Online Behaviors And Impression Management Essay

Introduction With the rapid development of technology, the Internet has become an effective mechanism for social networking. People can not deny the fact that a successful social networking is more possible to lead a successful life. A personal impression serves as an important role in establishing new networks and managing old ones. It was proved that people have more opportunities presenting themselves in the computer-coordinated communication settings than face-to-face environments. Therefore, regardless of generations, the ways how people interact with one another have been greatly changed by online social sites. The purpose of this study is to understand how people utilize online social sites to manage their personal impression and how they behave on social media; also, people utilize social media in order to gratify their social needs such as their friendship maintenance. The thesis of this paper is that social media influences personal behaviors as well as their impression management and i t also has positive impacts on people friendships performance. Personal Behavior on Social Media Individual behaviors may be restrained because of their awareness that their behaviors might possibly be seen by other people, and the fact that people tempt to look more appealing in any social occasions is obvious (Jeong, 2011). Since social media is served as a platform which is opened to public, people tend to pay more attention to how they appear and behave online. An experiment from Denton (2012) indicates that participants within heterogeneous networks such as Facebook have more desire to shift their impressions to others. A heterogeneous network is a network which is established for people without same interests, religions or common interests; in other words, people are able to speak or act freely on those websites. This experiment explains further that people manage or even shift their image based on others views and attitudes. According to Cummings (2012), the setting of profiles provides an opportunity for ones’ social life; people put effort into presenting a better image which aims at influencing others within the network. Jeong (2012) also declares that the process in which individuals attempt to control their impression with others is called â€Å"impression management†. Impression management can be used interchangeably with the term â€Å"self-presentation†, and its goal is to elevate people’s public image by performing behaviors based on how others evaluate them. Jeong also states that impression management usually occurs together with social desirability. Social desirability is defined as an individual’s tendency to describe themselves and behave in a manner in which they believe they will be viewed favorably in a situation. Moreover, Jeong also points out three main characteristics of self-presentation in online media platforms. They are asynchronous, malleable and selective. Asynchronous means that people can edit and update self-presentational cues deliberately over time. Malleable means people can simply manipulate those cues. Denton (2012) explains further by stating that people behave differently in different situations or interact with different people with whom they have specific relationships. For example, a lazy and incompetent employee may spend his evening as a passionate and assiduous worker volunteer or he behaves as a hard-working worker only under supervision; in this case, employers might misunderstand that he is truly a diligent worker. Thirdly, selective means people can improve their impression by choosing specific cues. Jeong explains this term by giving an example that individuals are more likely to donate or show their supports for charity campaigns as long as they realize that their participation would be noticeable to other people. Besides, there are some companies tend to elevate their images by sponsoring nonprofit organizations. To conclude, in general, people tend to behave favorably and try to create a positive impression to others on social media. Impression Management on Social Media Social media has been a new and easy platform for people managing their impression. Sameer (2007) states that document preparation programs make it relatively easy to manipulate the appearance of profiles; also, programmability helps people keep track of contents to the audience, and browser application provide an easy way to distribute the original or modified profiles. Therefore, Krisanic (2008) concludes from her research that impression management has been commonly carried out by those who involved in social networking activities. Jeong (2011) also states that online media platforms are expected to provide people with a greater opportunity for impression management, and because of its â€Å"public display† which enables participants to articulate and make their social networks more manifest; furthermore, Ellison (2008) declares that this kind of â€Å"public display of connection† serves as important signal that helps people navigate their networked social world. Cummings (2012) supports his idea. He points out that social network sites provide people a channel to present themselves digitally, and also gives them another way to provide details about themselves and establish or maintain their relationships in their own social network. Also, profile owners are not the only ones who are able to provide information on their own pages. Most sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn allow those who are involved in the connection to create additional information, and the use of wall posts and the recommendation are the examples (Cummings, 2012). All in all, the main characteristics of social network sites include the capability to make connection between people and share personal information; on top of that, it offers an easy way for people to manage their personal impressions. Friendships Performance on Social Media The articulation of friendship connections is another facet of impression management; it might possibly be viewed from others as an identity marker to profile owners (boyd & Ellison, 2008). Although boyd and Ellison argue that online audiences’ comments may dominate user behaviors, Vallor (2012) thinks that those interactions are part of the reciprocity which serves a prime function maintaining friendships. Reciprocity is an original biological stimulus that operates as the core of human sociology and is the mutual characteristic of different types of friendships (Vallor, 2012). Take Facebook as an example, reciprocity emerge with diverse forms; it begins with the friend requests and accepting invitations correspondingly, responding to friends’ status by pressing â€Å"like† button, sharing photos and videos online, comments on friends’ status, and â€Å"tag† friends on pictures or posts. Therefore, a study from Vallor (2012) shows that instead of d iminishing people’s interactions in their real lives, online social sites actually extend chances for such interaction. Vallor (2012) also declares that social media can support friendships. Many social network sites allow additional information, and which encourage people to list hobbies, post photos, and interact with other individuals within the network (Cummings, 2012). Furthermore, social network sites help individuals to manage contacts beyond traditional software like outlook, and they also help incorporate visual information such as pictures of contacts (Cummings, 2012); hence, the online social media offers a precious function of recombining efficiently with friends in the past (Vallor, 2012). To conclude, it is true that these sites help participants perceiving more sense of social value and connection; also, social network sites help reinforce participant’s desire to maintain their friendships (Vallor, 2012). Conclusion As online social networking sites as a new media technology comes out in our society, individuals have more opportunity than ever before to present themselves in public by using them. These sites allow users to make self-presentation by creating their own profile pictures, personal information, photos, videos, and their activities. Impression management is related to social networking sites use because individuals tend to develop different self-presentation depending on the audiences online. From those studies we were discussed, people tend to behave favorable to their audiences. However, the authenticity of profile information comes into concern since everything that shows on people’s profiles may dominate their images to others; whether this fact leads to negative problem of social networking sites may still need to be further investigated and researched. From another aspect, we can conclude that social networking sites have a positive impact on friendship performance. Although some studies argue that the online social networking sites may damage the traditional meaning of friendship, it serves as a valuable tool maintaining the friendship in people real lives. All in all, social network sites if manage properly; they can of course offer very concrete benefits to people social networking lives. References boyd, D. & Ellison, N. (2008). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. (pp. 219-220). Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13(2008) 210-230. Cummings, J. (2012). Virtual First Impression Matter: The effect of social networking sites on Impression formation in virtual teams. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2012 pg. n/a Ellison, A. S. W. (2012). Impression Formation in a Social Network Context. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2012 pg. n/a Jeong, H. J. (2011). The Effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Campaigns on Consumer Responses to Brand in Social Media: Impression Management Perspectives. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2011 pg. n/a Krisanic, K. (2008). Motivation and Impression Management: Predictors of social networking site use and users behaviors. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2008 pg. n/a Sameer, B. (2008). First Impression formation in electronic profiles. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2008 pg. n/a Vallor, S. (2011). Fl ourishing on Facebook: virtue friendship & new social media. Springer Science and Business Media B.V. 2011

