Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Kinetic

We can use many of Technique or methods for separating of compounds or mixtures .and we can by those methods studying of kinetic for reactions ,determine of reaction rate and reaction order . some of those methods are : mass spectrometric , spectrometric and Chromatographic Methods . But in this paper I just talk about chromatographic method . exactly, gas chromatography . Chromatography:Few methods of chemical analysis are truly specific to a particular analyte. It is often found that the analyte of interest must be separated from the myriad of individual compounds that may be present in a sample. As well as providing the analytical scientist with methods of separation, chromatographic techniques can also provide methods of analysis . Chromatography involves a sample (or sample extract) being dissolved in a mobile phase (which may be a gas, a liquid or a supercritical fluid). The mobile phase is then forced through an immobile, immiscible stationary phase. The phases are chosen such that components of the sample have differing solubility in each phase. A component which is quite soluble in the stationary phase will take longer to travel through it than a component which isn't very soluble in the stationary phase but very soluble in the mobile phase. As a result of these differences in mobilities , sample components will become separated from each other as they travel through the stationary phase. Gas chromatography methods that are used for studying first-order reaction kinetics by gas chromatography : (1) classical kinetic methods where samples of batch-wise kinetic studies are analyzed by enantioselective gas chromatography, (2) stopped-flow methods performed on one chiral column, (3) stopped-flow methods performed on an achiral column or empty capillary coupled in series with two chiral columns, (4) on-flow method performed on an achiral column coupled in series with two chiral columns, and (5) reaction gas chromatography, known as a dynamic gas chromatography. The following procedures have been developed to determination peak areas of reaction constituents in such complex chromatograms: (i) methods based on computer-assisted simulations of chromatograms where the kinetic activation parameters for the interconversion of enantiomers are obtained by iterative comparison of experimental and simulated chromatograms, (ii) stochastic methods based on the simulation of Gaussian distribution functions and using a time-dependent probability density function, (iii) approximation function and unified equation, (iv) computer-assisted peak deconvolution methods. Fast reaction :Reaction between metal carbonate and acid.- Reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid :CaCO3 + 2HCl -; CaCl2 + H2O + CO2Reaction between reactive metal and water .-reaction between lithium and water :2Li + 2H2O -; 2LiOH + H2Combustion .-combustion of magnesium in oxygen .2Mg + O2 -; 2MgOPrecipitation (double decomposition )-precipitation of silver (I) chloride :AgNO3 + HCl -; AgCl + HNO3 Rate :The rate can be measured using apparatus on the rightrate of reaction = d[CaCl2] / t ,or d[CO2] / t or d[H2O] the rate can be decrease or increase with change of temperature , concentration , pressure , surface area or size of molecules .concentration : when the concentration is decrease the rate decrease .example : 3 g of calcium carbonate react with 5 g of hydrochloric acid to produce 3 g of carbon dioxide in 10s at 25C and 1atm. rate = -d [CaCO3] / t = -d[3] / 10 . But we decrease of concentration of calcium carbonate to 2 .rate = -d[2] / 10 .pressure and temperature : also when decrease the pressure or temperature the rate decrease .example : 3 g of calcium carbonate react with 5 g of hydrochloric acid to produce 3 g of carbon dioxide in 10s at 25C and 1atm. rate = -d [CaCO3] / t = -d[3] / 10s . but the time is increase to 20s , because the pressure decrease to 0.5 and temperature decrease to 15 , so the rate = -d [3] / 20s . In a chemical reaction the reactant decrease over time and product increase over time . The rate will decrease over time as the hydrochloric acid is used up (its concentration decreases)The graph in after page shows the volume of gas produced over time in the reaction between HCl and CaCO3 .All three reactions result in the same amount of CO2 gas being produced; however the higher the concentration of HCl, the faster the rate of reaction, thus the less time it takes for the reaction to be complete . The table below shows the time taken to produce 50cm3Â  of CO2Â  for each concentration of HCl :Rate of reaction / cm3 of CO2 s-1 Time take to produce 50 cm3 of CO2/1s Concentration of HCl /mold m-30.86 58 2.00.42 120 2.00,21 235 0.5 From the results in the table above, it can be worked out that the rate of reaction is directionally proportional to the concentration of hydrochloric acid, so if you halve the concentration of HCl will be halved, if you quarter the concentration, the rate will be quartered . rate = k [HCl]1 Order :The order of a reaction is not necessarily an integer. The following orders are possible :Zero: A zero order indicates that the concentration of that species does not affect the rate of a reaction .Negative integer: A negative order indicates that the concentration of that species INVERSELY affects the rate of a reaction .Positive integer: A positive order indicates that the concentration of that species DIRECTLY affects the rate of a reaction . Non-Integer: Non-integer orders, both positive and negative, represent more intricate relationships between concentrations and rate in more complex reactions.So, in The reaction of calcium carbonate with hydrochloric acid is said to be first order with respect to hydrochloric acid .This is because the rate depends upon the concentration of hydrochloric acid to the power one . Technique :we can measure of rate of carbon dioxide by gas chromatography , gas chromatography can separating of compound by boiling point , and you can analyze results on your computer and measuring of rate of CO2 .and you can determine of rate by flow reaction that may be is easer method .

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Covering the Ucc

Running head: UCC Uniform Commercial Code The Uniform Commercial Code generally regulates commerce or trade on a national basis. Do you think that the UCC would directly or indirectly have any effect on international commerce? If so, what effect on international or worldwide commerce do you think the UCC might cause? In order to give an answer one must understand that in the world trade industry everything ties together.The UCC might just be a State side regulatory law system, but it has to affect the international world too; this might not be direct, but the effects have to exist. When US companies trade outside of the US, their regulations affect the international buyer. Payments, contracts and agreements that are drawn up under the UCC for companies that wish to conduct businesses internationally have affected international businesses with the UCC. Now this in no way saying this is a bad thing. It just means that the same rules we use have to be used by companies that trade within the US.Think of credit cards, they use the UCC in order to keep getting paid from the card holder as well as the card holder keeping his or her rights as an individual or company. Without a clear set of regulatory laws in place like the UCC big companies and one-man operations would not have the rights and protections they have nor would the consumers have rights and protections. References EditorialBoard. (2012). 7. Introduction to Business Law (pp. 148-168). Schaumburg, IL: Words of Wisdom, LLC..

