other ASEAN states as well as world great and super powers. Close ties with the West were also soon established. In 1995 and 1995, the United States and Japan agreed to increase foreign aid and investment in Cambodia. Then in 1997, the military conflict between the two ruling political parties resulted in the prolonging of Cambodia admission into ASEAN and the termination of Western aid and investment. Cambodia again turned to Chinese both economic and political support. Having only China as friend is not the best option, Cambodia needed to make as many friends as possible including the West. So the new democratic election was organized in 1998 to please the Western states. The situation started to recover after the formation of coalition government in 1998. Relations with the West resumed. The European Union and Japan announced the reestablishment of economic link with the Kingdom again. In May 1999, finally, Cambodia was officially accepted as the latest member of ASEAN. This has opened way and opportunity for Cambodia to fully engage in regional economic and political conferences. The same year in June, there was a visit by Vietnamese Communist Party officials, and the two countries agreed to end border disputes. However, the tension between Cambodia and Thailand continued. Though the relation was still remain calm until an incident when rioters burned the Thai embassy and several Thai companies operating in Phnom Penh on 29th June, 2003 (Cambodia Foreign policy, 2003). Later the situation was controlled, and after the compensation was paid to Thailand side, the relations between the two countries were normalized. Until 2008, a new conflict erupted over the Preah Vihear Temple and border dispute. As a weaker and smaller country, Cambodia sought multilateral negotiation to settle the problem. Trying to send the case to the UN and ASEAN, the efforts were unsuccessful because Thailand is the close ally with the U.S., which is a member of the UN Security Council and holds veto power. Even worse, Thailand was in its term as the chairman of ASEAN. Cambodias relations with southern neighbor, Vietnam, have been complex but have gradually improved since the 1993 UN-sponsored election. Though, it is a very sensitive over the border issues between the tow countries. In late 2005 both sides ratified the Supplementary Treaty to the 1985 Treaty on the Delimitation of the State Border between Cambodia and Vietnam (Cambodia Foreign Relations, 2009). The planting of border markers began 2006 and are expected to be concluded by late 2008 On economic area, Cambodia experienced rapid growth of over a decade. Cambodia has liberalized its market. It welcomes foreign investment and promotes trade regionally and globally. In 2004, Cambodia also became the member of the WTO. Recognizing the importance of non-state actors, Cambodia also welcomes many of them in building the country. Cambodia is a member the International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization (WTO) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Civil society has growth rapidly inside the country like Trade Union. The presence of MNC like KFC and other companies is the manifestation of fast growing economy and cultural and social integration to the outside world. Comparing to the past, the current international system is surely better and much more peaceful for Cambodia. To some extent, Cambodia can make a lot of decisions that benefit itself. Almost half a century and before 20 years ago, Cambodia was stuck in the middle of the Cold War, much of its decision was determined by the condition of that time international system. The game played by great powers now seems much more peaceful for Cambodia. Even China, as cited by Chinese official, see that Cambodian enjoy peace process is the example of the benefits of increased cooperation between the US and China (Cambodia slammed in the latest Wikileak Cables, 2010). Being friend with the major powers is the hard lesson Cambodia learn from the past when the country was divided into many fragments fighting internally. Each fraction was supported by different external players. Not only state actor, Cambodia also sees a lot of opportunity with the non-state actors. While listening to the INGOs and NGOs and gaining aids and support form them, the country seems very sensitive to any critics raised by those actors. Cambodia also seems to be more focus on economic policy for the countries development as a whole. Enjoying the peace with the remarkable economic growth for the last decade or so, the future of the Kingdom looks very promising. However, the dynamic of international arena is very certain. The rise of China power in global politics as well in region, even without apparent concern, Cambodia surely comprehends. Despite Cambodia seems to be enjoying internal sovereignty, Cambodia external action is still very limited by the fact that it is a small size with little population, and the governments budget is still rely on external loan and aid. While internal political landscape is changing, what Cambodia can do for now may just try to strengthen its intern al capability and hope that the current situation will last a bit longer.

The First Generation Of Computers :: essays research papers

The First Generation of Computers The first generation of computers, beginning around the end of World War 2, and continuing until around the year 1957, included computers that used vacuum tubes, drum memories, and programming in machine code. Computers at that time where mammoth machines that did not have the power our present day desktop microcomputers. In 1950, the first real-time, interactive computer was completed by a design team at MIT. The "Whirlwind Computer," as it was called, was a revamped U.S. Navy project for developing an aircraft simulator. The Whirlwind used a cathode ray tube and a light gun to provide interactively. The Whirlwind was linked to a series of radars and could identify unfriendly aircraft and direct interceptor fighters to their projected locations. It was to be the prototype for a network of computers and radar sites (SAGE) acting as an important element of U.S. air defense for a quarter-century after 1958. In 1951, the first commercially-available computer was delivered to the Bureau of the Census by the Eckert Mauchly Computer Corporation. The UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first computer which was not a one-of-a- kind laboratory instrument. The UNIVAC became a household word in 1952 when it was used on a televised newscast to project the winner of the Eisenhower- Stevenson presidential race with stunning accuracy. That same year Maurice V. Wilkes (developer of EDSAC) laid the foundation for the concepts of microprogramming, which was to become the guide for computer design and construction. In 1954, the first general-purpose computer to be completely transistorized was built at Bell Laboratories. TRADIC (Transistorized Airborne