Historical biases and how the truth was altered Essay

Taking into account the nature of historical truth, it cannot be viewed from absolutist position, but rather from relativist perspective. The values, dictated by the certain epoch, determine the purpose and the context of history, so there is a number of historical biases (again, from modern viewpoint) in the writings, describing and explaining the past experiences. The paper is designed to focus on the main historical biases and highlight the influence of modern media on the construction of new biases. Due to the fact that there is a plenty of historiographic schools, one can presume that each of them chooses specific symbol or aspect as a baseline and develops its argument through certain prism. In this sense, the book by Edwars Said, ‘Orientalism’, to great extent emphasizes the faultiness of Western historiographic approach to the diametrically opposite culture. The scholar writes: â€Å"The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other† (Said, 1979, pp. 1-2). Orientalism therefore comprises the historically biased attitude towards the cultural ‘otherness’, so the author concludes that eastern studies cannot be completely independent from the polarization and confrontation between the two civilizations. Furthermore, social stratification determined the status of certain individual in society and consequently resulted in the creation of ‘middle class’ or ‘aristocratic’ approach to making historical notes, and, more importantly, religious approach had been predominant in this sense over more than a thousand years the issues related to heresy and Inquisition contributed to medieval historiography, whereas the social protest against religious dogmas was an overall Western historiographic framework in the 18th -20th centuries. Both approaches naturally distorted objective reality in an attempt to fit it into narrow Procrustean bed of sociopolitical context. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of history hasn’t been static over the societal developmental course – it has altered a number of times – from the simple glorification of the certain ruler’s deeds to the formation of public consciousness and stereotypes. Historians, as the members of society, naturally shared most stereotypes and social convictions , even writing purely ‘for the sake of history’. Nowadays, historical biases are close-knit to the issues, which arise in connection with social, gender and racial equality, so the modern media are concentrating on covering these issues and determining public opinion. Information therefore is presented is extremely available manner, which allows remembering the content of the article without any ‘unnecessary’ reflections or more profound analysis. The ‘raw’ information (news, editorials) has attractive cover, so the digestion and informational metabolism have been enhanced over the last century, whereas the description of events still remains biased in terms of the author’s political and social position, or personal views. On the other hand, the freedom of printed word prohibits the misrepresentation of facts, yet the interpretation of certain data still may vary among journalists – this principle is widely used to put the most appropriate and suitable emphases, thus except the provision of recent news, media are responsible for creating images, persuading public and imposing certain moral or ethical evaluation of the event or phenomenon (for more utility and convenience, from the position of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’). To sum up, it is impossible to eradicate historical biases – historiography, like all descriptive and analytical sciences, follows relativist principles of ‘minor’ or ‘major’ truth. Nevertheless, with regard to high availability of historical writings, one has an opportunity to analyze the positions of several historiographic schools and draw more independent conclusions.