1996 Ap Us History Free Response dbq Essay

Throughout the period 1801-1817, the government was ruled by the Jeffersonian Republican party, whereas the Federalist Party began to slowly fade away from public view. The Jeffersonian Republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson, professed to favor a weak central government through the support of more states’ rights, â€Å"†¦that the states are independent†¦ to†¦themselves†¦and united as to everything respecting foreign nations.† (Document A). On the other hand, the Federalist Party, previously led by Alexander Hamilton, espoused the idea of a strong central government. The characterization of these two political parties during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison were inconsistent with the professed position in the 1790’s.The Jeffersonian Republican party was founded on specific principles, presented and created by Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of the perfect government. The nation was thus divided into two ideals – the Jefferson ian Republicans and the Federalists – but as Thomas Jefferson rose to power, the Federalists ideals and influence began to fade. During the Tripolitan War, Jefferson used mostly the navy to fight and win the war, because of Jefferson’s belief of a strong standing army was an invitation towards dictatorship. Specifically, the â€Å"mosquito fleet† was used because of its size and maneuverability. The â€Å"mosquito fleet† was also lightly funded because of the Jeffersonian Republicans’ belief in a minimal navy, but it provided sufficient protection for the American shores. Three years after the Tripolitan War, the Embargo Act was enacted to avoid yet another war, which was the reason for Jefferson’s pressure on Congress to pass it. The Embargo Act, however, was an example of Jefferson’s Jeffersonian Republicans’ â€Å"strict constructionist† ideal because a compromise in the Constitution stated that Congress had the power to regulate foreign trade. Jefferson’s main goal was to avoid war, but the Embargo Act only delayed what seemed to be the inevitable. The Embargo Act caused a complete boycott of British and European goods, and it was supposedly an ultimatum for the discontinuation of British and European harassment of American shi ps. The Embargo Act in turned backfired, because it hurt the merchants through the discontinued trade with superpower, Great Britain and other European countries, and was three times more costly than war itself. On the other hand, the Embargo did have positive attributes because the merchants began to develop domestic manufacturing, which slowly made the United States economically independent  from other countries’ economies. Ironically, Jefferson’s Embargo Act did cause an economic ripple in Europe, but the American people were too impatient to reap its â€Å"bountiful† yield. The Federalists obtained the title of being â€Å"loose constructionists.† The Jeffersonian Republicans’ rational of the Constitution was if it did not grant, it forbade. President Madison vetoed the Internal Improvement Bill (soon to be known as the American System) because â€Å"†¦seeing that such a power is not expressly given by the Constitution.† (Document H) President James Madison further defended his position by stating the success of the Constitution depended on the cooperation of the federal and state governments. (Document H) Thus President James Madison upheld the ideals of the Jeffersonian Republican of a strict interpretation of the Constitution and the conservation of states’ rights, even though he was the person to first propose/develop, the soon to be known, American System – later made popular by Henry Clay in 1824. The Jeffersonian Republicans wanted to avoid the Federalist ideals of â€Å"Congress has power to create a dict ator,† but the pressure from the American people and being the President of the United States caused certain members of the Jeffersonian Republicans to be steadfast on only several governmental and national topics. (Document D) As certain members, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, of the Jeffersonian Republicans rose into a higher leveled power, their ideals began to fade and mix with Federalists’ views. During Jefferson’s second term as president, Jefferson’s â€Å"reasons† â€Å"†¦tells me that civil powers along have been given to the President of the U.S†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Document B). In four years time, Jefferson switched from his Jeffersonian Republicans’ view to the Federalists’. Furthermore, as Jefferson urged the removal/impeachment of Supreme Court justice, Samuel Chase, Jefferson was – at the same time – further empowering his own governmental position. The Embargo Act postponed America’s war with foreign European nations and developed the United States’ domestic manufacturing. On the other hand, the Embargo Act was quickly pushed through Congress by Thomas Jefferson, but the Embargo Act was never approved by the individua l states. So, the Embargo Act was a federal policy and not a policy passed by the states. The abolition of the slave trade also expressed Jefferson’s indirect favoritism towards the Federalist policies. The method  of which Jefferson obtained the abolition of the slave trade was against the Jeffersonian Republicans principles. The states did not have representation in the decision upon which to abolish the slave trade because Jefferson pushed the policy through Congress for a permanent ban on the slave trade. Similarly, the War of 1812, occurred during Madison’s presidency, was not supported by all American, and therefore was one of the many factors that caused America to suffer one of its most humiliating defeats. John Randolph, who was a Democratic Republican, began to state the obvious near the end of Madison’s presidency, â€Å"†¦the present government have renounced the true republican principles of Jefferson’s administration.† (Document F) The Jeffersonian Republicans were feeling the pressure of addressing national issues at different angles and they could not remain solid on their original ideals, â€Å"Their (Jeffersonian Republicans) pri nciple now is old Federalism.† (Document F) In a sense, Thomas Jefferson was slowly replacing his own political party ideals with Federalist ideals. The Jeffersonian Republicans was not the only political party to sway from its ideals. The Federalist, Daniel Webster, stepped aside from the common Federalists ideal. In Daniel Webster’s speech to the House of Representatives on the conscription bill, he strongly opposed the conscription bill. (Document D) What was his reason for such opposition, even though he was a Federalist? Thus, the Jeffersonian Republicans were not the only political parties to lean away from their political ideals, Federalists did also. The Louisiana Purchase further exemplified Thomas Jefferson’s growing detachment from his Jeffersonian Republican ideals. Where did it strictly say in the Constitution that Jefferson could buy land? It did not. Thus, Jefferson adopted the Federalist ideal of â€Å"loose construction† through buying land to expand America’s power, even though Jefferson contemplated if the purchase was unconstitutional. Similarly, the Federalists were also changing views, for the Federalist opposed the Louisiana Purchase – even though it would increase the federal government power. The underlying purpose of the Federalists’ opposition towards the Louisiana Purchase was mainly on political grounds. Through the United States doubling in size, the influence of the much faded Federalist ideals would further weaken because the Federalists were already out of office and faced steadily diminishing influence in American society. Thus, in a respect, the Federalist ideas did not begin to fade from public view  after John Adams was voted out of office, but instead was expressed to the public through the opposing party’s top officials, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The characterization of the two parties did not remain accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison because of the pressure during the possession of the high powered position changed the views of the Jeffersonian Republican leaders, â€Å"laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind.† (Document G) During Jefferson’s and Madison’s term as president, the single-minded ideal of the Jeffersonian Republican did not withstand the influence of the Federalist ideas on several government issues. Thus, Jefferson’s and Madison’s term as president was a melting pot of both Jeffersonian Republican and Federalist ideas. None of the two presidents were able to continually uphold the Jeffersonian Republican idea through their presidency. However, the War of 1812 – known as the Second War for Independence – would cause an upsurge of nationalism in the upcoming years during James Madison’s term as pr esident and bringing America closer.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Basic Elements in Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Basic Elements in Research - Assignment Example On the other hand when conclusions about societies, groups and nations are made through evidences gathered from individuals then it gives rise to individualistic fallacy (Frankfort-Nachmias, 2008). 6. Write three researchable hypotheses, identifying their independent, dependent, and control variables. Clearly indicate the expected change in the magnitude and direction of the dependent and independent variables. A relationship that can be defined by variables in addition to those mentioned in the hypothesis is called a spurious relationship. Control variables are used to experiment that an observed relationship between dependent and independent variables is actually influenced by the independent variable mentioned in hypothesis (Frankfort-Nachmias, 2008). Co-variation is defined as those characteristics which are common in the two related variables, for instance, individuals with higher income have better lifestyle. This helps the social scientists to conduct research and determine whether the characteristics of one research variable are related to the characteristics of other variables (Frankfort-Nachmias, 2008). 9. when we speak of direction in social science research, what do we mean? What is the difference between positive and negative relations? What is meant by magnitude and by zero versus perfect relations?   When we speak about a particular direction in social science research we refer to the variable relationships which are either negative or positive. A positive relationship defines that when the value of one variable increases then other values also increase. Contrary to this a negative relationship explains that if value of one variable increases then all other values decrease. Magnitude defines the positive or negative co-variation of variables. The lowest magnitude is called zero relation and highest magnitude is known as perfect relation (Frankfort-Nachmias, 2008). Hypotheses are

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Liberian Production and Export of Rubber and Economic Growth Term Paper

Liberian Production and Export of Rubber and Economic Growth - Term Paper Example Economic and productive activities collapsed as looting and vandalism became the norm. GDP and GNP fell by over 90% in less than two decades (Radalach). This was reversed by the inception of Ellen Johnson Sir leaf as the President in January 2006.Since then the country has been in peace and great achievements have been made in the economic recovery especially in the agricultural sector, mining industries, infrastructural growth and education among others. Agriculture has been the biggest sector in the economy of Liberia with rubber being the main cash crop for export. The current government has introduced policies to foster peace, launch reconstruction and development, and build strong systems for governance and democracy. (Daft) The most important issues for Liberia’s continued growth and prosperity and unity for peace is through the establishment of the foundation for rapid, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth. The government has established the implementation of poli cies plan aimed at both political stability and inclusive economic recovery that are mutually reinforcing, and that to sustain development over time, it has embarked on rebuilding institutions and physical infrastructure and invest in human capacity through strong health and education programs. Its initial strategy following the inauguration was articulated in its â€Å"First 150-Day Action Plan,† describing the steps that both the government and the donor community would participate in during the period from January and June 2006. This was coupled with the development of an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy, this was finalized in 2007 and its purpose was to cover the period from late 2006 through mid-2008. The government is furthering this by working on the modalities of poverty reduction strategies that covered the period between 2008 and 2010. All three of these strategies are organized around a framework with four basic pillars. †¢ Expanding peace and security. â₠¬ ¢ Revitalizing economic activity †¢ Strengthening governance and the rule of law †¢ Rebuilding infrastructure and providing basic services The governments financial situation and limited personnel been has increased the governments need for the international support since the international community would play a big role in Liberia’s reconstruction through resource mobilization and manpower for the growth of the country. As a result the government at an early stage has introduced mechanism to closely monitor the donor activities. The new Liberian government is working on a different model that ensures effective coordination and consistent approaches both between the government and the donors and across government agencies. It is establishing a structure in which the decisions are made by a small group, chaired by the government rather than a donor that could execute decisions more quickly and easily. It also wants an administrative structure that is consistent wit h the substantive structure of growth and development of agriculture and other pillars of the economy. The government is working to involve the entire population so that the country’s population is involved in the employment of youths to avoid the return of Liberia’s conflict as a result of political and economic exclusion of large segments of society that characterized the countries previous unrests. Land and property

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Growing Importance of India For Investors (ie, India is the next Essay

Growing Importance of India For Investors (ie, India is the next China) - Essay Example The economic reforms introduced in early 1990s have boosted the economy’s growth. Tariff barriers were brought down. Foreign players could enter and thus the private firms had to compete with the best. Exports rose up. Indian firms are rapidly becoming global like Bharti Airtel has entered African market. Unlike China, India’s growth cannot be attributed to just the public sector. There are about 45m entrepreneurs in India. India’s informal sector is also doing well. Indian businesses majorly cater to the need of their domestic consumers and also export various services. Indian firms successfully satisfy the needs of money conscious customers in India who love low priced goods. Tata Filters for example manufactures a water filter that can provide safe drinking water at a meager charge of rupees 30 a month. Indian firms are coming up with new products as well as new business models. HCL technologies improve the IT system of their clients on the condition that they will charge only if their clients gain. Moon B. Shin of LG electronics sees immense opportunity in the Indian market. They are manufacturing low priced goods and goods suited to the liking of Indians. The infrastructure in India is poor. Roads are bad and traffic conditions do not depict a rosy picture either. Power shortage is another problem. McKinsey predicts that Indian growth will be five fold in the next 20 years. India will have to spend $1.2trillion on infrastructure in future. India lacks in skilled workforce. There are only 16 Indian Institute of technology in India. Universities do not impart useful knowledge and companies have to spend a lot for their training. India’s adult literacy rate is 66% compared to 99% of China. Corruption exists everywhere. Instability in the form of Naxalite movement is affecting mining and logging firms. Populism whereby politicians discourage businesses for their own interests is a major obstruction to growth. The government is making

