Security Flaws And Weaknesses And Vulnerabilities

The entire security testing process is performed so that security flaws and software vulnerabilities can be reviled. There have been many system security breaches lately like Home Depot, Apple Pay competitor Current C and Home Depot that has prompted companies to look more seriously at tools and techniques that they can utilize to better identify and analyze potential threats and vulnerabilities. The main objective of security testing is determining how vulnerable the systems are and if the data and resources contained on those systems are protected against potential intruders. The chart below outlines several common tools that can be used to identify and analyze potential threats and vulnerabilities. Tools Technique or way the tool†¦show more content†¦Nessus This tool is an excellent vulnerability scanner which features asset profiling, high speed discovery of sensitive data, configuration auditing, and vulnerability analysis. This tools scanners can be spread throughout an entire enterprise, used inside DMZs, and also utilized across multiple physically separate networks. Nmap This tool is what’s known as a Network Mapper. This tool is mainly used as a network discovery scanner and as a security auditing tool. This tool can determine the availability of hosts on a particular network through the use of raw IP packets. The tool can also determine what services ( including application name and version) the hosts is offering, as well as what OS and versions they are running. This tool can also determine the type of firewalls and/or packet filters that are in use, and other important characteristics of the network environment. Zed Attack Proxy This tool is a very useful penetration testing tool that can be used to find vulnerabilities in web applications. This tool is simple to use and almost anyone with or without security experience can become functional testers even if they are new to penetration testing. Paros This tool is a HTTP/HTTPS proxy that is Java based and it is mainly used for assessing the vulnerability of web applications. This scanner is capable of intercepting all of the data in HTTP and

Representations of Native Americans in Disney Productions...

Historically the treatment of Native Americans has been highly problematic, especially throughout the colonization of the New World. Although, when colonising some Europeans took a merciful and sympathetic approach to the Native Americans, generally the treatment towards the indigenous people was not humane. Not only did the Native Americans die at the hand of the settlers, they also died from diseases that had been brought to the new world by explorers for which they had no immunity. In some cases diseases such as smallpox wiped out entire tribes. Together, the introduction of diseases and the actions of the European settlers had devastating effects on the Native Americans. In 1830 Native Americans were forced to relocate from the south†¦show more content†¦Typically referred to as ‘Indians’ in popular culture, Native Americans were traditionally seen in Westerns as the antagonists. The Western genre typically tells the story of the colonisation and discovery of America, which saw the major Hollywood studios revive the interest in the Western. Westerns draw on â€Å"historical actuality, a romantic philosophy of nature, and the concept of the [†¦] savage† (Saunders, 2001, p. 3). Westerns often split the â€Å"depiction of the Indian, with the cruel and treacherous [Indian] balanced by the faithful [Indian]† (Saunders, 2001, p. 3) which resulted in the portrayals of Native Americans witnessed in films today. The Western genre tended to portray Native Americans stereotypically; males were often shown as barbaric and the antagonist to the masculine Western cowboy. This links back to the savage stereotype, and how Westerners are often shown in a positive and heroic light whereas other ethnicities are demoralized and shown as negative characters. There are a select few stereotypical representations of Native Americans which are highly common in film, for example Native Americans typically speak â€Å"with a broken dialect of ‘baby’ English. They are not able to fully understand or express thoughts in the English language† (â€Å"The role of Native Americans in film, n.d.). This representation has changed in recent years with theShow MoreRelatedThe Little Foreign Princess, Pocahontas, And Sweetest Of Savages2049 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"warrior princess† Pocahontas in the 1907 Harper’s Weekly. It was this idea of the perfect Indian woman that set the stan dard for all other Native American women. at the time. While Pocahontas has continued to be a popular American culture icon, it is not just the Native American women’s image that is exploited in the public media . Throughout history, Native Americans have often been portrayed as one of two extremes, warrior princesses or unruly savages and a burden onburdening American civilization.Read More Insensitive Portrayal of Society and Cultuer in Disney Films1538 Words   |  7 PagesSo Wonderful World of Disney The â€Å"Wonderful World of Disney† has been a part of America for as long as I can remember. With its movies, television shows, songs, theme parks, toys, and fictional characters, Disney is the epitome of children’s entertainment. Disney serves as one of the largest sources of entertainment to Americans, which is why it reigns as a commercial success and influence in our country. According to Henry Giroux, a popular critic of the Walt Disney Company, Disney’s immenseRead MoreDiversity at Disney5774 Words   |  24 Pages1 Disney Disney 2 For more than nine decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today s global corporation, Disney continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world. The company is diversified, focusing on its mass media headquartered in

Article Critiques on Counseling Theory Free Essays

The conduct and process of psychoanalysis are sometimes defined by selfobject transferences that ‘mirror’ the true mind and feeling of the person concerned. In the first example, it is revealed that patients sometimes express ‘cross-sectional snapshot’ when they crave for recognition or admiration, as an effect of not feeling proud with their accomplishments. This ‘opening move’ would progress towards a convergence and then would progress resolutely, while the psychoanalyst deals with the pathognomonic selfobject transference that is reflected in the analytic atmosphere, to come up with the development of ‘trust’ and a ‘feeling of safety’. We will write a custom essay sample on Article Critiques on Counseling Theory or any similar topic only for you Order Now Analytic relationship needs contribution from each of the individuals, which is why, in the process, accepting, understanding and explaining past experiences are detrimental for a successful psychoanalysis. Understanding the fantasies, needs and demands leads to empathy. In the second example, it was described how patients’ responsiveness stems from accepting ‘their’ reality (Ornstein, 1998, par. 22) as well as accepting ‘their’ meanings and functions of reality (Ornstein, 1998, par. 24). PREMISE: The process of empathy is the best way to conduct clinical psychoanalysis. PROCEDURE: Centrality of the concept of the selfobject transferences was emphasized by means of defining the nature of the process, by focusing on the experiences of the patients, and by coming up with some general statements made out of the details. FINDINGS: Empathy and selfobject transferences are the basis of self psychology. REACTION: This is reasonably true, since psychological treatment can only be successful with both ends (or individuals) meeting at a common point. ARTICLE: Ornstein, P. H. (1998). My current view of the psychoanalytic process. Retrieved April 2, 2007, from the Psychology of the Self database: http://www. selfpsychology. com/1998conf/abstracts/pre_Conference_Ornstein. htm. Article Critique #2: Existential theory SUMMARY: The essence of the soul rests on ‘self-motion’, while its reversal rests on passivity (Riker, 2003, par. 13). As disintegrating forces would lead to passivity, then ethical breaks the repression made by passivity, so that there is self-motion and life in the soul. As reason and virtues control desires and emotions, then it leads to growth, development and actualization. However, in the modern concept of the soul’s life, â€Å"[l]ife is that which must disrupt itself in order to live† (Raiker, 2003, par. 18). It must be a free spirit that lives with the will-to-power soul of a child, which exceedingly values life itself†¦ the willingness to live, as life is the motion of the soul. This defines chaos as the proper breeding of a soul’s life, meaning that the most alive soul in the modern era is the ‘alienated individual’ that experiences struggle and isolation. HYPOTHESIS: There are different versions on how a soul may be able to achieve its life to the fullest, some of which are under self-motion, passivity and chaos. PROCEDURE: Findings come from the classical and modern conceptions of the soul’s life, as well as some ecological resolutions. FINDINGS: Classical theories are very much opposite to the modern theories of today. What deeply nourishes the life of the soul now appears to be under the event of chaos and disruption. But as this means developing a self or ‘I’ that is capable of living in reality without repression or submission, the soul should choose its own way of living, which may be a multitude of various ways and paths. REACTION: I agree that diversity should be valued by all means. This implies that there is no single way in which a soul may live to the fullest. It depends on state of reality. ARTICLE: Riker, J. H. (2003). The life of the soul: an essay in ecological thinking. Retrieved April 2, 2007, from the Psychology of the Self Online database: http://www. psychologyoftheself. com/papers/riker. htm. Article References: Ornstein, P. H. (1998). My current view of the psychoanalytic process. Retrieved April 2, 2007, from the Psychology of the Self database: http://www. selfpsychology. com/1998conf/abstracts/pre_Conference_Ornstein. htm. Riker, J. H. (2003). The life of the soul: an essay in ecological thinking. Retrieved April 2, 2007, from the Psychology of the Self Online database: http://www. psychologyoftheself. com/papers/riker. htm. How to cite Article Critiques on Counseling Theory, Papers

DEES NUTS Essay Example For Students

DEES NUTS Essay What student writing their school reports has any time to wait around!? Not you ..RIGHT When you MUST order something and you MUST receive it FAST . ..the answer is simple essays-termpapers2GO!! Its true for a pizza .. .Chinese food or a sample college report and we know that!! And thats the sole purpose for creating this service called . ..ESSAYS-TERMPAPERS2GO.COM. We can provide those model college reports FAST and 2 GO!!! NO matter what the topic that your essay term paper . ..or report is on .. ..you can get it 2GO RIGHT NOW!! The reports are available for fast hot delivery to your door step or computer via email .. .fax or Federal Express. So start RIGHT NOW and search our database of 35,000+ example college reports and CLICK the ORDER button and get it 2 GO RIGHT NOW!! TERMPAPERS2GO.COM is always ready to deliver .. .24 hours a day 365 days per year!!! How do we do it you ask!!! Simplewe have the experience to make it happen. Since 1994 the writers and researchers at TERMPAPERS2GO have created more than 35,000 model term papers . ..helping students with EVERY subject imaginable! And theyre all listed right here .. .on this website just waiting 2GO !! No matter what the topic is they are ONLY $9. 95 /page and that includes a FREE bibliography. Not only are we good fast ..and accurate!!! dont forget TERMPAPERS2GO.COM will deliver the same day you order! Were working for you 24-7 here at TERMPAPERS2GO.COM the worlds leading student assistance service on the Internet .helping college students 24 hours a day!!! SO GO NOW and enter a keyword or topic in the search box hit the enter key on your computer and youll see an entire listing of TERMPAPERS2GO.COM college reports that are ready 2 GO!!!