An Evaluation Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay

An Evaluation Of Mergers And Acquisitions Management Essay In the modern world, most of the companies try to merge their company with another company. There are some advantages and disadvantages in merging. The main advantages are reputation, brand image can be increase through the merging. The industry will become simple through merging and this is the competitive advantage, Alcatel Lucent Company can gain from the merging. The main disadvantage in merging is cross culture conflicts and this case study is about Alcatel Lucent merger. Alcatel Lucent is one of the leading companies in mobile, fixed, Optics technologies and a pioneer in applications and services (Alcatel Lucent, 2011). According to the merging procedure, Alcatel Lucent merger faced cross culture conflicts from France and U.S. Still, the company tries to control the culture conflicts in the organization. This report mainly describes the conditions and negotiation factors, industry changes after merger and the international challenges of Alcatel Lucent. 1. The conditions and ne gotiation factors pushed forth the merger in 2006 that were not present in 2001 According to the case, in 2006 both companies come up with new conditions and negotiation factors. Mainly, France shareholders, they gave their approval to merge Alcatel company and Lucent company. Alcatel’s chief executive Mr. Techuruk encouraged 1500 shareholders in Paris by mentioning Alcatel Lucent is truly global and has no equivalent today and won’t in future. He also agreed to pay 10.6 billion euro for Lucent company to merge Alcatel and Lucent companies as Alcatel Lucent. The stock swap was valued at one Alcatel American depository share for every five Lucent shares. Both companies agreed to publish English as the official language of the Alcatel Lucent. After considering above conditions and factors, both company shareholders gave their approval to merge Alcatel Lucent as one company. They also decided to deal with both pre-merger and post-merger integration issues such as salaries , benefits, designations and other structural maters by holding a series of meetings between the top HR executives at the two companies. 2. merged company A merged company which means the combination of two companies where one corporation is completely absorbed by another corporation. After the merging procedure, both companies have to do business as one company. As a result of that, they should invent new identities for the company. They couldn’t use their separate identities for the business. Any company, they couldn’t merge with another company without the approval of shareholders. Negotiation also very important for merged companies. Negotiation is the process of discussion by which two or more parties aim to reach a mutually acceptable agreement (Strategic International Management, 2011). There are five stages included in the negotiation process. Those stages are preparation, relationship building, exchanging task related information, persuasion and concessions an d agreement. Mainly, any organization, they wants to follow this negotiation process when they planning to merge their company with another company. Alcatel is a company which produce the communication equipments for their customers and Lucent company, they provides telecommunication services to their customers. After merging these two companies, their industries become simple. As Alcatel Lucent, they did their sales of $25 billion. They also produced many telecommunication products such as wireless equipments, wire line equipments, wireless infrastructures, internet routers, equipment for carrying calls over the internet, etc. The negative side of the industry is company loss $7 billion since the merger. In addition to that, Alcatel Lucent around 16500 jobs since merger. As the advantages of the industry, for the fourth quarter 2006, the company posts adjusted pro-forma revenues of Euro 4,421 million and operating profits of Euro 21 million. The company reported Euro 18,254 million adjusted pro-forma and operation profit of Euro 1,025 million for the full year 2006. On 31st December 2006, their total cash and marketable securities was Euro 6.7 billion leaving a net cash position of Euro 508 million.

A Study on Customer Satisfaction at Sambal Express Research Proposal

A Study on Customer Satisfaction at Sambal Express - Research Proposal Example London is a place, where the population is very heath conscious and food loving at the same time (Fletcher, 2007). They usually seek for healthy dishes in big restaurants, where they can consume healthy dishes at a reasonable price. Like any other big restaurant in London, Sambal Express has taken a significant position in restaurant industry in the UK. Sambal Express is a Sri Lankan restaurant, which have gained prominence in London because of its delicious and healthy food and also for its preference by the customers over other restaurants in the same area (Sambal Express, 2015). The research proposal aims at outlining the series of actions that are needed for identifying the customer satisfaction level in Sambal Express. The research obtains its result from a survey, which is carried out with the help of questionnaire. The questionnaire includes all the relevant questions that are required to be answered by the target respondents to obtain successful survey results. A brief and relevant literature regarding customer’s satisfaction is given so as to provide a wider view of the topic. The research also helps in exploring the main characteristics feature of Sambal Express, which are preferred by the customers in London because of its home cooked foods. The results are analysed with the help of sampling techniques that are mentioned in the methodology section. The survey is conducted giving emphasis on ethical considerations. The main aim of the research is to establish the level of customer satisfaction provided by Sambal Express in London. In order to achieve the main aim of the research, a survey is conducted among the customers of Sambal Express and their views are taken into consideration for evaluating food and service quality of restaurant. The rationale of the research is to examine whether the customers of the Sambal Express are satisfied with the food

Nursing Eduaction Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing Eduaction - Literature review Example Nursing programs have been implemented in various countries to adhere to set codes with the standards set in the organized system. In the planning of the lectures, there needs to be the careful planning of the available resources within these institutions to ensure best practice delivered to support the course. Without the paramount provisions, there may be reduced understanding of the course. Like the other professional courses, nursing has been regarded as a leading profession in the medicine industry because they offer the cushion needed to patients, and to the doctors whose services are immense within the hospitals. Nurses have been assigned particular roles in the treatment industry because of their involvement in ensuring security and sustenance of the patient. The delicate group has offered challenges in best practice and there needs to be the careful selection of strategies in implementing their curriculum. With the complex course increasing within the society, evidence has b een placed that, with the best teaching methods, successful nurses have been created. Best way to teach nursing lectures Before enrollment within a university that offers nursing course and lessons, the individual must be capable of handling designated duties to depict responsibility. The nurse bears the role of careful selection of methods that favor adequate conditions towards recovery. Nurses have been mandatory in the medical profession because they dedicate their effort to offering the needed base for easier performance within the institutions. The best nurses are those that have undergone through the needed learning and practice procedure to present measures that contribute to adequate service delivery. Before the individual is considered a qualified nurse, they must be accorded with the right documentation to prove their qualification to the profession. The licensure is gained after completing educational qualifications that are presented in accredited learning institutions. These guidelines have been the affirmative measures included in the state to stop under qualified individuals from offering the services. To achieve the license, there needs to be the development of best measures that promise to increase efficiency within institutions to ensure delivery of best nurses in the industry (Smith & Fitzpatrick 2006, p58). To qualify for the nursing profession, the requirements are varied for the existing nurses. Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) are required to complete an issued qualification in the formal education program with a suitable training program. The provision included to becoming advanced nurses has been included in holding the masters degree qualification. The organizations that offer the nursing profession in technical schools, community colleges and accredited institutions need to offer practical lessons in clinics and hospitals. This is mandatory to familiarize the candidate with the environment that they would work in after graduation. Ho wever, to present the desired experience, the students need to be motivated in a busy environment with tough situations. These may be through allocation to public hospitals as compared to private hospitals that hold the best facilities. The lesson in public hospitals may be added as compared to private with a few staff members to share the needed incentive. The assessment on the practical environment