Friday, July 26, 2019

Human resource in practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human resource in practice - Essay Example Also employee empowerment should be focus of attention so that employee satisfaction is increased. The case of Southwest Airlines and Starbucks should be taken as a good example. It is also necessary to view the HR department as a strategic partner of the company rather than just a department. Introduction Human resource management is a very important dimension for any business. It is vital that the human capital is managed in an efficient manner in order for any business to excel. The human resource department is extremely important for retail business because customers are directly handled by employees. The attitude of employees and customer care services that they give is extremely essential in determining the profits of the company. For this reason Safe Shoes should increase its focus on the human resource management so that employee performance can be enhanced. Devising a plan that motivates employees to work and doing so in a cost efficient manner is not easy. It has been obser ved lately that the performance of the company’s human resource department is not perfect. This report will identify certain issues that the company is facing regarding its employees and then this report will offer solutions to those issues. It is important to understand that employee issues cannot be ignored because they will have a direct effect on the performance of Safe Shoes. ... These are the two main problems Safe Shoes retail stores are facing right now. Employees have a very high turnover rate and the management is finding very hard to retain employees. Also in the surveys conducted employees have regarded jobs as unsatisfactory and they see no scope of promotion. This feeling of dissatisfaction has been seen in the lower level employees the most. Another issue identified is related to the store managers. Store employees are not satisfied by the behavior of store managers and they find them strict. Employees have also complained that store managers show favoritism. These complain may be directly related to the high turnover rate of the employees. High turnover rate result in high recruiting costs and this directly lowers the profits. The employee evaluation system is not working very well because all employees are getting good ranks but still they are not getting promoted. This shows that either the ranking system is not working or ranks are not being con sidered important. Another major problem is that the evaluation system comes has no affect on the salaries of the employees. This may be the reason that employees are not motivated. The role of HR overall in the organization is not defined very well and its role is limited to hiring and disciplinary issues. All these issues are identified by the HR department in surveys and interviews that were conducted. The following section will review the possible solutions of these issues. Review of Possible Solutions There are many issues that Safe Shoes is facing regarding employees and it is better that all these issues are addressed one by one. Retention is one major

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Management Skills II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Skills II - Essay Example In this regard both organisation and individuals must take measures to alleviate such negative impacts of stress on the work performance. But before that the employees need to learn identify the signs which indicate that they are feeling stressed out. The employers also need to be aware of the signs of employee stress and the effects it has on the employees’ health as well as on the profits of the company. In this report we will look at the effects and outcomes of stress it has on the individuals and on organisation and how it can be managed best by both of them. Discussion General Stress Stress is defined as the way in how an employee feels when they have to respond to a change in demand in the workplace. Stress is a part of our life and it occurs when we faced with significant changes in our lives, whether it is positive or negative (NHS, 2013). There are some stresses which are okay, referred to as positive stress. The problem arises when the level of stress exceeds the thr eshold level of individuals affecting both the physical or mental behaviour of the people. Different employees have different abilities to cope with the stress. But there are situations which are categorized as being stressful, including financial worries, unemployment, work overload, relationships, balancing both work and family, parenting, health problems, caregiving, losses, competitiveness, exams, peer pressure and not having enough time to cope with the pressure (Bickerstaff, 2008, p. 42). Stress is how the employees respond to the normal stressors in the environment. Sources of Stress at Workplaces There can be a number of situations for stress to occur at the workplace. There are a number of categories of Job Stressors which the employees feel at the workplace. The first Category is Factors which are unique to the job. These include situations like Work overload or under load. Again the Pace, variety and the meaningfulness of the work is another factor. Again the Autonomy is also a major stress factor. If an employee doesn’t have the freedom to make his own decisions about his job then he will feel stressed out. The Physical environment of the workplace also plays an important role (NHS, 2013). Then Isolation at the workplace leaves an emotional effect on the employees who feels that he is working alone. The Second category is Role which the employees perform at the organisation. This may happen in cases of Role conflict which they face. This happens when there are conflicting job demands, or multiple managers or supervisors which the employee has to face. Role ambiguity may also lead to stress for the employee. It indicates the lack of clarity about the expectations, responsibilities etc. about the job (Canadian  Centre  for  Occupational  Health  and  Safety,  2000, p. 1). Again the level of responsibility that the employee is given also affects his morale. The Third category is the Relationship of the employee with his colleagues . These include his relationships with Supervisors, Subordinates, and Peers. Since an employee has to deal with them every day, any unhealthy relationship may affect the moral and leads to increased stress at the workplace. The fourth Category is the Career development. In this category, any under promotion would increase the stress level. Again the job security is another important factor. If the employee is under constant fear of losing the job because of the downturn in the economy or lack of job, it will increase the stre

Islamic History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Islamic History - Essay Example The history of foundation of Islam is clothed with the veils of legend and obscured by multiple conflicting accounts that make its true outline all but impossible to discern with any clarity. But it is incontrovertible that Northern-Arabia prior to Muhammad was a predominantly tribal environment, structured by exigencies of camel herding, trading, feuding, and raiding. The ‘civilized’ area of Arabia was not in the heartland where Islam was born, but rather had long been located in the coastal south and along the gulf. Inland, the only possible location for development of any sort of state was in the impoverished and remote region dominated by Mecca and the Quraysh clan, where ancient pilgrimage centers protected markets in perfume, leather, and other trade goods. But no such development occurred until the advent of Muhammad, who was born around 570, received his first revelations at the age of forty, undertook his momentous journey to Medina (the hijra) in 622 (year one in the Muslim calendar) and died in 632, having led his people in the conquest of the whole Arab peninsula, and having initiated their great and ultimately successful war against the surrounding Sasanid and Byzantine empires.The religion of Islam is from the Muslim point of view, â€Å"the religion of Abraham and Ishmael† the forefathers of the Muslims. According to Ibn al-Kalbi, who conveys also the belief of his predecessors, Ishmael settled in Mecca where he became the father of many children who supplanted the Amalekites of Mecca; to him is ascribed the origin of the Arabs. Arabs. The Qur'an states that Abraham and Ishmael "raised the foundation of the House" and established a "proper worship". The rites of the pilgrimage, the circumambulation, the visitation of the lesser pilgrimage, the vigil of Arafat, the sacrifice of the she-camels and the acclamation of the name of the deity "came down from the time of Abraham and Ishmael", according to Ibn al-kalbi, and they constitute a part of the religion.(Tamara) Islam had come upon the world scene in the seventh century in connection with the explosion of Arabic-speaking, horse mounted warriors out of the Arabian desert under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad and his successors. The period of hemispheric history from 1000 to 1500 A.D., what we will call the Islamic Middle Period, witnessed a steady and remarkable expansion of Islam, not only as religious faith but as a coherent, universalist model of civilized life. The spread of Islam into new areas of the hemisphere during the Middle Period was given impetus by two major forces. One of these was the advance of Turkish-speaking of Muslim herding people from central Asia into the Middle East, a movement that began on a large scale with the conquests of the Seljuk Turks in the eleventh century. The second force was the gradual but persistent movement of Muslim merchants into the lands rimming the Indian ocean, that is, East Africa, India, Southeast Asia and China, as well as into Central Asia and West Africa south of the Sahara. A close look at the patterns of travel and migration in the post-Abbasid centuries reveals a quiet but persistent dispersion of legal scholars, theologians, Sufi divines, belle- lettrists, scribes and architects outward from the older centers of Islam to these new frontiers of Muslim military and commercial activity. (Spencer) The Islamic world in Ibn Battuta's time was divided politically into numerous kingdoms and principalities. Muslims on the move regarded the jurisdictions of states as a necessary imposition and gave them as little attention as possible. Their primary allegiance was to the Dar al-Islam as a whole. The terrible Mongol conquests of Persia and Syria that occurred between 1219 and 1258 appeared to Muslims to threaten the very existence of

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

How do movies or television influence peoples behavior use reasons and Essay

How do movies or television influence peoples behavior use reasons and specific examples to support you answer - Essay Example The first thing to note is that both television and movies happen to be aa great medium through which artists talents are demonstrated throughout the world. Through TVs people receive world news. It is a source of entertainment too. Individuals get relaxed when they take time to watch films. Children as ell learn from TV as they watch certain channels such as fox history, discovery among others. These are just but a few of positive benefits of television ad movies that positively affect the behaviors of people (Mariam, 2013). On the other hand, most children take more time to watch television as compared to time spent on outdoor sports. Such behavior is unhealthy and results to diseases such as eyesight problems, obesity as well other diseases. Surveys have shown that those children who spent most of their time watching TV do not do well in class. They become addicted to watching TV and prefer watching programs over doing their school homework. This is more common today now especially that most children have in their own bedrooms, their TV sets. Most people think that if there is no bad content showing in the TV then there is no need to stop the kid from watching TV. This makes children love TV and become lazy in class. It is the idea of many people that movies as well as television reflect the society. However, this is not the truth mostly. Most people today like watching movies and TV programs that ha violence within the content. Criminals learn from movies new tactics as well as tricks which they apply in murder, robbery and other harmful activities. Most young people today engage in crime as an influence of TV and movies. Another thing is that through movies, the under aged are able to access porn material easily (Mariam, 2013). It is well know that the youth can watch a lot of stuff in their bedroom TV sets. The bottom line is that as advantageous as it is, the system has a huge negative impact on individuals’ behavior too. The fact is that

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Importance of communication plan in trail transport Essay

Importance of communication plan in trail transport - Essay Example Despite the existence of various transport methods that are fully researched on, the trail system has been neglected and even not cared for because of the social perception (Ministry of Health Promotion). The involvement of organizations such as Rail-to-Trails and other organizations has helped change the perception of the society. Through highlighting of the benefits of the trails the organizations have helped shape the use of trail transport in the country (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Organization). Rails-to-trails offer several support activities for the use of trails in transport. The organization advocates and influence policy development both for the state and national governments. In addition, the company offers technical assistance to the local trail builders to ensure their design factor in issues of safety and environmental conservation. Through defending the federal Trail banking statute, the organization supports government efforts in the process by developing the necessary support and watchdog activities. The research carried out by the organization helps in shaping the belief and the nature of the existing trails (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Organization). Trails are important because they improve the health of the community by encouraging involvement in physical activities.