Return Of Native Essays - Thomas Hardy, The Return Of The Native

Return Of Native The entire opening chapter of The Return of the Native is devoted to a lengthy description of Egdon Heath, the setting of the novel. The heath must be significant in terms of the themes and the continue progress of the novel. The author of the novel, Thomas Hardy, made the heath so significant to the point that it can be look upon as a character like any other in the novel. The heath's constant correlation with the plot and its "personality" even transformed it into the major antagonist of the story. In the opening chapter the heath is introduced just as how a major character of most novels would be introduced with detail. In fact, the way Hardy devoted the entire first chapter just to describe it gives it the level of importance that is over any other characters in the book. This seems to suggest that the heath is like the"ruler" of the story, it is the King, and it is more powerful than any person is. The heath demonstrates the idea that fate is more powerful than the desires of individuals. This theme can be seems throughout the novel. The biggest effect of this theme is on Eustacia. The fact that Clym delayed sending his letter to Eustacia, coupled with the fact that Captain Vye unwittingly kept the letter from Eustacia until it was too late, suggests that perhaps destiny is against her. It is under the downpour of the rain, on the rugged heath where Eustacia laments her fate. Eustacia's own remark, "how destiny is against me!" (354) and "I have been injured and blighted and crushed by things beyond my control!" (354) affirm the existence of such a force, the power of fate. On Egdon Heath, night and darkness comes before its "astronomical hour" (11). This presents the idea of Egdon Heath's unchangeable place in time. This early arrival of darkness gives Egdon Heath a sense of gloom. Dominance of darkness is clearly ominous and Hardy also says of the heath that it could "retard the dawn, sadden noon...and intensify the opacity of a moonless midnight to a cause of shaking and dread" (11-12). It is also inferred that the Heath itself creates the darkness "the heath exhaling darkness as rapidly as the heavens precipitated it" (12). This description of the Heath gives it not only a human like, but in fact, a monster-like quality. We see an image of a giant creature of darkness breathing out darkness. The atmosphere or tone created here is verging on evilness. The Heath is as hostile as it is gloomy. The place is "full of a watchful intentness...for when other things sank brooding to sleep the heath appeared slowly to awake and listen" (12). The Heath is personified as some sort of nocturnal predator and in the later progress of the novel, we see that the Heath is indeed hostile, perhaps"indifferent" would be the appropriate adjective, to the characters. Mrs.Yeobright's journey across the Heath after being turned away by Eustacia comes to mind. The conditions of the Heath under which Mrs.Yeobright makes her journey is described as "a torrid attack" (260) and "the sun had branded the whole heath with its mark" (260). "Brand" suggests pain and possibly torture and we find this is not far from the truth when Mrs.Yeobright makes her ill-fated return journey. However, the Heath is at its most hostile and cruel in darkness. It is in the middle of the night that the climax of the tragedy is reached, as Eustacia commits suicide amid the ferocity of the storm. In the opening chapter there is a forewarning of this, as we learn of the Heath that"the storm was its lover and the wind its friend" (13). As mentioned before, it is appropriate to describe the Heath as 'indifferent'. There is a feeling of helplessness that runs through the novel, as the characters fall prey to chance or fate. The tone is ironic, because we are watching the actions of the characters with superior knowledge. For instance, Clym's blaming himself for his mother's death is ironical: he does not know the conditions responsible for it and he is unaware that his mother did indeed call on him. It is possible to read this helplessness and irony as a result of the Heath's indifference to the characters. It is also an intended theme: man lives his life in a universe that is at least indifferent to him and may be hostile. The opening chapter is without doubt the