Uneven distribution of education through the conflict perspective Essay

Uneven distribution of education through the conflict perspective - Essay Example Education has been a crucial issue in several countries nowadays, especially for those with low literacy level. Its importance is seen in its outcomes, such as productivity, literacy, and poverty alleviation. A literate citizenship is a good source of engineers, economists, technologists, scientists, biologists, doctors, teachers, and so on, enough to produce infrastructures and improve the status of science and technology, medicine, and education itself. A low productivity due to lack of all mentioned places a country in a doom of poverty and economic insecurity. Development specialists recognize these outcomes, and provide information on how education may be better in poor countries in order to be richer. There is thus, a strong connection and a dialectical link between education and the economic security of a nation. This connection is seen in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and France, which all keep a high record of literacy rate of 99 percent as compared to others t hat keep low literacy rates, such as Arab states (70.3 percent) Several nations are still keeping a low record of literacy level, particularly third world nations, despite the significant importance of education. Female literacy is also found to be lower than their male counterpart in these areas, indicating the pervasion of gender inequality in education and the traditional roles designated to women.... In Ethiopia, a low 24 percent is indicated for their rural areas, while 83 percent for the urban places. It is clear that education has a strong link to economic capacity of the people and nation. Poor children who are able to study experience a large discrepancy of educational opportunities than those from middle class and upper class families. The Comparison of inequality in education may be seen in the following: areas: Teacher allocation, budget allocation, availability of books, and educational facilities and infrastructures. These areas are reflective of social stratification that exists in education. Despite the already high literacy rates, the first world nations like the United States also exhibit a discrepancy in education between poor and rich neighborhoods and schools. Teacher Allocation There is a low quality of teachers in low-income schools in the United States, and at times when there is a short supply of teachers in almost all parts of the country, those who are provided with teachers with the least training and experience are the poorest schools (Hill, 2008). The richest ones get the reverse of this condition. Far less- qualified teachers are consistently provided to students in low-income and minority schools, while children in the wealthier neighborhoods are allocated with the reverse. It reflects the fundamental flaw in the allocation of teachers and funds to schools, whose allotment depends on whether they are poor or rich. Contributory to this scenario is the fact that senior teachers possess total freedom of choice in where to work and most of them choose the most attractive schools and neighborhoods with few difficulties, and demands on teachers are less severe (Hill, 2008). It leaves the new and

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty of TESCO Essay

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty of TESCO - Essay Example Tesco PLC is a public limited company in the retail industry and its headquarters is in the United Kingdom. Tesco is a general merchandise and British multinational grocery retailer. After Wal-Mart, it is the second largest retailer in terms of profit margins and is even the second largest retailer in terms of revenue growth in the world’s retail industry. Jack Cohen in 1919 invented the company as a chain of market stalls. The name of the brand ‘Tesco’ appeared in the shipment of tea that Cohen had purchased. The supermarket’s store that was about 500 in the 1990s is now approximately about 6350 located in various locations. Tesco expanded its business very rapidly and has a market share of about 30%. The countries in which the company has entered and is operating brilliantly are UK, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Mainland China, Hungary, Czech Republic, Japan, Republic of Ireland, South Korea, Poland, Turkey, etc. The main idea behind the research study is to a nalyze the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty at Tesco. Customers are the most important factor behind the success or failure of a company. It is very much important that the organization takes effective measures to satisfy the customers and build a brand loyal customer base that would generate high revenues for the firm. Tesco through its market expansion strategy has become the market leader in UK retail industry. It has enhanced on its strengths and explored the possible opportunities and developed some innovative strategies to acquire the maximum percentage of the market share.