Monday, July 22, 2019

How Accurate Is Eyewitness Testimony Essay Example for Free

How Accurate Is Eyewitness Testimony Essay The bedrock of the American judicial process is the honesty of witnesses in trial. Eyewitness testimony can make a deep impression on a jury, which is often exclusively assigned the role of sorting out credibility issues and making judgments about the truth of witness statements. In the U. S. , there is the possibility of over 5,000 wrongful convictions each year because of mistaken eyewitness identifications. The continuous flow of media stories that tell of innocent people being incarcerated should serve as a signal to us that the human identification process is rife with a large number of error risks. These risks have been largely supported by research. Unfortunately, a jury rarely hears of the risks; therefore, eyewitness testimony remains a much-used and much-trusted process by those who are uninformed many times, lawfully uninformed. In cases in which eyewitness testimony is used, more often than not, an expert will not be allowed to testify to the faults of eyewitness identification. Thus, the uninformed stay blissfully ignorant of the inherent risks involved in eyewitness identification testimony. Too often, these blissfully ignorant people make up a jury of our peers. (McAtlin, 1999). According to McAtlin, there are three parts of an eyewitness testimony: (1) Witnessing a crime – as a victim or a bystander – involves watching the event while it is happening. (2) The witness must memorize the details of the occurrence. (3) The witness must be able to accurately recall and communicate what he or she saw. Studies of wrongful conviction cases have concluded that erroneous eyewitness identifications are by far the leading cause of convicting the innocent. Several studies have been conducted on human memory and on subjects’ propensity to remember erroneously events and details that did not occur. When human beings try to acquire, retain and retrieve information with any clarity, suppositional influences and common human failures profoundly limit them. The law can regulate some of these human limitations others are unavoidable. The unavoidable ones can make eyewitness testimony devastating in the courtroom and can lead to wrongful convictions. Unfortunately, memories are not indelibly stamped onto a brain video cassette tape. An event stored in the human memory undergoes constant change. Some details may be altered when new or different information about the event is added to the existing memory. Some details are simply forgotten and normal memory loss occurs continually. Even so, witnesses often become more confident in the correctness of their memories over time. The original memory has faded and has been replaced with new information. This new information has replaced the original memory because the natural process of memory deterioration has persisted. Furthermore, individual eyewitnesses vary widely in infallibility and reasoning. . (McAtlin, 1999). Studies of wrongful conviction cases have concluded that erroneous eyewitness identifications are by far the leading cause of convicting the innocent. For example, the Innocence Project of Cardozo School of Law reports that of the first 130 exonerations, 101 (or 77. 8 percent) involved mistaken identifications. But exactly how often eyewitnesses make tragic mistakes that lead to the punishment of innocent persons is unknown and probably unknowable. One of the infamous cases where mistaken identity led to the wrongful conviction and execution was Gary Graham. Grahams case received widespread attention, in part because of substantial evidence indicating that he was innocent of the murder charge, and the indisputable fact that his court-appointed trial lawyer failed to mount a serious legal defense. Graham was convicted of killing grocery store clerk Bobby Lambert on May 13, 1981 during a robbery attempt. Graham was 17 years old at the time. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime and only one eyewitness who identified him as the murderer. Eyewitnesses who told police investigators Graham was not the killer were never called to testify at trial by Grahams lawyer. Constitutional Protections In Neil v. Biggers, the U. S. Supreme Court established criteria that jurors may use to evaluate the reliability of eyewitness identifications. The Biggers Court enumerated several factors to determine if a suggestive identification is reliable: (1) the witness’s opportunity to view the suspect; (2) the witness’s degree of attention; (3) the accuracy of description; (4) the witness’s level of certainty; and (5) the time between incident and confrontation, i. . , identification. Courts today continue to allow into evidence suggestive identification testimony. Currently, courts consider the admissibility of identification testimony under a Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process analysis. If a court determines that a pretrial identification was unnecessarily suggestive, it then ascertains whether the suggestive procedure gave rise to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. A court will find a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification only if the identification is found to be unreliable. Therefore, even if the court concludes that a police identification procedure was suggestive, it may be admissible if the court finds that the identification is nevertheless likely to be accurate. A court will balance the suggestiveness of the identification procedure against the likelihood that the identification is correct, resulting in an unprincipled rule of law that turns on the court’s subjective assessment of the defendant’s guilt. Issues That Impact an Individuals Testimony A specific look at how memory functions and how suggestion operates llustrates why participation in unregulated lineups creates unreasonable risks of misidentification. Identification procedures differ from other police investigatory procedures in that they solely rely on human memory. Human memory consists of three basic systems: (1) encoding, (2) storage, and (3) retrieval. â€Å"Encoding† is the initial processing of an event that results in a memory. â€Å"Storage† is the re tention of the encoded information. â€Å"Retrieval† is the recovery of the stored information. Errors can occur at each step. Contrary to common understanding of memory, not everything that registers in the central nervous system is permanently stored in the mind and particular details become increasingly inaccessible over time. According to Loftus and Ketchum, â€Å"Truth and reality, when seen through the filters of our memories, are not objective facts but subjective, interpretive realities. † Because these processes are unconscious, individuals generally perceive their memories as completely accurate and their reporting of what they remember as entirely truthful, no matter how distorted or inaccurate they, in fact, may be. An individual’s memories become distorted even in the absence of external suggestion or internal personal distress. Naturally, people tailor their telling of events to the listener and the context. (Loftus Ketchum 1991). Many conditions such as fear, lighting, distance from the event, surprise, and personal biases all affect memory and recall. Human memory is indeed delicate, especially regarding victims and witnesses of crimes. Fear and traumatic events may impair the initial acquisition of the memory itself. At the time of an identification, the witness is often in a distressed emotional state. Many victims and witnesses experience substantial shock because of their traumatic experiences that continue to affect them at the time of identification procedures. In a particular case in court, the psychologist can determine the reliability of the evidence of a particular witness and enable the judge and the jury to put the proper value on such witnesss testimony. For example, a witness may swear to a certain point involving the estimation of time and distance. The psychologist can measure the witnesss accuracy in such estimates, often showing that what the witness claims to be able to do is an impossibility. A case may hinge on whether an interval of time was ten minutes or twelve minutes, or whether a distance was three hundred or four hundred feet. A witness may swear positively to one or both of these points. The psychologist can show the court the limitations of the witness in making such estimates. Overview of Psychology and Law The service of psychology to law can be very great, but owing to the necessary conservatism of the courts, it will be a long time before they will make much use of psychological knowledge. Perhaps the greatest service will be in determining the credibility of evidence. Psychology can now give the general principles in this matter. Witnesses go on the stand and swear to all sorts of things as to what they heard and saw and did, often months and even years previously. The expert clinical psychologist can tell the court the probability of such evidence being true. Experiments have shown that there is a large percentage of error in such evidence. The additional value that comes from the oath has been measured. The oath increases the liability of truth only a small percentage. Psychologists sometimes provide expert testimony in the form of general testimony where theory and research is described and applied to a problem before the court. The expert would not provide opinions about any party involved in the case before the court, but might give opinions about substantive research that is relevant to the issues. Role of Psychology Professional in Forensic Matters Clinical-forensic psychologists are employed in a variety of settings including state forensic hospitals, court clinics, mental health centers, jails, prisons, and juvenile treatment centers. Clinical-forensic psychologists are perhaps best known for their assessment of persons involved with the legal system. Because of their knowledge of human behavior, abnormal psychology, and psychological assessment, psychologists are sometimes asked by the courts to evaluate a person and provide the court with an expert opinion, either in the form of a report or testimony. For example, clinical-forensic psychologists frequently evaluate adult criminal defendants or children involved in the juvenile justice system, offering the court information that might be relevant to determining (1) whether the defendant has a mental disorder that prevents him or her from going to trial, (2) what the defendants mental state may have been like at the time of the criminal offense, or (3) what treatment might be indicated for a particular defendant who has been convicted of a crime or juvenile offense. Increasingly, clinical-forensic psychologists are being called upon to evaluate defendants who have gone to trial and who have been found guilty and for whom one of the sentencing options is the death penalty. In this case, psychologists are asked to evaluate the mitigating circumstances of the case and to testify about these as they relate to the particular defendant. Clinical-forensic psychologists also evaluate persons in civil (i. e. , non-criminal) cases. These psychologists may evaluate persons who are undergoing guardianship proceedings, to assist the court in determining whether the person has a mental disorder that affects his or her ability to make important life decisions (e. g. , managing money, making health care decisions, making legal decisions). Clinical-forensic psychologists also evaluate persons who are plaintiffs in lawsuits, who allege that they were emotionally harmed as a result of someones wrongdoing or negligence. Clinical-forensic psychologists may evaluate children and their parents in cases of divorce, when parents cannot agree about the custody of their children and what is best for them. Clinical-forensic psychologists are sometimes called on to evaluate children to determine whether they have been abused or neglected and the effects of such abuse or neglect, and offer the court recommendations regarding the placement of such children. In addition to forensic assessment, clinical-forensic psychologists are also involved in treating persons who are involved with the legal system in some capacity. Jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities employ clinical psychologists to assess and treat adults and juveniles who are either awaiting trial, or who have been adjudicated and are serving a sentence of some type. Treatment in these settings is focused both on mental disorders and providing these persons with skills and behaviors that will decrease the likelihood that they will re-offend in the future. Clinical-forensic psychologists employed in mental health centers or in private practice may also treat persons involved in the legal system, providing either general or specialized treatment (e. g. treatment of sex offenders, treatment of violent or abusive persons, and treatment of abuse victims). Conclusion Studies confirm that unregulated eyewitness testimony is often â€Å"hopelessly unreliable. † Misidentifications are the greatest single source of wrongful convictions in the United States. Yet courts’ current due process analyses are unsuccessful in ensuring fair procedures and preventing wrongful convictions. A due process analysis alone is inadequate, in part because a due process analysis is essentially a fairness inquiry, and courts regard it as unfair to exclude a correct, yet suggestive identification, from evidence.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Fate in Death of a Salesman