Compare and Contrast Scientific Rationality and Religious Belief

Compare and Contrast Scientific Rationality and Religious Belief Free Online Research Papers Like worst enemies and best friends, there are between science and religion as many binds as ruptures/breaks whether approaching or separating them with shared similarities and contrasts. In a general way, science addresses to the observable and physical world understanding through rational thought, generating hypotheses and testing them by means of experimentation and scientific method. Conversely, religion concerns more with the invisible order that gives meaning to the visible world, demanding the acceptance of truth according only to faith and belief, whether proven or disproved. Although apparently contradictory they both share a similar end, understanding the surrounding world, through different abstract means, rationality or belief. But then to what extent do these means differ from each other? Doesn’t science entails a kind of â€Å"religious† belief in rationality and the validity of scientific rules and methods? And isn’t religion just a kind of metaphysical rationality that also systematizes and intellectualizes the world through meaningful â€Å"hypothesis†? The answer to these questions requires as much rationality as belief for each question entails multiple answers and each answer bears a new question, according to the psychological, historical, social and cultural lens through which one looks at the phenomena. Comparisons between science and religion are as divergent and varied as that amount of scholars concerned with it. For this reason, I’ll try to interpret some of these thoughts, drawing the affinities and collisions that link or exclude religion from science and vice-versa, and ideally reach or, at least, search for a personal meaning yet rooted in a kernel of doubt: Both gods and doubt are widespread, transversal (if not universal) aspects of culture, the result not of inbuilt processes but of the interaction between language-using human beings and their social and natural environment (†¦) this fact is part of the social universe that humanity creates for itself by the very use of language, a universe which re-presents experience in a totally transforming way and always contains a kernel of doubt. (Goody (1996):679) Faithfully rational or rationally faithful? The truth is that science is organized like any other discourse, on the basis of a conventional logic, but it demands for its justification, like any other ideological discourse, a real â€Å"objective† reference, in a process of substance. (†¦) Science accounts for things previously encircled and formalized so as to be sure to obey it. â€Å"Objectivity† is nothing else than that, and the ethic which comes to sanction this objective knowledge is nothing less than a system of defence and imposed ignorance, whose goal is to preserve this vicious circle intact. â€Å"Down with all hypotheses that have allowed the belief in a true world†, said Nietzsche. (Baudrillard, 1983: 114-115) In the beginning of the eighteen century the world assists to turbulent and agitated times where change and progress were the ruling words. A era of great revolutions with the collapse of monarchies and empires; a time of great social experience and intense intellectual curiosity; the sprouting of nation states, democracy and market economy, in short, an unstable and changing century woven by dramatic transformations, which altogether enlightened humankind by showing it paths hitherto obscured and unseen. It was in the Enlightenment that reason and rationality shone upon men and its history, giving birth to a new era of rationalisation, secularisation, mechanisation and market rationality. Several thinkers were debating the definition of this new era, and all of them shared the optimistic vision and utopian hope that things were infinitely progressing towards an ideal of unlimited improvement, driven by science and its rationality. According to Kant’s metanarrative, men would finally attain freedom through the exercise of scientific reason, which understood the phenomena of the natural world through the categories of understanding (Morris (1987): 56). He believed that in the earlier stage people find it easier to be told what to do instead of reason by themselves, and therefore they were ruled by kings, emperors or church leaders. At some point of the future, people would learn to exercise reason and religion would no longer determine people’s choices, because they would be able to make take responsibility by themselves and finally reach freedom. Later on Hegel envisions the demise of religion considering it as just an absolute idea, our imperfect way of knowing that we can be better, that is to say, a kind of vehicle through which humanity could contemplate the ideal aspired. And finally Nietzsche announces that â€Å"God is dead† and the world once enlightened begins to be â€Å"disench anted†, as Webber puts it, by the increasing systematization of religious ideas and concepts, the growth of ethical rationalism, and the progressive decline of ritual and â€Å"magical† elements in religion (Morris, B. (1987): 69). Without defining such a complex phenomena as religion, Webber notes that supernatural belief is primordial and universal since it is present in all early forms of society. He considered rationalisation as typical of western society and the core of modernity, inciting abstracts, calculative, logical and empirical ways of looking at reality. This rationality entails a â€Å"legal-rational authority† in industrial society whereby explicit, intellectually calculable rules and procedures are systematized and specified, and increasingly substituted for sentiment and tradition. (ibid: 68). The protestant Ethic and the spirit of Capitalism of Webber is a wonderful example of how rationality and faith might be more connected and complementary that contrary to each other. Here, he draws the elective affinity between certain forms of religious thought and certain kinds of economics structures and activities, namely the ascetic ethic of Protestantism and the intellectual rationality of capitalism: One of the fundamental elements of the spirit of modern capitalism, and not only of that but of all modern culture: rational conduct on the basis of the idea of the calling, was born (†¦) from the spirit of Christian asceticism.(†¦)For when asceticism was carried out of monastic cells into everyday life, and began to dominate worldly morality, it did its part in building the tremendous cosmos of the modern economic order.(†¦) Today the spirit of religious asceticism (†¦) has escaped from the cage. But victorious capitalism, since it rests on mechanical foundations, needs its support no longer. (Lambek (2002): 58-59) Differently from this individualism incited by a religious ethic, Durkheim emphasizes the social function of religion in binding people together in moral terms. Following the evolutionary assumption that to understand the whole organism you must first study each cell, Durkheim argued that a complex religion such as Christianity should first be studied from its most primitive and simple form – totemism. He found in totemism a notion of an impersonal power or force – the totemic principle – that was represented by a totem and its symbol as a way of categorising how the group fits in the â€Å"greater† world of nature. This symbolic object, the totem, recognised by everyone and evoked through ritual, unleashed a strong and powerful religious sentiment that linked people together as a group. Therefore, the totem is the emblem of the group who, through religious ritual, is exhilarated by a collective force giving them a belonging and secure feeling among them. The strength of this collective solidarity, created by religion, is perceived as an impersonal and external force that leads people to perceive it as God’s creation, when actually God is nothing but the clan/group itself, personified and represented into their imaginations in the visible and tangible form of the Totem: God is only a figurative expression of the society and, therefore, all social phenomena are religious in nature because they unify people around a symbol in moral terms. In this way, Durkheim thought religion was best understood as â€Å"metaphorical and symbolic† and that the concrete and living reality that it expressed was the social group. (Morris (1987): 119-120), which in turn leads us to its definition of religion as a unified system of beliefs and pratices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them (†¦) religion must be an eminently collective thing(Lambek (2002): 46) Durkeim’s approach to religion, as a social phenomena with countable causes and implications, opposes to the intellectualists’ categorization of knowledge in evolutionary terms, for example, the evolutionary scheme drawn by Frazer that begins in magic, as a primitive science, followed by religion, considered a bad science and finally ending in science. This kind of categorization leads to discrimination of so called â€Å"primitive† tribes as irrational and in The Savage Mind, Levi-Strauss, following Durkheim’s thought, plainly argues against this ethnocentric view: Magical thought is not to be regarded as a beginning, a rudiment, a sketch, a part of a whole which was not yet materialised. It forms a well-articulated system, and is in this respect independent of that other system which constitutes science, except for the purely formal analogy which brings them together and makes the former a sort of metaphorical expression of the latter. It is therefore better, instead of contrasting magic and science, to compare them as two parallel modes of acquiring knowledge. (Levi-Strauss(1972): 13). Levi-Strauss concerns in demonstrate the systematical observational knowledge of the natural world within preliterate societies, which largely supersedes their organic or economic needs. Thus, religious thought is, like science, preoccupied with an intellectual understanding of the world but through different logics and applied to different types of phenomena: one is supremely abstract and relates to modern science and rationality, the other is analogical and supremely concrete and relates to magico-religious thought: (†¦) there are two distinct modes of scientific thought (†¦): one roughly adapted to that of perception and the imagination: the other at a remove from it. It is as if the necessary connections which are the object of all science, Neolithic or modern, could be arrived at by two different routes, one very close to, and the other more remote from, sensible intuition. (Levi-Strauss (1972): 15) He defines mythical thought as a kind of bricolage where the savage, in search for a meaning, builds up structures by connecting together the remains of the events which he restlessly orders and re-orders imprisoned in the events and experiences. Differently, science operates by creating means and results in the form of events through hypothesis and theories which are its structures: (†¦) the scientist creating events (changing the world) by means of structures and the â€Å"bricoleur† creating structures by means of events (Levi-Strauss (1972): 22) Although being imprisoned in the events mythical thought also acts as a liberator that refutes the idea, assumed by science, that anything can be meaningless. Agreeing with Levi-Strauss that symbolic mechanism is the â€Å"bricouleur† of the mind, Sperber, in Rethinking symbolism, proposes an alternative to semiological views of symbolism. He assumes that human mind has various forms of thought and distinguishes encyclopaedia knowledge, related to the concrete world, from the symbolical thought. Symbolical though is a universal feature of human mind, that deals with things outside the domain of our knowledge and experience; thus we resort to it when ordinary reasoning is insufficient like, for instance, towards the existence of God: it isn’t verifiable but we build a mental picture and construct hypothesis of what he is like. Thus, symbolical domain is like a reservation where we put things that are not certain for us, until such a time we may be able to decide whether it is true or not: (†¦) the symbolic mechanism does not try to decode the information it processes. It is precisely because this information has partly escaped the conceptual code (†¦)that it is, in the final analysis, submitted to it.(†¦) A representation is symbolic precisely to the extent that it is not entirely explicable, that is to say, expressible by semantic means. (pg113). In a way, symbolical thinking, on which all religion is based, is the second representation of a conceptual representation, i.e., the new object created by the symbolic mechanism when the conceptual one fails in integrating information into acquired knowledge. To this assumed objectiveness of conceptual and scientific knowledge opposed to the subjectiveness of symbolical thought, Bourdieu suggests that science is not as objective as it assumes to be. He legitimely asserts that, within the field of science, there are all kinds of social hierarchies and structures which decide what can be studied, what can be said, who is a legitimate scientist and who isn’t†¦thus, the objectiveness presumed by science is as conditioned to power relations as religion itself: Scientific thought has no foundation other than the collective belief in its foundations that the very functioning of the scientific field produces and presupposes. (†¦) finds its basis in the totality of the institutional mechanism ensuring the social and academic selection of legitimate scholars (†¦), the training of the agents selected, and control over acess to the instrument of research and publication, etc. (Bourdieu (1991): 8-9) While Bourdieu talks about the social side of scientific establishment and religion, Gell is more concerned about the human mind and how both magic and technology are rooted in a similar way of thinking. Defining technology as those forms of social relationships which make it socially necessary to produce, distribute and consume goods and services using technical processes (Gell (1988) : 6), Gell distinguishes different types of techonologies – productive, reproductive and of enchantment. This latter is like magic and exploits psychological biases so as to enchant the other person and cause him/her to perceive social reality in a way favourable to the social interests of the enchanter (ibid: 7). Like magic, technology is also enchanted since it derives from the idea of achieving something without any effort or labour, aiming to make everything magically easy; therefore, they are both rooted in the creative and playful side of human mind that imagines something that has never e xisted before and puts it into practice: It is technology which sustains magic, even as magic inspires fresh technical efforts. The magical apotheosis of ideal, costless, production is to be attained technically, because magical production is only a very flattering image of the production which is actually achievable by technical means. (Gell (1988): 9) So it is evident that also in our society, although purged from supernatural forces, new forms of magic exist, for example, advertising that mythologizes commodities with unlimited possibilities and inventions: And if we no longer recognize magic explicitly, it is because technology and magic, for us, are one and the same (Gell (1988): 9) Charles Taylor’s Rationality and Relativism also provides a very cultural relativist approach towards the rationality of science. He shows how science is a very peculiar and unique phenomenon rooted in particular traditions of thought and historical conditions. He makes us see how science, rather than religion, constitutes a bizarre outlook of reality, developed from the strange attempt to theorise the world and progressively separating ourselves from it. Thus, he concerns with knowing if there are valid, universal standards of rationality and to what extent can we make transcultural judgments of rationality. He defines rationality by a logical consistency and articulation of ideas which demand for an activity of theoretical understanding, inherent to Western’s legacy from ancient Greece: (†¦) we have a rational grasp of something when we can articulate it, that means, distinguish and lay out the different features of the matter in perspicuous order. (Taylor (1982): 90) By this preoccupation of describing the world through reasoning and creating a theoretical framework of comprehension we intend to achieve a â€Å"disengaged perspective†: We are not trying to understand things merely as they impinge on us, or are relevant to the purposes we are pursuing, but rather grasp them as they are, outside the immediate perspective of our goals and desires and activities. (†¦) we come to distinguish this disengaged perspective from our ordinary stances of engagement, and that one values it as offering a higher – or in some sense superior – view of reality. (Taylor (1982): 89) Therefore, by our own standards of a theoretical culture, we tempt to judge other cultures that show a complete disinterest of a theoretical knowledge from the world. But, as Taylor asks, ‘why must the universe exhibit some meaningful order (†¦)?