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 38

Art - Essay Example The modern Conte crayons are in different assortment of colors that focus primarily on the nuances of shading and designing as opposed to bold coloration. Using Conte crayons, a skilled artist is capable of achieving very subtle shading that is almost photorealistic. Notably, Conte crayon often takes different mode of paining including graphite pencil painting, wax crayon, and watercolor among others (Avery 55). This is the initial stage of drawing and it is often referred to the mapping stage. This stage involves drawing ordinarily on white Lenox 100 paper using a graphite pencil (Avery 57). The above drawing is the road map to indicate where wax should follow. Applying wax on the above drawing leads to a wax crayon that is shown in the figure below The basis of using wax in this sketch is to protect areas that are intended to remain white; therefore, areas that are intended to be visible white are waxed. It is appropriate at this stage to use a reasonable amount of wax, for instance the size of the finger since that is would be sizable to cut. After this procedure, it is appropriate to slightly water the waxed surface to obtain a receptive and even surface. At this stage, it would be appropriate to introduce wash paint. In this case, a very light gray ink wash is introduced. Notably, the gray ink will not be used alone, but it will be mixed with small quantities of black ink. Mixing these two inks shall be done in a large presence of water (Avery 60). After obtaining the uniform ink, the solution is then applied or brushed onto the white paper. Notably, the waxed point will not darken like the rest of the drawing, but it will remain white. The media obtained herein is watercolor media and it is done below. This process can rep eat itself as many times and with different colors as possible, all the repetitions with depend on the artist and type of painting they intend to

SM - Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

SM - Strategic Management - Essay Example It has a niche market in the soft drink business and has its presence in almost all parts of the world. The extent of the business of the company is evident from the fact that the Coca-Cola Company owns four of the top five soft-drink brands in the world. Some of the best known and most popular brands of the company include Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. The company also owns other less known but nevertheless popular brands such as Barqs, Minute Maid, POWERade, and Dasani water. In North America, the company has products such as Groupe Danones Evian. Coca-Cola also sells Crush, Dr Pepper, and Schweppes outside Australia, Europe, and North America. The company either makes or licences more than 400 drink products in more than 200 nations. The mission of the company is to create value in the food industry. A SWOT analysis is used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a company based on many factors such as market data, historical performance of the company, internal and external factors that impinge the companys performance etc. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis will help to analyse or rather predict the performance of a company in future. It will also give a clear idea as to where the company could be heading with regards to its business performance. Perhaps one of the most important strengths of the company is that it is a world renowned brand. Apart from negative popularity in some countries because of political fallouts, the brand is relatively well known all through the world. Regarding the brand image of the company, the brand is well known and obvious and is easily recognised thanks to the many years that it has been in business. Another important internal strength of the company is that it has a lot of finance at its disposal. The company has been able to generate revenues that are substantially better than most beverage companies. This allows room for the company to expand

Defending Mersult Essay Example for Free

Defending Mersult Essay What is justice? Is it when a person’s demise makes society feel better? Or is it when a suspect gets acquitted of all charges brought against him? Wherever there is justice there is obscurity. No matter how it is looked at, there is no real justice in the judicial system. In Albert Camus â€Å"The Stranger† the narrator, Meursault, is being trialed for the murder of a man he encounters at the beach. At his trial, the prosecutor makes much of Meursault’s demeanor and the prosecutor focuses on irrelevant information like Meursault’s failure to properly show grief at his own mother’s recent funeral. The prosecutor based the trial on events which had taken place prior to the murder. Even though, his points did not have the connection with the murder which the prosecution maintained. Therefore, the prosecutor created an unfair trial, by not giving Meursalt adequate time to speak in his own defense, bringing up irrelevant situations such as his relationship with his mother and his beliefs. Meursault was not given the chance to defend himself because of questions from the prosecutor and lack of knowledge of his lawyer. The case was rather built upon his lack of feelings towards his mother’s death and his choice not to believe in God. Typically, throughout a trial, the defendant is given time on the witness stand to plea innocence, and explain why he committed the crime. Meursault, however, stood before the judge and was asked yes or no questions. This left him with little or no time to plead his case. Before he could say anything else, he was back on his way to the jail. Meursault said, I didnt even have time to think. I was taken out, put into the van, and driven to prison (Camus88). At first he did not know what was going on, but knew he wanted to say something. Then every time he would try to say something, his lawyer would simply say â€Å"Just keep quiet- it wont do your case any good (Camus98). Meursaults lawyer would not let him say anything, and this bothered Meursault. Every now and then, during the trial, Meursault would have the urge to stand up and yell in his head, Wait a minute! Whos the accused here? Being the accused counts for something. And I have something to say â€Å"(Camus;98).This made Meursault feel alienated from the trial that was going to determine the rest of his life. The prosecutor had involved his personal feelings about Meursaults beliefs into the case, which was definitely not needed. The prosecutor had repeatedly asked Meursault about his belief in God, and eventually got agitated because Meursault did not believe in God. â€Å"drawing himself up to his full height and asking me if I believed in God. I said no. ‘Do you want my life to be meaningless?’ he shouted†(Camus;69). The prosecutor had absolutely no right to bring personal feelings about Meursalt into the case. He clearly was mad and irritated, because Meursault did not believe in God. The prosecutor was offended at the fact that, he had no belief, because of this he began to mock Meursault. â€Å"That’s all for today, Monsieur Meursalt† (Camus; 71). As a prosecutor you are there to do your job, and not to build relationships or hatred for people. However the prosecutor had allowed Meursaults views to dictate the outcome of the trial. The prosecutor went about the whole trial, asking Meursault, his acquaintances and also his friend’s personal questions about his relationships with people. The prosecutor focused mainly on the irreverent events that had happened prior to the trial. The prosecutor focused on his reaction to his mother’s death and relationship with her. Firstly, Meursault is a human being with a lack of emotions. Maybe most of the people will get freaked out or think that he is a monster, but he actually isn’t. For example, he loves his mother and care for his girlfriend Marie, but he just doesn’t have the strong emotions for them. He doesn’t cry on his mother’s funeral, he thinks marrying another girl will be the same. However Meursault lifestyle is indifferent, it’s quite hard for him to show emotions, on the other hand, because of this Meursault should not be judge. Nonetheless the prosecutor somehow found his relationship, with his loved ones to be relevant to the case, when it was not. â€Å"He asked me why I had put Maman in the home. I answered I didn’t haven’t money to have her looked after and cared for†(Camus;88). As one may see, the prosecutor had personalized the case by asking him why he had put his mother in a home. Meursault inability to care for his mother was irreverent, however because the prosecutor may had feel that Meursault is â€Å"monster† for putting his mother in a home, he wanted everyone else to have the same perspective. The case had end up focusing on the relationship his mother and how bad of a son he was to her, rather than the killing of the Arab. The prosecutor had brought the director in to witnesses, badgering the director with unnecessary questions about the relationship. â€Å"He had asked whether Maman ever complained about meTo another question he replied that he had been surprised by my calm the day of the funeral†(Camus89). As it is shown the prosecutor was more interested by Meursault lack of emotions and lifestyle. Throughout the whole trial the prosecutor was more so trying to prove everyone that Meursault was a bad son and self centered person. In conclusion the judicial system may definitely be corrupted at times and proceed unfair sentences. Just as Meursaults trial which was based on emotions of the prosecutor rather than the facts of the day of the killing. The prosecutor relied on events prior to that day, which were absolutely not significant to the ruling. Meursault’s relationship with his mother and how he had decided to proceed with his life had no connection to the trial. The prosecutor had also not given Meursault an ample amount of time to answer or prepare for is questions, it happened all so fast for Meursault. As a result, he created an unfair trial and unrelated points against Meursault. All in all the interpretation of these events, provided by the prosecution was largely unfounded.