Fate in Death of a Salesman Abstract Death of a Salesman is a tragedy written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It describes a story about Willy Loman whose American dreams shattered and eventually he lost his life for it. Willy Lomans tragic experience reveals the conflicts between the individual, the family and social values of the United States. Miller tells us that we should not be misled by the money worship; otherwise we will become victims of commodity wrong values. This paper will analyze the tragic fate of Willy Loman from four different perspectives: inaccurate self-evaluation, incompetent role-player in family, wrong outlooks on values and being a victim of the American Dream, hoping to inspire and enlighten the readers from the tragic fate of Willy Loman and to find our real selves in the complicated and changeable world. 1. Introduction 1.1 Arthur Miller Arthur Miller was one of the most distinguished dramatists of the twentieth century. He was born in Jewish family in New York on October 17th 1915. As his fathers business failed during the Depression and the family suddenly became poor, Miller had to discontinue his studies and go to work to earn his university fees after he finished high school. He worked various jobs, such as a truck driver, a waiter, a farmhand, etc. Through these jobs, he saw the injustice of the capitalist system and understood the hard life of workers. The personal experiences provided him with firsthand knowledge about the lower class when he came to write plays and fiction. Through Millers career, he wrote lots of valuable masterpieces which contributed a lot to the American theater, ranging from All My Sons (1947) to Death of a Salesman (1949), from The Crucible (1953) to A View from Bridge (1955), from After the Fall (1964) to Broken Glasses (1994). Miller continually addressed several distinct but related issues in both his dramatic and contemporary writings: the form of tragedy applicable to modern times and contemporary characters, the individuals relationship to society, and family relations, particularly interactions between fathers and sons (à ©Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ®, 2007: 421). He criticized the social problems sharply and at the same time showed his compassion to the common people living at the foot of the society ladder. He has influenced many younger American dramatists, such as Edward Albee, August Wilson, and David Mamet. Miller is a major pioneer in the development of American theater alongside Eugene ONeil and Tennessee Williams, and Death of a Salesman is his important work. The play suggested new theatrical possibilities with its unique blend of realism and expressionism, as well as offering a challenge to previous definitions of tragedy (Susan C.W., 2007: 71). 1.2 The plot of Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman is one of the best three plays with Eugene ONeils Long Days Journey into night and Tennessee Williamss A Street Car Named Desire. After it staged in 1949, it ran for 742 performances on Broadway. It won important awards, including the New York Drama Critics Circle Best Play, Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play presents the tragedy of a common person, Willy Loman, an aging travelling salesman who is working for the Wagner Company. After having labored for thirty-four years for that firm, he is fired by Howard Wagner, the head of the company, because he is too old to sell products to make profits for the company. But he is still in debt, so he and his wife are struggling to pay the bills while his two sons are not helpful. Willys two goals throughout his life have been to be popular and have his own company, but they havent come true. Biff, a habitual thief, and Happy, a self-deluded guy, have failed to fulfill their fathers dream of achi evement. Reviewing his life, he is forced to confront its futility and failure. He kills himself in a planned car accident, hoping to provide Biff with twenty thousand dollars from the life insurance company to start his store. The play has profound social significance, because it is from the real life and authentically reflects the tragedy of common man in America (à ¥Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ »Ã‚ £Ãƒ §Ã‚ Ã‚ Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2008). 1.3 Purpose of the paper Willy Lomans tragic experience shows the conflicts between the individual, the family and social values of the United States. Miller tells us that we should not be misled by the money worship; otherwise we will become victims of commodity wrong values. In materialistic society, People tend to ignore the cruel reality. Their cravings for material things seem never satisfied. People cannot distinguish reality and illusion. Inevitably, this will causes contradictions between individual, family and society and eventually brings about peoples downfall, like Willy Loman in the play. According to this phenomenon, this paper will analyze the tragic fate of Willy Loman from four different perspectives: inaccurate self-evaluation, incompetent role-player in family, wrong outlooks on values and being a victim of the American Dream, hoping to inspire and enlighten the readers from the tragic fate of Willy Loman and to find our real selves in the complicated and changeable world. 2. Literature Review Death of a Salesman is written in realistic dialogue about ordinary people. It is based in large part on the experiences of Millers family during the Depression and his passionate belief in the honor of work and the difficulties of living the American dream. After its opening in Broadway, response to the play was tremendous; audiences and critics had been attracted. The criticism on Death of a Salesman came from the anti-communist movement known as McCarthyism,but the larger part of comments are praises. Robert Coleman of the Daily Mirror called the play emotional dynamite and reported that sobs were heard throughout the auditorium, and handkerchiefs were kept busy wiping away tears (Robert Coleman, 1949:360). Brooks Atkinson declared it superb, commenting on its poetry and calling it a wraith-like tragedy (Brooks Atkinson, 1949:27). Richard Watts asserted that under the director, Elia Kazens vigorous and perceptive direction, Death of a Salesman emerges as easily the best and most i mportant new American play of the year (Richard Watts, 1949:359). Yes, Death of a Salesman is a significant masterpiece of the American play. In theme, the play criticizes the role of capitalism in American society and condemns human nature with pity and sorrow. In technique, Miller broke out of the realistic confinements of time, space and psychology, with the innovative interweaving of the past with the present and of events inside Willys mind with those outside, which merges elements of both realism and expressionism(à ©Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ®Ãƒ ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’2007:423). Compared to traditional tragedy, Loman, as a protagonist, is neither upper class nor very intelligence. But he still manages to strike an emotional chord. He has a faulty vision of what makes a person successful, which makes him flawed, but regardless of the opposition and the ultimate cost to himself, he refuses to give up that vision, which makes him, in Millers eyes, a tragic hero. A man of his time, Loman bears realistic and far-reaching significance and connotation. In Contemporary American drama:a study in the plays of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Edward A, Singh Abha comments that Willy Loman, the salesman, is a typical embodiment of modern business morality, but he is also a more universal figureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Like the great tragic figures of Sophocles and Shakespeare, Millers Willy is both an individual and a type (Singh, Abha, 1998: 70-71). Furthermore, Loman has attracted international audiences and continues to interest them to the present day. Theater scholar Brenda Murphy talks about the ease with which audiences all over the world have understood and sympathized with the plight of Willy Loman, and have grasped the issues of the play (Brenda Murphy, 1995:126). No doubt, the play attracts numerous audiences and critics. Whereas, the common audience are seriously concerned about the fate of Willy and are melt into tears for this tragedy of an everyman. In china, based on my survey on the domestic journals from 1979 to 2009, there are above 22 articles studying on Willy Lomans tragic fate in Death of a Salesman. Different critics have their own views. Wang Yan, from Shandong University, considers that Lomans tragedy is caused by the conflict of his dream and the reality. Zhu Yaning, from Foreign Languages Department of Henan Mechanical College, views that the disillusionment of American Dream leads to Lomans tragedy. W ang Dongmei, from Foreign Languages Department of Liaoning Technical University, regards that Lomans fate is caused by his own personality distortion. Wang Hong, from Huainan Normal College analyzes Willy Lomans fate from the respect of family factors. But for me, inaccurate self-evaluation, incompetent role-player in family, wrong outlooks on values and being a victim of the American Dream resulted in Willy Lomans tragedy. 3. Analysis of Willy Lomans Fate Willy Lomans whole life seems to have been a sellout; his sons have turned out badly, and his relationship with Biff has soured. Disappointedly, Willy chooses to end his life with expectation that his death could exchange for his sons success. The quasi-resolution that his suicide offers him represents only a partial discovery of the truth. He fails to grasp the true personal, emotional, spiritual understanding of himself. His name provides insights. Compared to William, Willy is a childish version indicating an intrinsic immaturity in his nature. He is too driven by his own willy-ness or perverse willfulness to recognize the slanted reality that his desperate mind has forged. Loman has been read as indicating Willy to be a low-man, common and insignificant. From the insights of his name, we can infer that Willy Lomans life will be a tragedy in the end, like characters of Dream of the Red Chamber. Not his name resulted in Willys tragedy fate, but his inaccurate self-evaluation, incom petent role-player in family, wrong outlooks on values and a victim of the American Dream resulted in his tragedy. 3.1 Willy Lomans inaccurate self-evaluation As a travelling salesman, Willy Loman sells products for Wagner Company by driving around New England. When he was young, he was ambitious and set his mind to provide a good life for his family. He worked diligently and enthusiastically, so that he made good profits. He averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in the year of 1928. He built up good relationship and reputation among his clients. He has much confidence about his life and dreamed that one day he would set up his own company. However, thirty-four years later, as he became too old to make profits for the firm, he was fired by his employer relentlessly, regardless of his thirty-four years contribution to the company. But he could not confirm his failure. When he would not sell products and get his commission, he borrowed money from his neighbor Charley and deceived his wife that the money was his commission. He trapped himself in the illusion and memory most his time. Under the pressing realities of his life, he could not endure the overwhelming tensions and commit suicide to earn the insurance money to help Biff become successful. Why Willy Loman lived so afflictingly? One of the reasons is that he can not evaluate himself accurately. Throughout the play, there are many implications that Willys wrong self-evaluation leads to his wrong choice of profession. He failed to find his real self, because he was covered by the illusions and the myths. From ACT ONE, Willy told Charley that, A man who cant handle tools is not a man (Arthur Miller, 1949:44). He can put up the ceiling in the living-room. That is a great piece of work, but Willy managed to do it. He, like his father, can build things with his own hand. However, Willy failed to recognize his abilities. If he could realize his talent and choose the job that can fulfill his talent, instead of being a salesman that way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine (Arthur Miller, 1949:138), Willy might seek both job satisfaction and fortune from his job. Also, he failed to recognize his natural inclinations and instincts. When