†. There are simply different ways of engaging to the world: a theoretical way, through the scientific study of reality, and an atheoretical way, â€Å"in which we try to come to terms with the world (Taylor (1982): 97) and assume a meaningful order. The first, at the core of modern science, purges any expressive dimensions or meaningful order by the understanding laws of physical nature and its technological control; the second, underlying primitive magic, links together knowledge and wisdom, that is to say, understanding the world and attuning with it: Science could only be carried on by a kind of ascesis, where we discipline ourselves to register the way things are without regards to the meanings they might have for us. (Taylor (1982): 97) Before these differences one can make ethnocentric judgments of superiority arguing that western science and technology are more successful in mastering the world and attaining its aims, but it is also a fact that we have been made progressively more estranged from ourselves and our world in technological civilization (Taylor (1982): 103). Thus, whatever judgments of superiority are made, scientific rationality and magico-religious belief are, not only different standards of reality, but also incommensurable perspectives and activities. In a similar way, Tambiah questions the notion and limits of rationality itself and criticizes science for being a carrier of Western ideology that serves the interest of elite. In Magic, science, religion and the scope of rationality he concerns with the demarcation, differentiation and overlap of this different ways of understanding the world, offering a brief historical account from early Christianity to the nineteenth century. He starts by asking himself: How do we understand and represent the modes of thought and action of other societies, other cultures? Since we have to undertake this task from a Western baseline so to say, how are we to achieve â€Å"the translation of cultures†, i.e., understand other cultures (Tambiah (1990): 3) With this in mind, he criticizes the division between religion and magic, made by early anthropologists, arguing that it derived from the Judaeo-Christian and Greek thought biases, inherited by Western thought; so, since other religions lack this distinction, it is not fair to assume that religion and magic are separate. He notes that even the Greeks did not completely separate magic from science and religion because, although science arose from magical practices when people began to perceive nature and natural laws, instead of God, as the ground of all causality, they still believed that the divine principle pervaded all phenomena. Therefore, the evolutionary distinction of â€Å"religion† from â€Å"magic† is clearly political, for it supports racism and the discrimination of primitive cultures by western colonizers. In this way he notes the â€Å"faith† inherent to scientific rationality: A commitment to the notion of nature as the ground of causality, of nature as a uniform domain subject to regular laws, can function as a belief system without its guaranteeing a verified â€Å"objective truth† as modern science may define it. In other words, the appeal to â€Å"nature† or â€Å"science† can serve as a legitimation of a belief and action system like any other ideological and normative system. (Tambiah (1990): 10) Similarly to Taylor, Tambiah also regards to magico-religious practices and science as different attempts of people to act upon the world and change it, suggesting that they should be seen as different things with different goals and means to achieve them. Magic hasn’t the purpose to admit hypothesis and verify them, instead, it only makes symbolic statements that express the desired results; besides that, magical ritual cannot be disproved as scientific experiments. Thus, magic and religion rely on symbolic thought and action and have a particular and universal way of thinking analogical thought. Analogical thought is a kind of wishful thought, because it consists in observing a similarity between two things, make hypothesis according to that similarity and simply assume it instead of, like science, test it to find whether it is valid or not. Like Bourdieu, Tambiah also argues that magic and religion are not academic subjects but things that people do, therefore, they can only be understood within the context of people’s lives. In academia there are intellectual biases that tempt scholars to subtract things from practice and experience in order to exam them, but magical or religious beliefs are not meant literally, because they are non-literal symbolical and performative actions, related to cosmology and metaphysical concerns: The distinctive feature of religion as a generic concept lies not in the domain of belief and its â€Å"rational accounting† of the workings of the universe, but in a special awareness of the transcendent, and the acts of symbolic communication that attempt to realize that awareness and live by its promptings (Tambiah (1990): 16) Bourdieu also adverts to the social implications of a scholastic point of view, that determines and subdues our way of looking at a particular phenomenon, and entails a certain theoretical adjustment to the reality itself: Thus what (†¦)all those whose professions is to think and/or speak about the world have the most chance of overlooking are the social presuppositions that are inscribed in the scholastic point of view (†¦)the unconscious dispositions, productive of unconscious theses, which are acquired through an academic or scholastic experience(†¦) (Bourdieu (1991) : 381) Finally, he also suggests that science is not as objective as it assumes to be, asserting legitimely that, within the field of science, there are all kinds of social hierarchies and structures which decide what can be studied, what can be said, who is a legitimate scientist and who isn’t†¦thus, the objectiveness presumed by science is as conditioned to intrinsic power relations as religion itself: Scientific thought has no foundation other than the collective belief in its foundations that the very functioning of the scientific field produces and presupposes. (†¦)the totality of the institutional mechanism ensuring the social and academic selection of legitimate scholars (†¦), the training of the agents selected, and control over acess to the instrument of research and publication, etc. (Bourdieu (1991): 8-9) Overall, in spite of the lack of agreement between all these different perspectives and ideas, there is one thing that they all account for: how these cultural variations prove that religion still remains an essential facet of the human mind and how, far from being disenchanted, our modern world creates its own enchantments where religion, â€Å"re-semantized† in new contexts, remains an integral part of these multiple modernities. Conclusion: From this evidence, I tend to think that both science and religion are a way of giving sense to the world we perceive, that both result from the human demand for ordering and giving meaning to the apparent chaos of the world and both entail a kind of intellectual exclusion from the world in order to be included in it, through a distance that allows us to analyse and understanding it better, like we distance ourselves from a painting in order to contemplate it better. Nevertheless, scientific rationality tries to achieve this by changing the world and its surrounding nature, by mastering it according to the insatisfactions, desires and needs that disquiet human beings through a rational and systematical understanding applied in technology. Differently, religious belief achieves this, not by changing the external world, but instead by changing the world within ourselves, changing that same disturbing insatisfactions, needs and desires through a metaphysical and meaningful knowledge applied in a moral discipline. So, while the former tries to â€Å"tidy up† the exterior world by changing its disposition through knowledge of the external and physical order; the latter concerns in tiding up the interior world we perceive with knowledge of the interior and spiritual order. In short, while science and rationality leads us to master the world and modifying it to the shape of our needs, religion and belief teach us how to master ourselves and modify ourselves to the shape of the world we live in; the former revolutionizes, the latter conforms. Also, science tends to be more auto-destructive, in the sense that the emergence of a paradigm entails its surpassing by a new one, whereas religion, although suffering changes from a re-contextualization and â€Å"re-semanthization†, tends to an idealistic stabilization and immutability that, because it is disproved, excludes a constant testing and verification. Nevertheless, for all this reason it seems to me that religion and science are not as contradictory as they are complementary to one another, since a merely inner speculation can leads us to stagnation, while a merely outer one might increase infinitely our insatisfaction. By this I mean that it seems to be a preoccupant unlevelling between our scientific-technological development and our ethical-moral progression, since the former evolves at an incredibly fast pace that the latter not always follows. And I think dramatic events such as the ones assisted recently by terrorism are a clear prove of that. But even most illustrative for me is what happened in Hiroshima sixty years ago, which alarmingly shows how we, as human beings, might not yet be prepared to hold the incommensurable power that science and technology put uncontrollably at our disposal. Thus, I think it is crucial to think as Webber did of â€Å"science as a vocation† and questioning it as our rationality once di d with religion: Natural science gives us an answer to the question of what we must do if we wish to master life technically. It leaves quite aside, or assumes for its purposes, whether we should and do wish to master life technically and whether it ultimately makes sense to do so. (pg8) As Weber observes, science preoccupies itself with the field of techniques and technologies aiming to control life, rather then looking for its meaning. Science explains but lacks of significance, providing only a meaningless and disenchanted interpretation of the world on behalf of its rational understanding. Instead, religion entails the intellectual sacrifice of knowing without explaining, of believing on unconditional devotion on behalf of a meaningful knowledge. To this I add the notion that as religion entails this intellectual sacrifice so science entails a spiritual sacrifice of attuning with the world. Returning to the painting comparison, science can explains us every concrete detail of the painting materials, the exact way in which the painter moved his brush and the perfect examination of the canvas’s state but in this rational, analytical and systematical observation it failed the most important thing – to contemplate and passionately penetrate in its beaut y, perfectly understanding it instead of imperfectly explain it. What then is it more valuable and worthier: to know without believing or to believe with knowing? A meaningless explanation or a unexplained meaning? I think the answer is in between, where scientific rationality and religious belief blend with each other in a â€Å"faithfull† rationality that believes and a â€Å"rational† faith that explains – a â€Å"love poem† yet to be written in the history of humankind and re-enchant the world†¦ BIBLIOGRAPHY Christian Blog Site. 2007. Daily Shepherd – Christian Blog Site. dailyshepherd.com Baudrillard (1983) Simulations. New York : Semiotext[e] Bourdieu, Pierre (1991) The peculiar history of scientific reason Sociological Forum 6 (1) Bourdieu, Pierre (1990) The Scholastic Point of view in Cultural Anthropology 5 (4) (Nov.1990), pp. 380-391 Dan, Sperber (1974) Rethinking Symbolism Gell, Alfred (1988) â€Å"Techonology and Magic† in Anthropology Today 4 (2) : 6-9 Goody, Jack (1996) A kernel of doubt in The Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute, vol.2, No.4 Levi-Strauss, Claude (1972) The Savage Mind, London: Weidenfeld Nicolson Lambek, M. (ed.) (2002) A reader in the Anthropology of Religion Oxford : Blackwell Morris, Brian (1987) Anthropological studies of religion: an introductory text New York : Cambridge University Press Tambiah, Stanley J. (1990) Magic, science, Religion and the Scope of Rationality Taylor, C. (1982) Rationality. In Rationality and relativism Hollis M. S. Lukes eds Weber, Max (2001) A à ©tica protestante e o espirito do capitalismo Lisboa : Editorial Presenà §a Research Papers on Compare and Contrast Scientific Rationality and Religious BeliefCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMind TravelResearch Process Part OneCapital Punishment