Aggression in Humans Essay

There are many different reason why a person may act aggressively towards other human being. The person may act this way because of his background or the way he/she was brought up in life. A person does not; act this way based on natural feeling alone. Is more like a melded, learned behavior. A human being must have both environmental and instinctual factors in order to show aggression. Some of a person’s natural instincts are to desire food, reject some things, escape from danger, fight in a dangerous situations or when challenged. As well also sex desire, care for the young, control, and to accept substandard status. This combination of both instincts and environment determines a person’s behavior and actions throughout life. This is based on the theory that everything human beings do would have to be learned from other human beings. Aggression must be learned as we grow. It is not just simply there from the moment of birth. A person behavior is something that is taught to him rather than being an unmanageable instinct. For example, a newborn baby is breathing because it is an uncontrolled reaction. But on the other hand, a father may tell his young son to beat up the school buly who is picking on him. As a result, the boy is dealing with the situation by using violence. In order for a human being to display aggression, violence and anger, it must be driven by an instinct interacting with that person’s surroundings. The word instinct is defined as â€Å"an inherited or innate psycho-physical disposition which determines its possessor to perceive, and to pay attention to, objects of a certain class, to experience an emotional excitement of a particular quality upon perciving such an object, and to act in regard to its particular manner, or, at least, to experience an impulse to such action.† This definition, explains that people have different reactions for different situations they are put in. Therefore, an individual is expected to act a certain way when he is encouraged to do so from his surrounding environment. For example, an Eskimo does not have an inborn instinct that allows him to survive in his climate. He has to work with his people in order to survive when he is at a very young age. Furthermore, when people are brought up in a society, they learn a certain way of life and traditions. These customs are usually taught to them because it’s part of their society’s way of life, even if some of the customs may be brutal and horrible to others. For example, cannibalism is distasteful to us, but in some prehistoric cultures, to eat an enemy is to gain his or her strength. This aggressive behavior was taught to the people of this culture and is the cause for its existence. People need to have contact with aggressiveness in society in order to act aggressive. For example, there was a tribe in New Guinea, who were violent warriors that were always fighting and killing each other. The children of these people learned this aggressive act from their parents and then acted in the same way. A parent’s method of child rearing has a huge impact on the child’s aggression. For example my own brother found a way, which will convince my parents to buy him what he wants. All he has to do is cry and if he doesn’t get what he wants he will start smashing, kicking and throwing thinks that he find around him. Moreover, when a group of people are isolated, their behavior does not change unless they interact with other people. There was tribe made up of a group of people who were completely isolated fro the rest of the world. They did not show any signs of aggression due to the fact that they had no words for weapon, aggression, anger or war. All they did was gathering food. So the tribe and had no use for weapons. The tribe only used knives and other things that might be thought as weapons or tools to gather food. They even rejected the spear, the bow and arrow because they could not use them to gather food. There could not been anything in their genetic makeup that made them act in an aggressive or peaceful manner. This was just their way of life that was taught from generation to generation, to gather food which was needed to survive. The source of human aggression lies in factors such as society and culture. Aggression is a learned emotion that is built up on different factors in a person’s surrounding environment. It the combination of environment, society and culture that creates aggressive behavior. It is the person’s instincts that are the basis for the three. While one tribe is a peaceful group of people, and the other a group of aggressive warriors. Both of the tribes had  the ability for aggression and peaceful life but it was their environment, society and culture that have driven them to choose totally opposite paths.

Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrmanns film interpretation Essays

Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrmanns film interpretation Essays Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrmanns film interpretation Paper Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrmanns film interpretation Paper The prologue creates family tension by portraying the violence and hate-filled from the very beginning. It introduces the feud to the audience and highlights how it will play a major role throughout the production. ‘From ancient grudge break to new mutiny’ this displays the confliction and rivalry between the two households. The prologue is used at the beginning of the play to inform the audience of the story line, and it is done to create pathos for the audience to help evoke emotion. It is presented as a sonnet; with three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end, this emphasizes the importance of the prologue. ‘From fort the fatal lion of these two foes, a pair of star-cross’d lover take their life’ this informs you of the key themes; death marked love and fate. Stars were often related to destiny therefore implying that Romeo and Juliet are destined to die. Baz Luhrmann further develops the family tension by presenting the prologue on a TV news broadcast; this heightens the tension as it shows the importance of the feud between the Montagues and Capulet’s. By using a black female reporter it shows the universal awareness, indicating the importance to be shown on national television. Using media also makes it look a lot more realistic and modernized. Luhrmann has used fire as a motif, to display the strong, hatred this is also used in act 1 scene 1. Luhrmann has projected the two household’s names on identical sky scrapers. They are in contrasting colours to emphasise. Furthermore the sky scrapers also convey their high status in society; they are both rich and powerful families. Finally helicopters have been used to evoke a sense of impression of a warzone. They are used to illustrate how the violence has subsided. Act 1 scene 5 creates further family tension, this is evident from â€Å"by his voice, this should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. † This stresses the feud between the two household. â€Å"Rapier† is a long, thin sword commonly used in the 16th century for thrusting attacks. This therefore suggests that Tybalt is going to hurt Romeo, foreshadowing his death. Tybalt is presented as an antagonist throughout the production. He is outraged that a Montague is present at the party, however Capulet reprimands him. â€Å"He shall be endur’d† the word â€Å"shall† is a command, Tybalt isn’t given the option. This portrays Lord Capulet’s authority and hierarchy through the choice of lexis. Tension is evident between Lord Capulet and Tybalt through â€Å"I’ll make you quiet† this is an indirect threat, inferring that if he doesn’t back off he will become violent. Luhrmann further exemplifies the character through his choice of costumes. Tybalt is presented as the antagonist throughout the production. Luhrmann deliberately dresses him as a devil, because in most religions the devil is related to unnatural evil. The red costume can also be interpreted as connotation, to emphasise his anger. However, the glitter on the costume reduces the severity and intimidation of his character. Capulet is dressed as a royal emperor. He is predominantly in tyrian purple which would have only been affordable to the elites, so it is commonly associated with royalty and nobility. This further exemplifies his hierarchy and how powerful he his character is. Luhrmann interprets the scene adding extreme violence; Capulet forcefully slaps Tybalt cause inner family tension. This is then contrasted with In Act 3 scene 1, Mercutio further creates tension between the two houses by bellowing a curse on both the Capulet’s and the Montage’s . Their feud has killed him. â€Å"A plague on both your houses† The punctuation in this paragraph is very choppy. Changing the rhythm emphasizes and portrays his anger. Mercutio repeats the phrase three times during the scene to intensify the emotion and move the audience. This curse would have affected the audience them as their devout Christian belief made them very superstitious. This highlights one of the key themes; fate. Baz Luhrmann further develops this by using pathetic fallacy of thunder this is used to echo the mood of fear and add tension to the atmosphere. When Mercutio bellows this he is elevated above everyone else, making the curse more powerful and intense as if he is preaching. He uses a close up shot to illustrate the womb, Mercutio is wearing a white shirt this makes the womb look more horrific and serve. Luhrmann also inserts another clip into Act 3 scene 2 of Juliet in her bedroom; he uses a soliloquy to display her emotions and inner thoughts. The intense love displayed in the clip contrasts with the anger of Romeo before he kills Tybalt creates pathos for the audience. At beginning of act 3 scene 5, Juliet swears to her mother â€Å"I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear, It shall be Romeo† Shakespeare has used dramatic irony to add suspense and humour to the scene; as Juliet is already married to Romeo. This creates family tension due to the abandoned loyalty she has displayed towards her family. Juliet states she won’t look deeply into Paris’s eyes. No more deep will I endart mine eye†. In that era they believed that love entered through the eyes, she is therefore forbidding to love Paris. This contrasts with when she met Romeo for the first time. They gazed into each other’s eyes falling deeply in love. Baz Luhrmann further interpreted it as their eyes met looking into a fish tank. The fish tank represents the tranquillity, while all the chaos is happening around them. Juliet has been portrayed as a very gentle and calm character throughout the production, however in this scene she confronts her father and refuses to marry Paris. Capulet is outraged; this is evident from â€Å"my fingers itch† suggesting temptation for physical violence. â€Å"We have a curse in having her† suggesting having Juliet as a child was their misfortune; this emphasises his shame and hatred. The word â€Å"curse† would have had a strong effect on the audience as they were extremely superstitious. Capulet is so enraged he threatens to disown her if she refuses to marry â€Å"Or never after look me in the face†. This was like a death penalty to women as they were unable to earn money due in the patriarchal society they lived in. An Elizabethan audience would have found this moving. It also highlights one of the key themes of the production; honour! Baz Luhrmann further develops family tension in Act 3 scene 5 through the stage directions of the mother. Lady Capulet’s fear of talking to Juliet without the Nurse present establishes her as an ineffectual mother. Tension is created due to the lack of mother and daughter relationship which is apparent throughout the production. He also includes brutal attack and violence against Juliet this highlights the inner family tension. this by using different angles with the camera. He uses a close up shot of Capulet, concentrating on his face. This highlights the expression of anger. Capulet’s strong tone of voice portrays his anger and emotion. He uses fast music to create mood and atmosphere. Baz Luhrmann has successfully modernised Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for a contemporary audience. Luhrmann uses visual techniques of lighting, colour and camera angles to convey atmosphere of tension and related emotions.