Theories of Risk and Uncertainty

Theories of Risk and Uncertainty Outline the main social theories of risk and uncertainty using at least one example as illustration. One of the most lively areas of theoretical debate in social and cultural theory in recent times is that addressing the phenomenon of risk and the role it plays in contemporary social life and subjectivities. Three major theoretical perspectives on risk emerging since the early 1980s and gaining momentum in the 1990s may be distinguished. The first is offered by the work of Mary Douglas, who Began in the early 1980s setting forth an influential perspective on risk, one that adopts a cultural anthropological approach (Douglas and Wildavsky, 1982; Douglas, 1985, 1990, 1992). The German sociologist Ulrich Becks book ‘Risk society, published in English in 1992, has provided a major impetus to recent sociological examination of risk ( for some of his other writing on risk in English see also Beck, (1992a; Beck and Gernsheim, 1995). The English sociologist Anthony Giddens (1990,1991,1994,1998), adopting a similar perspective to that of Beck, has also influenced sociological diagnoses of the role of role in society. A third perspective is offered by the several theorist who have taken up Michel Foucaults writings on governmentality ( For example, Foucault, 1991) to explore the ways in which the state and other governmental apparatuses work together to govern that is, manage and regulate populations via risk discourses and strategies (Castel, 1991; Ewald, 1991; OMalley, 1996; Dean, 1997). These major theories are identified respectively as the ‘cultural/symbolic, the ‘risk society and the governmentality perspectives. Michel Foucault Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, sociologist and historian. In his book Security, Territory, Population, Foucault outlines his theory of governmentality, and demonstrates the distinction between sovereignty, discipline, and governmentality as distinct modalities of state power. [1] The concept of risk, employed to address governmental concerns, has contributed to the production of certain kinds of rationalities, strategies and subjectivities. According to the Foucauldian perspective, risk strategies and discourses are means of ordering the social and material worlds through methods of rationalization and calculation, attempts to render disorder and uncertainty more controllable. It is these strategies and discourses that bring risk into being, that select certain phenomena as being ‘risky and therefore requiring management, either by institutions or individuals. This is an outcome of the emergence of the modern system of liberal government, with its emphasis on rule an d the maintenance of order through voluntary self-discipline rather than via violent means. Risk is understood as one of the heterogeneous governmental strategies of disciplinary power by which populations and individuals are monitored and managed so as to best meet the goals of democratic humanism. Normalization, or the method by which norms of behaviour or health status are identified in populations and by which individuals are the compared to determine how best they fit the norm, is a central aspect of liberal government. Those who are determined to deviate from the norm significantly are typically identified as being ‘at risk. To be designated as ‘at risk, therefore, is to be positioned within a network of factors drawn from the observation of others. The implication of this rationalized discourse is that risk is ultimately controllable, as long as expert knowledge can be properly brought to bear upon it. Some of those taking up a Foucauldian perspective have remarked upon recent change in the governance of risk, in which there is far less reliance upon social insurance and far more upon individual self-management and self-protection from risk. This is an outcome of the political ethos of neo-liberalism, which emphasizes minimal intervention on the part of the state and emphasizes ‘self-help and individual autonomy for citizens. [2]Foucault himself and those taking up his perspectives on the regulation of subjects via the discourses of governmentality may be criticized for devoting too much attention to the discourses and strategies and not enough to how people actually respond to them as part of their everyday lives. Mary Douglas The authors suggest, reasonably enough, that ones personal political and cultural predispositions affect how one assess the risk of different possible social dangers. If this were the only factor affecting peoples risk assessment, it would be quite difficult to generate an informed social policy in a democratic society, and research in to actual risk levels associated with different degrees of social damage would be worthless, since people simply listen to the gurus that support their personal positions. The authors present no data. Why is data important? Because if 90% of voters fit their description, we are in a much different situation that if 10% do. My best guess is that people systematically underestimate most social risks (e.g. accidental nuclear war, deadly SARS-type plagues) and overestimate a few (riskiness of air travel, danger of poisons in food). Most people, however, are willing to let the ideologues battle it out, and are strongly affected by the way the journalistic accounts of the battle portrays the cogencies of different positions. If I am right, the extremists on either side of positions, of the sort depicted by the authors, perform a valuable function but do not determine the outcome for the purposes of social policy. For instance, there are vehement supporters of gun control and equally vehement supporters of the rights of gun owners. Most voters, however, lie somewhere in the middle and are swayed both by events and scientific evidence. If that is so, the possi bility of effective social policy is possible in a democracy. But, some say, the extremists are willing to put in time and money to sway the public, so ideology wins the day in this manner. I respond that it is wise for voters to take the strength of preferences into account in making social policy decisions. At any rate, no balanced discussion of these issues will be found in this volume. According to the NYT review Offering what they call a cultural theory of risk perception, the authors suggest that peoples complaints about hazards should never be taken at face value. One must look further to discover what forms of social organization are being defended or attacked. Applying this logic, we have to ask what Mary Douglas and Wildavsky have to gain from advancing this argumentand their consistently dismissive and condescending attitude toward environmentalists makes this fairly clear. If your unenlightened opposition INSISTS on talking about certain risks AS IF that was what REALLY mattered then you are, of course, completely justified in disregarding their point of view, (and for that matter them) entirely. Cultural Theory, as developed by Mary Douglas, argues that differing risk perceptions can be explained by reference to four distinct cultural biases: hierarchy, egalitarianism, individualism, and fatalism. Ulrich Beck Central to Becks and Giddens writing on risk society is the concept of reflexive modernity. This concept incorporates the notion that late modernity is characterized by a critique of the processes of modernity, which no longer unproblematically viewed as producing ‘goods (such as wealth and employment) but are now seen to produce many of the dangers or ‘bads from which we feel threatened (such as environmental pollution, unemployment and family breakdown). The central institutions of late modernity government, industry and science are singles out as the main producers of risk. An emphasis on risk, Beck and Giddens assert, is thus an integral feature of a society which has come to reflect upon itself, to critique itself. Exponents of the ‘risk society thesis also argue that in late modernity there is a trend towards individualization, or the progressive loss of tradition and social bonds as a means of structuring the life-course and forming personal identity. A major difference, they argue, in the ways in which we conceptualize and deal with dangers compared with individuals in earlier eras is the extent to which individuals are positioned as choosing agents. We now think of ourselves as exercising a high level of control over the extent to which we expose ourselves to danger and therefore as culpable for becoming prey to risk. Risk is primarily understood as a human responsibility, both in its production and management, rather than the outcome of fate or destiny, as was the case in pre-modern times. [1] Â · ^ Hansen, Thomas (2001). States of Imagination. Durham: Duke University Press. p.43. ISBN 0822327988. [2] Dean, M. (1999) Governmentality, Sage, London