An Annotated Bibliography Niccolo Machiavelli Politics Essay

An Annotated Bibliography Niccolo Machiavelli Politics Essay 1. Colish, Marcia L., â€Å"The Idea of Liberty in Machiavelli,† Journal of the History of Ideas 32 (1971):323-50 According to Colish it is incorrect to interpret Machiavelli as immoralist and the defender of the state arbitrariness. Formulating rules of political success, he at the same time establishes moral frameworks of political activity. He clearly shows that the policy considering certain moral restrictions can be really successful. It is a special sort of restriction: their unique appointment to subordinate will of a The Prince to well-being and power of the state and to make so that he aspired not to own, and to general welfare and cared not of the successors. 2. Fiore, Silvia Ruffo, Niccolà ³ Machiavelli: An Annotated Bibliography of Modern Criticism and Scholarship, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1990 Those studying Niccolo Machiavelli has developed the directory where many works have entered, books, Renaissance articles which has deeply affected developm ent of modern thought. A necessary source for researches of scientists and critics. There are many useful works of different time period. 3. Gilbert, Felix, â€Å"The Humanist Conception of the Prince and The Prince of Machiavelli,† Journal of Modern History 11 (1939): 449-83 â€Å"The Prince†, at least, explicit, is the tyranny encyclopedia where to the future tyrant almost divine mission of long-awaited clearing of Italy is attributed, and  «Reasonings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ » – the manifesto republicy and a panegyric of democracy which is repeatedly proclaimed the absolute kind of a state system. And if contest of such treatment  «Reasonings à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ » demands known sophistical refinement the register research (and it is equal also amateurish) the opinions ever expressing the original maintenance of â€Å"The Prince†, will combine theses so dissimilar that it becomes difficult to believe as if their authors indeed expressed the same product. Th e first condemnation Machiavelli as advocate of the tyranny, aspiring to catch Medici’s arrangement, suppressors of Florentine freedom, have sounded at once after an exit of â€Å"The Prince† to the public. 4. John M. Najemy, The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli, Cambridge University Press, 2010 Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) is the most known and disputable person in the politician of an epoch of the Renaissance. Cambridge Partner Machiavelli opens sixteen original essays which have been developed by known critics, tell about his life, career on a post of the politician in the government, his reaction to drama changes which mentioned Florence and Italy in his whole life, his thought, sights at development, and corruption of republics and princedoms, class disagreements, religious discrepancies, and dialogue Concerning Renaissance with olden time. Machiavelli after long disputes and various opinions recognised as the great figure of the epoch who has supported usual human wisdom. 5 Jusim M. A. Ethics of Machiavelli. à Ã…“, 1990. Differently, the morals are interpreted by it as one of state mechanisms. According to M.A.Jusim the state and morals in concept Machiavelli is mono-ordered, and â€Å"historically and logically the state and morals have the general origin†. With it, taking into consideration as description Machiavelli of an origin of morals and the state, and its instructions that thanking the state to the established laws in the people kind customs are supported, it would be possible to agree, – if not definition Machiavelli of good and harm through the relation to political authority. However, in this respect it is impossible to recognize sights Machiavelli absolutely clear. Both in â€Å"The Prince† and in â€Å"Reasoning† he repeatedly specifies in national morals as the state system factor on certain type, as a source of a fortress and well-being of the state.

Business Analytics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Analytics - Coursework Example From SPSS’s output on table 1 under Appendix A, the number of respondents that took part in the survey are 332 using varying scales to code their responses. For the word of mouth (WOM), the minimum and maximum values for testing included 1 and 7 respectively while that of trust and attitude was 1 & 7 and 1 & 9 respectively. However, for the age and monthly income, it shows that the minimum age of the participants was 18 years and the maximum was 72 years while the minimum and maximum monthly income was 400 and 10000 respectively. The mean for word of mouth, trust, and attitude is 3.34, 3.35, and 5.12 respectively indicating that the responses were not skewed to the left or the right. This situation shows that respondents showed almost equal distribution around very high and very low account of WOM, trust, and attitudes. The mean age for the respondents was 35.10 year coupled with a standard deviation from the mean of  ±13.898 (14 years). Lastly, the mean and standard deviati on from the mean for monthly income for the respondents is $1893.07 and $1355.696 respectively. With relation to regression analysis, table 3 under Appendix B shows the r-squared value of 0.183 with an adjusted value of 0.170. This means that monthly income, trust, age, attitude, and word of mouth have a low correlation of 18.3% with an adjusted correlation of 17%. Under R-Squared, this values show that the benchmark expectation and the output do not correlate effectively and therefore, the tested variables do not move in the same direction do not respond to the benchmark values (see full SPSS output under Appendix B). The interpretation of the output considered the regressions predictor which shows the differences in response per unit. The total responses and the respondents are 332 which in relation to the output, the constant shows the valid number of responses. This, in addition,

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

Discussion - Assignment Example Real asset lower risks of portfolio and is able to guarantee better returns in the future. Real asset provide diversification opportunity in investment. According to (Brigham & Houston, 2001) the value attached to real asset is a bit stable putting it in the investment portfolio along with shares diversification on the portfolio is achieved. This help in case the value of shares dwindles then one is able to still get returns from the real assets. The cost of maintaining real assets makes it expensive. The real asset needs to have an insurance cover against possible risks. This additional expense makes it too expensive to invest in as compared to bonds and share they don’t have such additional expenses. The unit cost of any real asset is expensive thus limiting the number of people who can invest in these assets. Unit cost of share is normally lower and a good number of people can afford to invest in them. This form of investment is different from the common traditional way of investment i.e. cash, bonds and shares (Hirt & Block, 2012). This form of investment includes hedge fund, real estate, private equity, exchange funds and managed futures. This form of investment doesn’t have a fixed-income. Alternative investment is less transparent and complex this feature makes it difficult to less trained investors because of its complexity in restrictions. Alternative investment has the capability to improve the risk and return trade-off. The low correlation between the alternative investment and the conservative known form of investment enhances the diversification of the portfolio thus reducing the risk associated. Another characteristic that makes alternative investment be able to diversify the portfolio to reduce risks is the ability to be more flexible enabling an investor to invest in a set of opportunity that can give better returns. Private equity is a form of