Patrick Bateman in American Psycho essays

Patrick Bateman in American Psycho essays In American Psycho, the antihero and of course main character Patrick Bateman shows complete signs of insanity. In reality he is mentally unstable and lacks ability to control his blood-thirst desires. He is deceitful, dishonest and disloyal to his fellow co-workers (whom are almost on the same level as himself), his fiancee and of course his victims. His world as we view it depicts him as an intelligent manipulating serial killer, in which all his victims are murdered because of value in Bateman's eyes. Unlike ordinary serial killers however; Patrick's outward appearance displays him as a handsome, well educated Harvard Grad who works as a successful financial advisor in Wall Street during the bull market of the 1980's New York City. His world as we know it; is moving in at a fast alarming rate but will his sadistic urges exceed total insanity as his past delusions take reality into utterly heinous acts. Behind the narration in the novel we can't help but convey the present setting of Bateman's world. The novel describes it as yuppie greed trying to emphasize the fact that every character uses judgement by status and style. We can get a clear picture of the lifestyle during the 80's as very hip. Sex, Drugs and Wealth all take part in the fast lifestyle of Patrick and his main social group whom enjoy proper etiquette and the fine night life of New York City. Bateman is obsessed with appearance, usually judging others by what they wear or where they live. In about every scene whether it is in a new night club in Soho or having a drink with a client; he takes the time to literally go into detail about each and every designer made clothing he is wearing and where it was purchased. As American Psycho begins we can't help but imagine how luxurious Patrick has it. Ranging from his net-worth in the millions to his Park Ave apartment a few doors down from Tom Cruise only one can imagine a personality disorder so vast. However as the no...

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Final Exam - Essay Example In Spain, it highlighted on the controversy over the alleged elitism of Revolt and the French did not welcome Ortega’s reasoning or philosophical views. The public accepted the work of Ortega because of numerous reasons. It highlighted on the masses that were disadvantaged in the society and seemed to look for solutions to the problems caused by the European integration. Ortega’s meaning and Characteristics of the â€Å"Europe masses† Ortega y Gasset talks of â€Å"Europe masses† after assessing the social order that most people live without noticing. In the wake of globalization and diversity in numerous areas, Ortega believes that the European elite that are creating problems to other unfortunate individuals in the society. When he refers to â€Å"masses,† Ortega highlights on the political and the social crisis of Europe. In general, he talks of the general Western civilization. In this process, Ortega focuses on revealing the root causes of this crisis that the Western civilization brings to the social systems in the society. Ortega refers to â€Å"masses† and ponders concerning who should rule the human society (Ortega y Gasset 34). The mass man Ortega refers to is the ordinary or the average person who accepts himself as he is and is unwilling to place demands on himself. The masses also consider themselves equal of others and have had immense effect on the intellectual fiber of the society. Ortega believes that the emergence of â€Å"European masses† and technological advancement had stripped away Man’s bottom illusions, at enormous rate. The masses take control of the government and change the manner in which people should be governed. Concerning the characteristics of the masses, Ortega admits that it is normal to have minority in power but there are problems associated with such a leadership. To some extent, it is a good move; however, it makes nations suffer as people are affected by the rebelli on of other masses. Rebellious is one characteristic of the masses. Most importantly, masses believe in political life where one questions the other parties’ economic, moral, religious and intellectual, which are collective habits of people. The characteristic of the masses is based on the commonplace mind that understands itself as a commonplace. This mind claims to have the authority of exercising their rights and is capable of imposing them wherever it will. According to a say in the U.S. that, â€Å"to be different is to be indecent.† Ortega portrays the mass as a tool that crushes anything that is beneath it. Some of the things that the mass crushes include individuals, excellent things, qualified and select. It assumes that people should have different characteristics, but ensure that they accommodate others (Ortega y Gasset 64). This is why they say that anybody who is not like everybody risks being eliminated because they do not belong to the same mass. Ortegaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Perspective of the proper â€Å"Minorities† Ortega’s Revolt highlights on the significance of having proper minorities and the masses in Europe. He argues through mature thoughts regarding the respective roles of minorities and masses in Western society. His diagnosis culminates in this work and he continues to ensure that he promotes the well-being of the European society. His efforts aim at working towards eliminating the imbalance between masses and minorities. This is because the masses take over the society and fail to

The Media and Its Responsibilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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