Abortion: Where Has Morality Gone? :: abortion argumentative persuasive argument

Joan Didion's essay, "On Morality," poses the question, "What is 'right' and what is 'wrong,' what is 'good' and what 'evil'?" (182). In today's society, often times many people do not even consider this question before taking action. Morality has become a gray area in which morality can scarcely be defined. For instance, Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines morality as "the quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct." However, everyone has a different opinion of right and wrong. This difference of opinion on what is moral causes many disputes such as in the topic of abortion. Some people believe it is a woman's prerogative to choose whether or not to have a child, while still many others believe it is "morally" wrong. On the other hand, there are moderates who disagree with the idea or the morality of abortion, but agree that there are certain circumstances that should give the woman the option. Since abortion is essentially th e killing of an unborn child, why are women who abort not convicted as murderers; just as women who kill their children face such charges? Morality should be a standard at all times and abortion should be no exception. In fact, abortion is destroying the life of a child; therefore, it should be considered morally wrong, except when extenuating circumstances leave no other choice for the woman. While deciding whether to be pro-life or pro-choice, many people consider the moral aspect of abortion and its consequences. On the pro-choice side, a woman should have the right to choose whether or not she wants to give birth. The argument is that it is her body and she is the one who will have the responsibility of caring for that child. The problem, however, with this argument is that it does not take into consideration whether abortion is right or wrong, and it does not deal with the morality of the issue. However, the arguments of the pro-life side may be more correct simply because they make a moral judgment. In Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, abortion is defined as the "termination of a pregnancy often accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of an embryo or fetus.