North and South Korea CBA Essay Example for Free

North and South Korea CBA Essay The Korean peninsula is divided into two separate countries, North and South. Looking at both countries you can see the differences. North Korea and South Korea may share the same land but have different outtakes on their economic views, political beliefs, and even social conditions. Before North and South Korea there was just the Korean Peninsula. Korea was ruled by many countries even Japan and China. While in control of Korea, Japan grew hungry for power, and because of this a war started between Korea and the Soviet Union. â€Å"In the North the Japanese troops surrendered to Soviet forces and in the south of the peninsula the Japanese surrendered to American troops† (Beck542). By the end of 1953 the war had ended and the Korean peninsula had completely been separated. Because of this action North and South Korea share a land with two different cultures and traditions. Economically, 35 percent of North Koreans work on farms (CIA7), while in South Korea only 7.3 percent of the population work on farms (CIA7). The other 65 percent of the North Korean population work in industrial businesses. These industrial businesses include building machines, military products, and mining (CIA7). In South Korea the other 92.7 percent work in industrial businesses which includes producing automobiles, electronics, and even some chemicals (CIA7). The major difference is that North Korean work for the government. It doesn’t matter how long you work, how hard, or even if you are the top of the company, people get paid the same amount. South Korea fare better because they work for themselves and their families. South Koreans work to provide a safer environment and a better education for their children. Political domination is one reason why North Koreans work for the government. North Korea has a communist government which means that the country is ran by one di ctator, whereas in South Korea, who has a democratic government, has an election every 4 years to pick a new leader. â€Å"There is respect for the voices and minorities, and importance is given for the individual rights in a democratic government,† says Faye Boaza in here  PowerPoint â€Å"Democratic vs. Communist†, meaning that every voice and thought for the people is heard. â€Å"People are not allowed to voice their opinions in a communist government† (Boaza). North Korea government has more control over the people and basically does what they want to do or what they think is right even if the citizens do not benefit for their actions. South Korea also fares better in this category because their government hears them out before making any circuital decisions. The government has the thoughts of the people in mind and tries to do things that the people can rely on. Living in South Korea the life expectancy for males is 71 years of age, and for females 79 years of age (global Studies), while in North Korea the life expectancy for males is 65 years of age, and females72(CIA3). Just by living in South Korea you add almost 14 years to your life span. One thing that is important to North Korea is their collection of nuclear weapons. North Korea spends so much money on the Army and nuclear weapons. It seems as if the govern doesn’t even care about its people. It’s important to be militarily stable, but to spend outrageous money on the military when people are dying from starvation is not comprehensible. If people keep, dying the military will become nonexistent. One thing that is important in South Korea is education. In South Korea children and adults can get a chance to experience different cultures, traditions, and even languages. On the other hand the citizens of North Korea cannot. The government neglects the citizens of knowing the knowledge of other countries. Censoring is one of those ways. North Korea censors almost everything including the internet, television, and the newspaper down to the last word. Because South Korea has 107 airports (CIA9) people are allowed to advance the study and experience the world. North Korea, in contrast only has 77 airports (CIA9), with 2 flights out per week to Beijing (Kim205). Sometimes the government is paranoid that they want even let you back into the country. With doing this you are leaving your family cared for and leaving all your friends. South Korea is socially better because they have the authority to further their education and even go to different countries. North Korea has a hold on their people. It seems as if the people take two steps forward, the government pushes them back three steps, which is unfair. South Korea is a  better place to live because it allows its people to be free. Because of South Korea’s democratic government they are allowed to better educate the youth on things other than just South Korea. They are allowed to reach beyond the borders of the Korean Bay and study the world. North Korea has a strong hold on their people so they want know what is going on beyond the North Korean borders. This is why south Korea is better. South Korea loves and cares for its people. They seem like a family, than like a country, and that’s what makes them different form the world. North and South Korea share the same land but have many differences. Works Cited Kim, Suki. â€Å"A Visit to North Korea.† The New York Review of Books 13 February 2003: 205-210. CIA World Fact Book. CIA. 25 January 2010: 1 November 2011 http://ww.cia.gov/libraworld-factbook/geos/kn.html. CIA World Fact Book. CIA. 25 January 2010: 1 November 2011 http://ww.cia.gov/library/publications/the-factbook/geos/kn.html. Global Studies- Japan and the Pacific Rim, 7th Edition. Guilford, Connecticut: McGraw Hill/ Duskin Company  ©2005

Images and Imagery in Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

Imagery in Macbeth  Ã‚     Ã‚   Shakespeare uses a variety of techniques in order to add depth and the underlying subtext within his plays. 'Macbeth' is no exception, he uses the stark imagery of clothing, the sickening physicality of blood and the concept of darkness to communicate a number of themes.   In turn this conveys important symbols that can be found within the play.    Within 'Macbeth' the imagery of clothing portrays how Macbeth is seeking to hide his "disgraceful self" from his own eyes and those around him. Shakespeare wants to keep alive the ironical contrast between the wretched creature that Macbeth really is, and the disguises he assumes to conceal the fact. In my opinion, the reader thinks of the play honors as garments to be worn; likewise, Macbeth is constantly represented symbolically as the wearer of robes not belonging to him. He is wearing an undeserved dignity, which is a crucial point that Shakespeare has made. The description of the purpose of clothing in Macbeth is the fact that these garments are not his. This perhaps leads to the notion that Macbeth is uncomfortable in them because he is continually conscious of the fact that he is not the rightful owner.    Below we can see the way in which that Macbeth's new honors sits ill upon him, like loose and badly fitting garments, which in essence belongs to someone else:    "New honours come upon him, Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould, But with the aid of use."(Act I, iii: 144)    Specifically the use of the word 'strange' allows the reader to see how he fills uncomfortable in what he is wearing and therefore the role that he is performing.    In a Shakespearean tragedy, he is known to create a unique t... ...contrast to moments with less detailed subtext.   These depths of meanings are vitally important within Macbeth as it signifies not only character intention but plot devises that manipulate the lives we see on stage.    Works Cited and Consulted: Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada Ltd., 1991. Campbell, Lily B. Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes, Slaves of Passion. Gloucester: Peter Smith Publisher Inc., 1973.  Ã‚   Edwards, Terence. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Macbeth. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1977. Hunter, G.K. "Macbeth in the Twentieth Century." Aspects of Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scott, Mark W. (Editor).   Shakespeare for Students.   Gale Research Inc. Detroit, Michigan. 1992   