Biffs decision to seek a business loan raises Willys spirits, and the way in which Willy expresses his optimism is quite revealin g. The first thing Willy thinks about is planting a garden in his yard; he then muses to Linda that they should buy a house in the country, so that he could build guesthouses for Biff and Happy when they have families of their own. These hopeful plans seem to illustrate how ill-suited Willy is to his profession, as it stifles his natural inclinations. His wistful fantasy of living in the forests of Alaska strengthens the implication that he chose the wrong profession. Indeed, the competitive, hyper-capitalist world of sales seems no more appropriate for Willy. He does not seem to like living in an urban setting. He complains that the way they boxed us in here. Bricks and windows, windows and bricks. The street is lined with cars. Theres not a breath of fresh air in the neighborhood. The grass dont grow any more, you cant raise a carrot in the back yard. They shouldve a law against apartment houses (Arthur Miller, 1949:17). From his words, we can infer that Willy is looking forward to living a leisure life, a farm life, not the busy, atwitter and strenuous life in New York. But Willy was unaware of this; he chose to be a salesman that conflicts with his natural inclinations and instincts. At first, his motivation to be a salesman was impure. He chose the job not from his own abilities and interests, but from the admiration for Dave Singleman. If Willy could evaluate himself accurately and respect his own needs, he would live a totally different life from now. He would not commit himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy. 3.2 Incompetent Role-player in family Willy is a salesman who struggles for a better life in the cruel society, a husband who has his wifes love and support and a father who lives with his children. It is important to examine the evolution of Willys relationship with his family, as the solid family is one of the most prominent elements of the American Dream. But in the present, Willys relationship with his family is fraught with tension. 3.2.1 A father unfit for his position As a common father, he hopes to win the respect and love of his sons and has great expectation to his two sons. But the cruel reality is that Biff is a pilferer and Happy is a liar. Everything goes against his wishes. The main reason is that Willys improper education to his sons. As a youth, Biff was led to believe that since he was well liked he could get away with anything. He begins to steal: a football from school, lumber for the house, a crate of balls from Bill Oliver. Willy is desperate that Biff should succeed in life, so instead of punishing him, he condones the thefts and makes excuses, neglecting to instill in his son the moral values a parent should teach a child. For instance, when the young Biff stole the football from the school, Willy said, Coachll probably congratulate you on your initiative! à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Thats because he likes you. If somebody else took that ball thered be an uproar (Arthur Miller, 1949:30). This way of education makes Biff lose the ability to recognize the correct moral views. Biff appears successful in high school as a football player, but reaps no benefit from this as he never goes to college. Initially he had planned to retake the math course he needed, but he catches his father with a mistress. After leaving the high school, he did many jobs but all failed. As biff said to Willy, I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! Thats whose fault it is! (Arthur Miller, 1949:131) Obviously, again it is Willys improper education that leads to Biffs failure. 3.2.2 A husband disloyal to his wife In Willys reminiscence, there exists a woman, his mistress. Willy has affair with the woman and the affair was discovered by Biff. As a result of this, his belief in the fantasies his father has fed him cannot be maintained. This adultery is an indirect cause that Biff gave up to retake he math course, but evidence that Willy betrayed his wife, Linda. If Willy had had not affair with the woman, Biff might retake the math exam, and then he would go to college and had a promising future. Willy is always untrue to Linda. He tries to play the salesman with her. Every time he over his trip, he inflates his commission, but Linda also his lie. Although she does not buy his pitch to her, she still loves him. She does not measure Willys worth in terms of his professional success. Willy, however, needs more than love, which accepts character flaws, doubts, and insecurityhe seek desperately to be well liked. As such, he ignores the opportunity that Linda presents to him: to view himself more honestly, to acknowledge the reality of his life, and to accept himself for what he is feeling like a failure (Selena Ward, Brendan Greaves, 2003:61). If Willy could be true to Linda and himself, he would not choose to commit suicide. 3.3 Wrong outlooks on values Willy Loman is living in a time when the nature of business itself is undergoing intrinsic changes, partly due to the capitalist pressure to make more money and become more efficient. But he fails to understand the complex and ruthless business community and he still pursue equity and justifiability blindly. So he hugs his outmoded beliefs: Just work hard, be honest and well-liked, you will succeed. However, he is rebuffed in the real life. The reason is that Willys outlooks on values are wrong. His recurring description and memory of Dave Singleman manifest his ideal life in his mind: What could be more satisfying than be able to go, at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people? and When he diedand by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven and Hartford, going into BostonWhen he died hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral. Things were sad on a lotta trains for months after that. (Arthur Miller, 1949:81) He speakes of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. But he fails to realize the hopeless of Singlemans lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. During Singlemans age, there was personality, respect, comradeship and gratitude in it. But in the present day, it is all cut and dried. The time full of light and friendship is long gone. Todays American society has been a concrete jungle. Here the survival law is like the law of the jungle in the animal world in primitive time, even more relentless and ruthless. People are molded to be more indifferent and greedy. They worship money. Money dominatesalmost everything including personality, respect, gratitude and even man, could be evaluated in terms of money. But Willy doesnt realize the shift of the times and values. He still keeps riding on a smile, making friends, exaggerating and hoping being liked so as to make a sale. He adheres to his own principles and wrong values that cost his life i n the end. 3.4 A victim of the American Dream The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States of America in which democratic ideals are perceived as a promise of prosperity for its people. In the American Dream, first expressed by James Truslow Adams in 1931, he states, The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position (James Truslow Adams, 1931) The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence wh ich states that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (the Declaration of Independence) However, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream. After World War II, the United States faced profound and irreconcilable domestic tensions and contradictions. Although the war had ostensibly engendered an unprecedented sense of American confidence, and security, the United States became increasingly embroiled in a tense cold war with the Soviet Union. The propagation of myths of a peaceful, homogenous, and nauseatingly gleeful American golden age was tempered by constant anxiety about Communism. (Selena Ward, Brendan Greaves, 2003:3)The government cannot provide the citizen with a fair environment. People feel desperate and lose themselves. They consider their American dream as making a fortune. They pursuit their dreams by centering their lives around material possessions, such as cars, appliances. There are exhausted to keep up with their equally materialistic neighbors. Seemingly, they are rich in materials, but they are in poor spirit. Many American families become the victims of the American Dream. Unfortunately, the Lomans is one of them. In the search of the good life, the Lomans surroud themselves with many things above and beyond the necessities of life. However, these goods are only available at a price, and not everyone in society can afford them. The Lomans try to keep up, with a refrigerator, a vacuum, and a new car, but they find themselves in a constant state of worry that they may be not able to meet all the payments. So when Willy is sixty-three years old, he is still in debt. In Willys life, he has two dreams. One is to set up his own company while the other is his two sons can succeed. But Willys two great dreams come to a totally failure. Because he believes that any well liked and personally attractive man can achieve the dream. And he also passes this belief to his sons. Bernard can get the best marks in school, y understand, but when he gets out in the business world, yunderstand, you are going to be five times ahead of him. Thats why I thank Almighty God youre both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an personal in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. (Arthur Miller, 1949:33) His understanding of the qualities of attractiveness and likeability is very superficial. He blindly expects to achieve material, emotional, and even spiritual satisfaction through personal attractiveness and being well liked. He fails to see that Charley and his son are successful because of lifelong hard work and not because of the illusions of social popularity and physical appearances. His blind faith in his stunted version of the American Dream leads to his rapid psychological decline when he is unable to accept the disparity between the ideal dream and his own life. 4. Enlightenment from Willy Lomans fate From the previous analysis, we have a better understanding of Willy Lomans fate. We cannot help showing our sympathy for his downfall. But this tragedy leaves us not only the sigh, but also the deep meditation. We can gain a good deal of enlightenment from his fate. Firstly, we should have a round and accurate evaluation about ourselves. Everyone is unique in the world. We have both merits and demerits. If we can make best use of the advantages and bypass the disadvantages, then we will become more competent and more confidence to deal with the changeable and competitive society. Secondly, our dreams should not go too far away from the reality. It is good to have dreams. Dreams can motive us to work hard to live a better life. In this way, the society can make progress. But our dreams should base on reality. It should be practical to realize the dreams. If the dreams seem impossible to realize, we may feel disappointed and lose confidence when we find the disparity between the dream and our life. Thirdly, we should make a plan that fit ourselves to realize the dream. We should see through the key to success. We should not like Willy Loman think it is well liked. But we can learn from Charley that the key to success is hard work and maintain our morality intact. Fourthly, spiritual wealth is more important than material wealth. In the modern society, material civilization is highly developed while there exists a crisis of mental world of human beings. Money worship and hedonism are prevailing, the view of value is collapsing, and men tend to become the slaver of material desire. So we cannot ignore our spiritual world. In our spare time, we should enrich our spirit world by reading books of real worth and live a worthy life. 5. Conclusion In Death of a salesman, Miller charges America with selling a false myth constructed around a capitalist materialism. And this materialism obscured the personal truth and moral vision of original American Dream described by the countrys founders. Willy Lomans inaccurate self-evaluation, incompetent role-player in family, wrong outlooks on values and being a victim of the American Dream bring about his downfall. His fate reveals the contradiction between material and spirit, reality and dream. Thus it makes the play become one of the best modern tragedies.