Off Shore Drilling Essay

Should the Government Expand Off Shore Drilling in the U.S.? The crude oil industry has become prominent since mid 19th century. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the development of drilling methods has brought oil into a drastically larger extent of mass production. Petroleum is one of the important extracted compositions of crude oil in the U.S. Until today, it is globally used mainly as fuels in transportation. Other uses include heating homes, powering industry, and providing raw material for plastic manufacturing. The great importance of oil to the country has led to the exploitation of its resources in the past century. Not only exploiting land resources, the government is also beginning to exploit resources under the sea. Off shore drilling is the method of extracting crude oil from the seabed. It has been a controversial issue in the U.S. of whether or not off shore drilling should be expanded. In this essay, I am comparing and contrasting the reasons why some people are supportive of off shore drilling in the U.S., and why some people are in opposition to it. I will discuss three major aspects upon this issue; the three aspects are national security, economy and environment. The first reason why some people support off shore drilling is that they believe that off shore drilling will not harm the environment due to the vast improvement of technology. The biggest environmental issue that is often associated with off shore drilling is oil spills. People believe that as time is progressing, rapid advancement in technology will make it possible to conduct off shore drilling at the safest way in order not to harm the environment. Based on statistics by http://www.itopf.com, oil spill cases have declined over the past few decades, which prove that technology has become better. In line with the advancement of technology, a complete recovery of past oil spills have been proven to be attainable. An example of such cases is the success story of the recovery of Alaska’s Prince William Sound, which was  struck with oil spills at 1989. Moreover, people believe that the cause of oil spills is not due to off shore drilling, but mainly due to natural seeps and petroleum transportations. A study proves that urban runoff and treated sewage dump deposits 12 times more petroleum into the sea than petroleum from offshore drilling. A study at Lousiana State University has also been conducted to prove that off shore drilling is good for marine life. It is believed that oil production platforms cause improvements in marine life. The study suggests that there are 50 more times of marine life around an oil production platform than in the surrounding mud bottoms of the sea in Lousiana. It is believed that there is a correlation between the explosions of marine life with the building of oil platforms. However, in opposition to this, some people believe that off shore drilling in the U.S. do pose serious environmental risks. They believe that technology advancement reduces the risks of oil spills but do not a hundred percent guarantee its nonoccurrence in the future. Once an oil explosion occurs, the damage will be extremely destructive to the environment and it will reach a point of no turning back. According to â€Å"Environmental and Commercial Perspectives† by Ted Danson, â€Å"approximately 120 million gallons of oil end up in the world’s oceans every year from oil platforms, marine transportations, vessel discharges, and accidents.† Many cases of oil spills had happened in the U.S. One of the greatest was the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, which caused the death of thousands of local marine creatures. Over 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales, and billions of salmon and herring eggs were killed. Oil damages organs of marine organisms and the long-term effects may cause impairments of reproduction of these creatures, which then may lead to extinction of some of the species. Moreover, impacts of oil spills on the environment are long term and are extremely difficult to recover. This is because the thick layer of oil tends to spread very quickly under the influence of wind, waves and currents. The Exxon Valdez oil spills spread approximately up to 1300 miles of the  shoreline. Even with the latest technology, the rate of removing the oil from the sea is much slower compared to the rate of the spreading of oil. It is very rare to have more than 15% of the total spill being recovered. Oil spills occurring in regions of extreme climate, such as Alaska, are even exceedingly difficult to recover. It is almost impossible to soak up heavy crude oil trapped in waters covered with icebergs and sea ice. Thus, the impact will be much long lasting and at worst, irreversible. Despite the improvement in technology, off shore drilling is still highly risky because even the finest technology may fail. Once it fails, the cost to the environment is tremendous. The operation of the rig is also associated with the production of toxic wastes and many other long lasting forms of pollution. The drilling muds contain mercury, lead and cadmium that may accumulate inside the bodies of marine organisms. In addition, some traces of this pollution may be found in seafood that people consume, therefore, creates serious health consequences for them. Next, another reason why some people support off shore drilling is because they believe that it will ensure the national security of the country. The United States is very dependent on foreign oil to meet their immense oil demands. In 2010, based on the statistics provided by U.S. Department of Energy, 58.1 percent of total oil consumption in the U.S. is imported, and the rest is domestically supplied. Sixty six percent of global oil reserves are in the hands of Middle Eastern regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. Oil reserves in the U.S. only account for two percent of the total reserves worldwide, yet the country is ranked the highest in the world in terms of oil demands. The U.S. reliance on antagonistic countries in the Middle East for oil, unfortunately, poses threats towards the national security of the U.S. The U.S. is sending $500 billion every year to oil producing countries for oil imports. The trade does not only involve in the transfer of extensive amount of money from importers to exporters, but also power. Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are the greatest oil exporters, are now with all the power and money. Reliance on some of the Middle East countries for oil indirectly forces the U.S. to be involved in the political conflicts happening in there, and reduces the U.S. ability to keep the peace between conflicting countries in that area. Also, the U.S. has always been entangled in political and religious issues with Islamic countries of the Middle East.  These expose the U.S. to threats of terrorism. One of the related events was the devastating 9/11 terrorist attack. Whether or not it is a matter of coincidence, most terrorists that have been threatening the U.S. originate from the Middle East. The U.S., paying billions of dollars for oil to these countries, indirectly is funding their investment in arms and therefore supporting terrorist organizations. Furthermore, the U.S. army is very dependent on oil to power and maintain its defense machines and transportations. This further threatens the national security of the U.S. because even the country’s defense is now in the hands of the countries that have the likelihood to attack it. Increasing off shore drilling in the U.S. means increasing domestic supply of energy. This is believed to be a way for the U.S. to be independent from foreign oil, hence, ensuring its national security. However, in contrary to this position, some people believe that off shore drilling will not lead to the country’s energy independence. Citing the U.S. government data, the country may have 49 billion barrels of oil in undeveloped reserves that are currently open for drilling. Another 19 billion is predicted to be available in sites where drilling is presently prohibited. Even if the U.S. succeeded to extract all of its possible resources, experts predicted that this would merely increase the U.S. oil production by 1-4 percent. This means that the U.S. will still rely on imported oil even if the country’s resources are completely exploited. In addition, reliance upon oil as a source of energy itself is not sustainable. Oil is believed to reach its peak production very soon. With all of the known reserves worldwide and at the present global rate of consumption, oil is predicted to run out in 40 years. Some people think that the solution for the U.S. to be energy independe nt is to stop relying on oil and start investing in alternative fuels. Finally, the last reason why some people support off shore drilling in the U.S. is that increasing domestic supply of oil will ensure the stability and improve the economy of the country. The U.S. dependence on foreign oil, not only threatens the country’s national security, but also threatens the country’s economic stability. Countries of the Middle East are very hostile  and unstable. We should take an example of the US-Iran clash. The U.S., which has the power to stop Iran from pursuing power plants for the sake of peace in the Middle East, is forced to abandon the plans of investing oil in Iran as a threat to Iran’s economy. This leads to the collision between the U.S. and Iran. As a reprisal, Iran threatens to attack oil shipping in the Persian Gulf and disrupt oil delivery from the gulf to the U.S. Disruption of oil delivery will cause a devastating effect to the U.S economy. Energy independence from troubled Middle East countries is a way to promote a stable economy in the U.S. and some people believe that offshore drilling is a way to reach this goal. In line with economy, offshore drilling is also very profitable for the U.S. and it is believed that it can affect the price of gasoline worldwide. Based on statistics provided by www.api.org, by the year 2035, off shore drilling is estimated to contribute up to $23.5 billion per year to the U.S. economy. Kevin A. Hasett, the director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, stated, â€Å"by increasing offshore exploration and drilling, the United States would be encouraging oil-producing nations to put more oil in the market now, thereby lowering prices on the world wide market.† Gasoline price is the key to economy. If gasoline price goes down, prices of goods throughout the country will also decrease. Consumer sentiment will increase, as people will tend to buy more goods. This will increase the government’s revenue, which in turn improves the country’s economy. Furthermore, off shore drilling also provides jobs for Americans and prevents the loss of jobs that are already available. High cost of energy in the U.S. causes many companies to relocate their plants outside of the country. This causes the loss of jobs of many Americans who are already working for these companies. On the other hand, as well as the off shore drilling plant itself provide jobs, the reduction of oil prices will also attract companies to invest in the U.S. and hence provides more jobs for Americans. However, in opposition to this position, some people believe that off shore drilling will not improve the economy in the U.S. As mentioned previously, even the complete exploitation of all the reserves in the U.S will only increase the U.S. oil production by 1-4 percent. Also, oil prices are largely driven by worldwide supply and demand. Price will only lower if  either one of them increases. Even if the supply is increasing, recent statistics show that world oil demand is also increasing very rapidly. Hence, some people believe that off shore drilling in the U.S. would not significantly affect worldwide oil price. In addition, how much oil can actually be extracted is not yet guaranteed. Exploration and rig construction costs a lot of money and time. Even if off shore drilling will be conducted anytime soon, it will not immediately lower oil price. According to EIA, any measurable changes of price will only be visible until 2030. Despite the increasing of jobs available due to off shore drilling, we should also consider the jobs that are lost and the economic impact to the U.S. when oil spills occur. Oil spills do not only severely damage the environment, but also cause negative impacts on tourism and fishing industries. Oil spills kill thousands of fish and destroy beautiful beaches that attract tourists. The Exxon Valdez oil spills cost more than $300 million of economic loss to more than 30000 people whose lives depend on commercial fishing. Also, the oil spills that hit the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 cost a loss of $60 billion in tourism industry. Furthermore, we should also consider the cost of recovery of oil spills. Despite the profits that the country makes on offshore drilling, the cost of recovery when an oil explosion occurs is much greater. The U.S. spent $20 billion fund in response to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company British Protocol is responsible to fund $56 billion dollars in fines, cleanup costs and settlements. Overall, some people see that expanding offshore drilling is putting the country’s economy at risk instead of improving it. Expanding off shore drilling in the U.S. is a very controversial topic. The government should take into consideration of both opposing sides before making decisions whether or not to expand off shore drilling in the U.S. by weighing issues regarding national security, environment and economy. They should seek a sustainable long-term solution in order to meet the energy  needs of the country in the present and in the future.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. Nikkei Put Warrants †1989

Course: OFD Instructor: B. Hariprasad Assignment #1: Goldman, Sachs & Co. Nikkei Put Warrants – 1989 Section A Ankit Pandey Himanshu Agarwal Suchit Singh Problem Statement What should be the right pricing strategy for Nikkei Put Warrants (NPWs)? Structure of Nikkei-Linked Euro-Yen Transactions 1. The European bank sold a bond that promised to make annual interest payments in yen at a fixed interest rate. However, through a set of swaps, the issuer transformed its annual fixed-rate yen payments into dollar-denominated LIBOR-bases payments.This is represented by the left side transaction of the above figure. 2. At maturity, the issuer would redeem the bonds from the investor at a price tied to the Nikkei. If the Nikkei fell since the bonds were issued, the issuer would pay less than par to redeem the bonds. Thus, it would be as if the issuer sold bonds with the final principal payments at par but also bought a put option on the Nikkei maturing in the same year as the bond. If th e Nikkei fell, the put would rise in value benefiting the issuer.This reflects the embedded nature of the put option. 3. The issuer had no interest in holding this put. It often resold the embedded put options to financial intermediaries like Goldman Sachs by promising to deliver, at maturity, the difference between the bond’s par value and its Nikkei-linked redemption price. In exchange for promising to make this payment, which equaled the intrinsic value of the embedded put, the bond issuer would be paid an up-front put premium. This is represented by the right side transaction in the above figure. 4.Goldman Sachs then could sell these puts to institutional customers. Not all of these puts were sold to institutional customers. As of December 1989, Goldman Sachs had a significant inventory of European-style puts on Nikkei and it was offsetting the risk on these puts through the futures offered by Singapore, Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. 5. The sales force of Goldman Sachs gave an extremely positive feedback on the embedded put options and it was decided that exchange traded put warrants would be a good product offering from company’s point of view.Role of Kingdom of Denmark 1. Goldman Sachs was a private partnership and non-SEC registrant and hence could not issue the warrants publicly without making material public disclosures. Therefore it was necessary for it to work with an issuer registered with the SEC. The issuer would sell the warrants to the public but simultaneously enter into private contract with Goldman Sachs that exactly offset the obligation under the warrant contract. In return, it would receive a fee from Goldman Sachs without effectively having any exposure on Nikkei. . In addition to above argument, the issuer should be highly credit worthy and non US sovereign entity due to adverse reporting implications for a US corporate issuer. 3. Based on the above criteria, Goldman Sachs entered into an agreement with Kingdom of Denma rk, which would get a fee of $1. 3 million from these transactions. Risks exposure for Goldman Sachs 1. Risk of bearing the unsold inventory of NPWs If the investors find prices too high then much of the inventory would remain unsold and GS will have to bear the costs of unsold warrants.Risk Mitigation GS would offset its risk through futures position in the Nikkei offered by the Singapore, Osaka & Tokyo stock exchanges 2. Exchange Rate Risks Considering preference of U. S investors, GS would bear the exchange rate risks for its investors. This implies that GS has to sell NPWs in terms of dollars whereas the same has been purchased by it in terms of yen. Also, in the 1980s, the Nikkei and the yen/dollar exchange rate were moving in opposite direction which further increased its exposure to exchange rate risk. Risk MitigationThis can be mitigated through Quantos, a product offered by its currency and commodity division. A complete hedge would cost GS about $1 per warrant whereas hedg ing 80% of its risk would cost it $0. 50 per warrant only 3. Repute at risk GS would not like to keep the prices very low. At the same time it cannot price them very high as there is a risk that competitors might copy the product and start selling it at lower prices. Also, if NPWs started trading at lower prices in the secondary market this would bring disrepute for the organization and its partners involved.Price Calculation Assumptions †¢ Constant Volatility †¢ Securities are traded continuously †¢ Zero transactions costs †¢   The risk free rate is constant and it is possible to borrow and lend infinitely at this rate Variables for put intrinsic value calculation †¢ S0= Nikkei index = 38586. 16 †¢ Exchange rate ? /$ = 144. 28 †¢ Exercise price = 38587. 68 †¢ Implied Volatility = ? = 13. 6% †¢ q = dividend yield = 0. 49% †¢ Risk-free rate = 5. 85% †¢ T = time to maturity = 3 years Based on the above inputs, the price of Ameri can option is 1852. 9 yens which is $2. 57. When cost of hedging is added, this becomes $3. 57. Fixed Costs Fee for Kingdom of Denmark: $ 1300000 Legal and listing fee: $ 350000 Commissions: $ 3000000 Costs of R&D: $ 1250000 Total: $5900000 Cost per NPW: $0. 621 Total fixed plus variable: $4. 191 Hence, this is the minimum price Goldman Sachs can charge for NPWs. ———————– Swap Counterparty European Bank (Issuer) Put Warrant Purchaser gr? Y  Ã‚ ± y. /0123

Free Essays on Juvenile Arson

Youth Arson There was a time when children were considered innocent, when kids could only do harmless things. This is not the case any more in this day and age. There are many different explanations and ideas concerning the reasons for why criminal behavior has developed by such young ages. Two theories to consider when discussing the acts of arson in youth are the Neutralization Theory and Social Control Theory. First the Neutralization Theory was developed by David Matza, in which developed from the classical school. This theory was developed based on the idea of free will. The idea being all crime resulted from a choice that could potentially be made by anyone and that most crime could be explained through human nature. A youth that commits a crime such as arson does it on their own free will. They made the individual choice to commit this crime. Youths that are delinquent are able to commit crimes and come up with good reason why it was not their fault. They do use one of five neutralization techniques that Matza has developed. The youths free will allows this neutralization process to take place. This process includes two key elements. The first element being preparation. A teen will prepare themselves before committing their crime by using a variety of different methods. The younger children who commit arson are not going to be able to grasp this concept of preparation, but juveniles a ges 13- 18 do. Juvenile offenders consider methods of preparation such as the likelihood of getting caught if there are police officers in the area, how others might have committed the same act without getting caught, and take into account the amount of punishment they may get. The juvenile also things about his past experiences committing the same crime and learns from his mistakes. The second element in this theory is desperation. Desperation plays a part in the juvenile choice to commit arson by offering them a free will to commit such an... Free Essays on Juvenile Arson Free Essays on Juvenile Arson Youth Arson There was a time when children were considered innocent, when kids could only do harmless things. This is not the case any more in this day and age. There are many different explanations and ideas concerning the reasons for why criminal behavior has developed by such young ages. Two theories to consider when discussing the acts of arson in youth are the Neutralization Theory and Social Control Theory. First the Neutralization Theory was developed by David Matza, in which developed from the classical school. This theory was developed based on the idea of free will. The idea being all crime resulted from a choice that could potentially be made by anyone and that most crime could be explained through human nature. A youth that commits a crime such as arson does it on their own free will. They made the individual choice to commit this crime. Youths that are delinquent are able to commit crimes and come up with good reason why it was not their fault. They do use one of five neutralization techniques that Matza has developed. The youths free will allows this neutralization process to take place. This process includes two key elements. The first element being preparation. A teen will prepare themselves before committing their crime by using a variety of different methods. The younger children who commit arson are not going to be able to grasp this concept of preparation, but juveniles a ges 13- 18 do. Juvenile offenders consider methods of preparation such as the likelihood of getting caught if there are police officers in the area, how others might have committed the same act without getting caught, and take into account the amount of punishment they may get. The juvenile also things about his past experiences committing the same crime and learns from his mistakes. The second element in this theory is desperation. Desperation plays a part in the juvenile choice to commit arson by offering them a free will to commit such an...

Laziness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Laziness - Essay Example It may manifest as an unmotivated individual, unreasonable expectations of entitlement, procrastination, manipulation, or simply not doing what should be done. Society is impacted by disrupted production schedules, co-worker animosity, missed work, and the eventual firing of the lazy person. This paper will review some of the current literature in regards to laziness and report the findings as to the cause, effects, and implications of laziness. While there are significant differences in the self-perception of procrastinators and non-procrastinators, research has not shown the cause of these differences. A comprehensive study by Ferrari, Driscole, and Diaz-Morales, reported that, "procrastinators have negative feelings about their actual self-concept faculties and self-presentation tactics", and that "they are not pleased by how they view themselves, similar to the perceptions reported by observers of their behaviors" (120). However, the research did not report whether procrastination was the cause or the effect of the negative self-concept. In two studies that involved Turkish students that procrastinated academic tasks, fear of failure was the main reason cited for delaying a task (Ozer, Demir, and Ferrari 245, 251). This would indicate that a low self-esteem is a cause of procrastination. As long as the victim does not start the task, there is no failure, and they won't be the subjects of ridicule. In addition, women sho wed a greater fear of failure that resulted in procrastination than men (Ozer, Demir, and Ferrari 253). This is in line with the female difference that tends to be more avoidant of fear from an early age. A second reason cited by men for procrastinating, rebellion against control, was not a major reason for female avoidance (Ozer, Demir, and Ferrari 253). In addition to these active procrastinators, some people are passive procrastinators. They are victims of themselves and "do not intend to procrastinate, but they often end up postponing tasks because of their inability to make decisions quickly and to thereby act on them quickly" (Chu and Choi 247). Still, poor self-image and a fear of failure are the main reasons driving both male and female procrastination.Laziness may be quantified by the degree to which a person feels entitled to a reward without regards to their productive output. In workplace studies, it has been reported that "women generally earn less than men and report l ess income entitlement than men do" (Ciani, Summers, and Easter 333). From this point of view, men have a greater expectation of entitlement for the same performance or output. Taken to the logical extension, men would be more likely to have someone support them, a spouse, trust fund, or the system, even though society views them as deviant. This is a classical definition of laziness in regards to work, and may generalize to other areas of a person's life. Ciani, Summers, and Easter report that "today's college students are more selfish, superficial, and narcissistic than ever before" (332). These students have been self-inflated throughout grade school and high school, and they enter college with a sense of entitlement to grades, resulting in grade inflation across the country (Ciani, Summers, and Easter 333). Once again, in the academic setting, men were more likely to feel a greater sense of entitlem

The Political and Social Aspect of Business of The UN Global Compact Essay

The Political and Social Aspect of Business of The UN Global Compact - Essay Example The UN Global Compact (GC) is voluntary and the underlying objective is stated to be the introduction of social responsibility into international business and the code embodies ten core principles.In essence, the UN GC is a voluntary corporate citizenship network geared towards the mainstreaming business activity ethics worldwide and fuelling the preservation of UN human rights’ objectives within the international business framework (Macintosh et al, 2004 at p.11). Slaughter further observes the UN objectives in the GC in attempting to harmonize consistency in corporate social responsibility measures among UN organizations, international labor organizations, and NGOs to assist the creation of a â€Å"more inclusive and equitable marketplace,† (Slaughter, 2004: p.192).However, the GC does not impose sanctions or implement an enforcement framework and prima facie provides a system for facilitation and is not a regulatory instrument. Indeed, Macintosh et al highlight the f act that â€Å"the Global Compact relies on public accountability, transparency and the enlightened self-interest of companies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in pursuing the principles upon which the Global Compact is based† (Macintosh et al, 2004 p.11).In the absence of any regulatory code, Slaughter further refers to the UN’s assertion of information sharing requirements and the chief architect of the GC’s declaration that â€Å"the core of its change model is a learning forum. Companies submit case studies of what they have done to translate their commitment to the GC principles into concrete corporate practices† (Slaughter, 2004 at p.11) As such, there is an assumption that information sharing and self-regulation will facilitate human rights compliance.