Popular culture

Popular culture What is popular culture? Introduction (John Storey, 2006, p.1) â€Å"popular culture is always defined, implicitly or explicitly, in contrast to other conceptual categories: folk culture, mass culture, dominant culture†. â€Å"Popular† and â€Å"Culture† Before we look into more depth about the term ‘popular culture we must first determine what it actually means. Firstly to break the term down, Raymond Williams says culture is â€Å"one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language† (cited storey 2006). To understand what William means we will take a look at his definitions. William refers to culture in three ways, firstly he states culture could be seen as â€Å"a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development†.   The examples storey gives are â€Å"great philosophers, great artists and great poets† which noticeably the word great is used giving a sense of high culture. Secondly â€Å"a particular way of life, whether a people, a period or a group† (ibid). - Popular Culture Now we have determined what the terms popular and culture mean we can now look at the word as a whole. Storey states that Popular culture â€Å"is the culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture† (Storey 2009, p. 6). Popular culture is therefore seen as â€Å"inferior culture† or ‘low culture (ibid). When you think about popular culture in this way there comes a problem, who determines which category it falls into. Storey states â€Å"to be real culture, it has to be difficult† therefore creating a division to who can and who can not. Pierre Bourdieu argues that â€Å"cultural distinctions of this kind are often used to support class distinctions. Taste is a deeply ideological category: it functions as a marker of class† (Bourdieu 1984).   Popular culture is often taken from culture, diluted and then distributed to the masses for personal gain. Sub cultures are created to help a group of people who feel left out from society, find there place. When looking at sub cultures, they are often associated with the youth of society. It could be argued that sub cultures are made possible because the youth within society have much more leisure time. (Lifestyle) The reason for this is said to be because of the generation gap. Some sub cultures create a moral panic because it challenges the norm and goes against how the people should think and what they should be doing. In doing so they create there ideology according to how they feel about society which is often opposed to the elite. If this is the case then it suggests a political dimension to what popular culture is so therefore it is not just about leisure or entertainment. Popular culture and the mass media go hand in hand because the media creates a distorted image of how the world is and the masses are said to passively consume it. Popular culture is also argued to divert people away from what is important which is said to be beneficiary for the elite, an example of this is capitalism. (Storey 2006) Ideology conceals the reality of domination from those in power: the dominant class dont see themselves as exploiter or oppressors†. More importantly though it works in favour of the elite as Storey states â€Å"Ideology conceals the reality of subordination from those who are powerless: the subordinate class dont see themselves as exploited or oppressed†. One of the most significant ideological practices in recent years has been the categorical dividing of what is popular and what is classical. Storey states â€Å"the division between high and popular culture†¦is absolutely clear†¦and transhistorical-fixed for all time.† Up until recent years the divions of the two were quite prominent but with groups like Escala (who were on Britains got talent) the divide becomes blurry. Groups like Escala play classical music in a different way to the norm but which is still classical and since they were on a popular show they made classical music popular. But that does not mean it will stay that way because if you look at some of the Cds they are bringing out for classical music now with such titles as â€Å"Pure Classical† which may seem innocent but could be argued that the elite are trying to police the boundaries. The real question what has been discussed is, value. As we have look in the first part of this essay, culture is not a fixed thing, it changes over time. A prime example of this would be opera. It started off for working class people but over time soon change and now is for the elite in society. If you were to look at the price it started off at it was only a few pennies but now the price of a ticket is quite high which therefore excludes people from taking part. Another example of this would be of you were to take a look at Pavarotti who had top selling albums and chart toppers, who then went to put on a performance in Hyde park for free and a woman attending give a comment to say â€Å"I cant afford to go to the posh opera houses and folk out  £100 for a ticket†. Yet again you could see some of the elite trying to police the boundaries by giving bad reviews saying â€Å"the park is no place for opera†. When you take that review and think about what they are really mean, they are saying it should stay in the opera hous e and keep its exclusiveness. Ideologies gain persuasive powers to either directly or indirectly influence the way people live, how they behave and how they relate to each other. Ideology can be understood by a set of values and ideas that a certain group shares.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

porcupine :: essays research papers

The word porcupine comes from the Latin words â€Å"porcus spina,† meaning â€Å"pig spines†. The porcupine is a slow-moving, peaceful rodent. They are also vegetarians and mostly nocturnal. Their scientific name, Erethizon, means to "irritate with back." The Porcupine is the second largest of all rodents. It has a small head, large, chunky body with a high arching back and short legs. Its head and body are 25 to 40 inches long, with long, thick, muscular tail growing as long as 8 inches. It weighs from 10 to 40 pounds. Long, yellowish hairs cover the front half of its body while up to 30,000 quills are placed among the dark, coarse hairs of the back and tail. These quills are the most distinguishing characteristic of the Porcupine. Actually modified hairs, the black-tipped, yellowish quills are stiff, barbed spines about 3 inches long that can be easily barbs once embedded in another animals' flesh. The Porcupine's feet have 4 toes on the forefeet and 5 on the hind feet all with long, curved claws and small pads on the bottom. The porcupine's undersides are soft and vulnerable. Porcupine babies are called kittens. The porcupine lives in all the North American desert regions, and the entire west, north to Canada. It lives in wooded areas ,in light marshlands and in deserts. Porcupines are vegetarians. In the Spring they feed on leaves, twigs and green plants. In Winter, they chew through the outer bark of fir, hemlock, aspen and pines trees to eat the tender layer of tissue below. Sometimes, they will completely chew threw, and thus kill, trees. They may also gnaw used ax handles, canoe paddles and other items for the salt and oil they contain. The two large, front gnawing teeth continue to grow as long as the Porcupine lives. When threatened, the North American Porcupine places his snout between his forelegs and spins around presenting its rear to the enemy. If attacked, contrary to popular belief, the Porcupine does not throw its quills; instead, it drives its tail against the assailant and dozens of quills detach easily from the skin to remain embedded in the attacker.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Intergroup Theory :: Social Psychology Society Essays

Intergroup Theory 1) Intergenerational communication has always been a source of frustration especially in communication where the age gap is largest. Because of the broadness of the topic, there are several different theories and ideas on the ideal intergenerational communication. As all participants are very different, it becomes very difficult to differentiate between the right and wrong strategies for successful communication. People need to associate themselves with the communication that seems most closely related and accurate to their functioning capabilities. There are many aspects that can produce a positive or negative interaction. Sociologists, social psychologists and other people most interested in this form of communication have examined communication and relationships for years and have created several categories and theories of communication. The intergroup theory incorporates several European social psychology theories that coordinate individual and social aspects of ones personality to the effect it has on the communication. Intergroup theory bases communication ability and quality around the social life of the participants. The theory presents several social identifications that influence an individual’s identity. As a result of the person fulfilling their own identity they eventually fall into their own common social groups. Depending on the situation and the interaction, either the individual identity or the group characteristics and reputation play a vital roll in the interaction. These groups transcend different impressions and feelings depending on who is interpreting it. The life stage, social circumstances and experiences effect how the group is interpreted by outgroup members (Turner 1982). People in society today tend to divide themselves among a community into social groups and categories where one feels more accepted and shares common qualities with the group. Experiments have shown that solely being part of any arbitrary social group gave the participants satisfaction. Generally when people belong to any group they will favor their own group which appears evident is groups of similar nationality, gender or other personal views (Tajfel, Billig, Bundy & Flament, 1971). In groups such as Greek life, stereotypes may form when several members begin to behave and believe similarly. This is common as people hold more pride in their ingroup. Also unwritten guidelines often form through the common interests on the members. Just as members of an ingroup categorize themselves, in the intergroup theory we categorize outgroup members. Identities are created primarily from physical characteristics and first impressions. This is a classification created for one group about the other group.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Our Grandmothers By Maya Angel Essay -- essays research papers

Imagery In The Poem “Our Grandmothers'; by Maya Angelou Image (Imagery) – Descriptive poetry flourished. One basic meaning for ‘image’ is provided by that context, but other, looser and more treacherous, meanings have accreted: any sensuous effect provoked by literary language; any striking language; metaphor; symbol; any figure. Maya Angelou’s poem, “Our Grandmother’s,'; vividly exemplifies a sense of imagery that is brought to life. The most effective way that, Maya Angelou presents imagery to the readers is through the setting. Firstly, at the beginning of the poem the narrator describes the current state of the main character and gives a brief description of the setting through imagery. “She lay, skin down on the moist dirt, / … the whispers of leaves…/ the longing of hounds…'; (“Our Grandmothers';, 1-4). These lines are very effective to the readers because the imagery behind these lines allows the readers to feel the cool breeze blowing, hear the leaves rustling and even sense the smell of fear; everything that one could think of to enhance the setting of a plantation. Reading this poem is an escape from modern day life. As readers, we observe everything that the narrator and the main character experience. To fulfill the imagination of the readers, Maya An gelou concentrates primarily as to how the readers are going to interpret certain events. S...

Two Views of the Mississippi

Two Views of the Mississippi Before beginning his vocation of being an author Samuel Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain, fulfilled his one lasting childhood ambition of becoming a steamboat pilot. Twain writes about his journey on the river in his autobiographical book Life on the Mississippi where in one section he talks about how one thing he would have to do is learn to distinguish the two views of the Mississippi, the beauty of the river and the navigational aspect of the river.I believe that one of the main messages is that even though you may love something, as time goes on you lose the beauty and innocence you had one seen in it. He describes this message through the use of figurative language and well placed rhetoric as he juxtaposes the ideas of the beauty and practicality of the Mississippi River. Mark Twain begins the first section of this excerpt with the statement that he â€Å"had mastered the language of this water†, which in all reality is actually a hyperbole, or an exaggeration, because nothing, ranging anywhere from breathing to performing a surgery, is ever truly able to be perfected or mastered.He uses this hyperbole at the beginning of this section to show how advanced he was in the knowledge of the river in that part of time. Twain then move on to use an oxymoron to describe the features of the river that he had â€Å"mastered† as â€Å"trifling†, or unimportant, saying that he knew every â€Å"trifling feature† along the river as he â€Å"knew the letters of the alphabet† with this he is saying that he knew all of these features of the river very well and to him they seemed irrelevant and saying he made a â€Å"valuable acquisition†.He uses this language to show us that all of the things along the river that he deals with everyday are irrelevant and unneeded. At the end of this section Twain juxtaposes this statement completely by calling all of these features â€Å"useful. † This language works because it creates a paradox with what he had previously said to show. This paradox shows that even though he may have said that this language is unimportant he actually does find it useful and needed in being a steamboat pilot.Twain carries on to say that he had lost something also, saying all of the beauty that he had once seen in the river was all gone except for one â€Å"wonderful† sunset that he experienced when he was new to steamboating. He describes the sunset with a metaphor saying â€Å"a broad expanse of the river was turned to blood† saying that the river is actually blood; this also personifies the river giving the river the human characteristic of having blood. Whereas later in the section Twain juxtaposes and begins the next bigger paradox with this by saying later in the piece that all the sun meant was that they were going to have wind the next day.Twain then describes the color of the water saying â€Å"in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold. † He also talks about the other memorable sights that he saw on the Mississippi that night such as a log floating by and how in one place the water was smooth and there was a â€Å"slant mark lay sparkling across the water† and in another the â€Å"surface was broken by boiling tumbling rings that were as many-tinted as an opal. † Mark Twain uses a simile to describe the way that the sunset made a tree on the shore look by comparing to a glowing flame saying that â€Å"a single leafy bough glowed like a flame. He uses other romantic words to describe the condition of the water and the surroundings such as â€Å"delicately traced† and â€Å"graceful curves and that the lights of the sunset were covering his surroundings â€Å"with new marvels of colors. † The reason that Twain uses all of this figurative language and tools of figurative language is to in essence describe the beauty he saw that night in a way that it w ould paint in picture in the mind of the audience.He then goes on to juxtapose all of these previous features that he witnessed during the subject by describing that all that the â€Å"floating log means the river is rising† and that â€Å"slanting mark refers to a bluff reef† that could â€Å"kill somebody’s steamboat† and he continues to explain that all of the other sights he saw that night of the sunset were simply just nautical phenomena that he must watch out for to keep the steamboat out of danger.. All of these sights and contradictions that he made conclude the large paradox that Twain had set in this piece.These two sections also juxtapose each other in the sense of the style of language used. In the first section Twain uses more poetic or romantic type of language such as â€Å"river was turned to blood† and â€Å"single leafy bough glowed like a flame† to show and describe the beauty in what he had witnessed. Whereas in the secon d section Twain uses a more realistic style of language when he describes that all the things he saw were all just evidence of the changes in the river such as the sun meant that there was going to be wind the next day and the log meant that the water was rising or that the tree with the ingle branch would stand as a landmark to help guide him down the river. The language in these two sections differs so drastically because of the fact that Twain had gained more knowledge and experience in being a steamboat pilot and in his understanding in the river, and with this gained knowledge and experience all of the assets he had seen as beautiful and that astounded him during that memorable sunset had turned into simply just dangers that he had to look out for routinely as a steamboat pilot.The language difference in these sections reiterate the message of this piece being that as you gain knowledge and experience in something you lose the innocence you once had and in turn all the beauty a nd enjoyment fades and it seems to become merely a routine. It also shows how Mark Twain first saw so much beauty in the river when he was new to steamboating that he was â€Å"in a speechless rapture† and how as he gained experience and knowledge the beauty that the river had once held for him began to slowly diminish until it was completely gone and became simply signs that he must look for while piloting his steamboat down the river.Twain starts off in the next section of this excerpt describing the wonderment that the sunset he experienced had brought to him saying that he stood â€Å"like one bewitched†¦in a speechless rapture† and stated that â€Å"the world was new† to him and that he â€Å"had never seen anything like this at home. Not long after this he continues on and says that he â€Å"began to cease from nothing the glories and charms which the sun and the twilight wrought upon rivers face† and that â€Å"if that sunset scene had been repeated, I should have looked upon it without rapture†, this describes how he has lost all of the sense of beauty that the river had held during that sunset. He even says that at one time he altogether ceased to take notes of what he noticed on the river, which means that at one point he had completely lost interest in observing and learning about the river.This entire section is a complete contradiction to the previous section in which he described the beauty that the sunset held and how â€Å"a broad expansion of the river was turned to blood† to saying that none of that was correct that that â€Å"the romance and beauty were all gone from the river† and it was merely just all in all signs that a steamboat pilot needs to look out for when piloting a steam boat saying â€Å"all the value†¦was the amount of usefulness it could urnish toward compassing the safe piloting of a steamboat. † I believe that the river is a metaphor for all things that are l ost as time passes, because as the river lost its beauty to Twain, Twain also lost the whole hearted ambition that he had as a child to be a steamboat pilot. In the final paragraph of this excerpt Twain goes on to explain that all of the beauty that he had once seen in the river was nonexistent now.He then explains how he feels sorrow for everyone who has had all of the beauty they once saw in something simply fade away from them to where they ended simply in a routine-like life style like what Twain had happen to him. He finishes this passage with four rhetorical questions using a doctor, which I believe represents society, and a beautiful patient, which is representative of all the beautiful things in life, as an example asking if the doctor ever even notices the beauty in his patient or if he just works strictly in a professional, or routine, manner.He ends this excerpt with the most powerful question saying â€Å"and doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade† it is in whole the message of this piece saying that someone may see beauty or enjoyment in certain aspects of life, but as you progress in gaining the knowledge and experience you lose your innocence and the beauty and enjoyment you had once seen fades to black and that passion becomes a task or a routine that you have to go through day after day; in a sense it is saying is it better to know few details and see the true beauty in things or would you rather understand all the details but see no romance or beauty? I believe that by this whole doctor scenario he actually asking does society even see the beauty in life or do they simply see what they need to see?Throughout this entire excerpt from his autobiographical piece Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain talks about his life as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River, he talks about how he once saw such beauty and had so much fascination in the Mississippi River but as time progressed and he gained more and more knowledge and experience that beauty and wonderment he once saw began to disappear into just the things that became signs that he had to look for while piloting a steam boat just for safety. While doing this he has uses an extensive amount of rhetoric and figurative language to try to send a warning to his audience of the message that this piece holds. Twain uses this piece to warn his audience to the fact that as you gain knowledge on some aspect in your life you begin to lose your innocence, and with that loss of innocence something that may have once fascinated you so much may seem to lose the enjoyment it once held and eventually that part of your life will become simply a routine and machine-like habit.