Book Report of Brave New World Essay -- Essays Papers

Book Report of Brave New World Author: Aldous Huxley was born in 1894, and died in 1963, the same day JFK was assassinated. He first went to Eton, and then to Oxford. He was a brilliant man, and became a successful writer of short stories in the twenties and thirties. The first novels he wrote were comments on the young generation, with no goal whatsoever, that lived after WW I. Before he became a writer; he worked as a journalist and a critic of drama. Other books of his include "Antic Hay", "Time Must Have a Stop" and "Island". Next to novels, essays and short stories he also wrote poems, biographies, plays, political books, and even a record of his experiments with drugs. Theme: The theme of Brave New World is freedom and how people want it. The people want poetry, danger, good and bad things. This novel shows that when you must give up religion, high art, true science, family, love and other foundations of modern life in place of a sort of unending happiness, it is not worth the sacrifice. These are all also distinguishing marks between humans and animals that were abolished here. In exchange, they received stability with no wars, social unrest, no poverty or disease or any other infirmities or discomforts. However, they only live with an artificial happiness, which they have been brainwashed to love since infancy. There is no marriage, no violence or no sadness which may result in an unstable society which would threaten the totalitarian government. But the majority of the people don't realize what they are missing as it's never been there. It's a society in which the human being only serves a sociological and scientifical purpose; the individual thoug ht is overruled by one big autocratic state. Huxley is also telling us to be careful with our science, or we may end up like the Utopians, mass producing identical citizens, then brainwashing them to think alike and to think exactly what the government mandates. Exposition: In the first scene we are introduced to the futuristic world of London and how the babies are "conditioned" and categorized from birth. Then we meet some of the main characters, Bernard and Lenina who are both Alpha Plus status. It is foreshadowed that the two are going to make a trip to a Savage Reservation in New Mexico for vacation. Complications: Before Bernard and Lenina leave for the savage camp Ber... ...lso dislikes the Utopian civilization. The problem with him is they let they him get too smart. That led him to want a better life, a dream he felt was unobtainable in Utopia. He was one of the few people that understood John and had similar interests in literature. He is also classified as an alpha-plus. Setting: The novel is situated around six hundred thirty-two years "after Ford" released the T-Model automobile, or around 2535. Ford has become somewhat of a God. It is essential to the theme that it be placed in the future because of the advancement in technology and science. Without these progressions the Utopian Society could not have been created. Diction: I thought that Aldous Huxley's style was good and easy to understand and follow. He used descriptive words when they were needed. They gave you the illusion of being in a futuristic world. The beginning is filled with technological information mixed in with the description of the world. The word "Ford" is often used instead of "God" and obscenities. Method of Narration: The novel is written in 3rd person omniscient and Huxley frequently uses characters to portray his thoughts about the Utopian Society. Book Report of Brave New World Essay -- Essays Papers Book Report of Brave New World Author: Aldous Huxley was born in 1894, and died in 1963, the same day JFK was assassinated. He first went to Eton, and then to Oxford. He was a brilliant man, and became a successful writer of short stories in the twenties and thirties. The first novels he wrote were comments on the young generation, with no goal whatsoever, that lived after WW I. Before he became a writer; he worked as a journalist and a critic of drama. Other books of his include "Antic Hay", "Time Must Have a Stop" and "Island". Next to novels, essays and short stories he also wrote poems, biographies, plays, political books, and even a record of his experiments with drugs. Theme: The theme of Brave New World is freedom and how people want it. The people want poetry, danger, good and bad things. This novel shows that when you must give up religion, high art, true science, family, love and other foundations of modern life in place of a sort of unending happiness, it is not worth the sacrifice. These are all also distinguishing marks between humans and animals that were abolished here. In exchange, they received stability with no wars, social unrest, no poverty or disease or any other infirmities or discomforts. However, they only live with an artificial happiness, which they have been brainwashed to love since infancy. There is no marriage, no violence or no sadness which may result in an unstable society which would threaten the totalitarian government. But the majority of the people don't realize what they are missing as it's never been there. It's a society in which the human being only serves a sociological and scientifical purpose; the individual thoug ht is overruled by one big autocratic state. Huxley is also telling us to be careful with our science, or we may end up like the Utopians, mass producing identical citizens, then brainwashing them to think alike and to think exactly what the government mandates. Exposition: In the first scene we are introduced to the futuristic world of London and how the babies are "conditioned" and categorized from birth. Then we meet some of the main characters, Bernard and Lenina who are both Alpha Plus status. It is foreshadowed that the two are going to make a trip to a Savage Reservation in New Mexico for vacation. Complications: Before Bernard and Lenina leave for the savage camp Ber... ...lso dislikes the Utopian civilization. The problem with him is they let they him get too smart. That led him to want a better life, a dream he felt was unobtainable in Utopia. He was one of the few people that understood John and had similar interests in literature. He is also classified as an alpha-plus. Setting: The novel is situated around six hundred thirty-two years "after Ford" released the T-Model automobile, or around 2535. Ford has become somewhat of a God. It is essential to the theme that it be placed in the future because of the advancement in technology and science. Without these progressions the Utopian Society could not have been created. Diction: I thought that Aldous Huxley's style was good and easy to understand and follow. He used descriptive words when they were needed. They gave you the illusion of being in a futuristic world. The beginning is filled with technological information mixed in with the description of the world. The word "Ford" is often used instead of "God" and obscenities. Method of Narration: The novel is written in 3rd person omniscient and Huxley frequently uses characters to portray his thoughts about the Utopian Society.

Different Perceptions of Beauty in Nature Essay -- Transcendentalism P

Different Perceptions of Beauty in Nature Ralph Waldo Emerson derived his philosophy of transcendentalism from ideas of Plato. According to Emerson, one has to have a very sensual relationship with beauty and nature in order to reach this transcendence. However, Emerson’s outlook on beauty as written in Nature is very different from what Plato wrote in The Republic. Interestingly, these differences will result in different methods for attaining the same state of transcendence. I believe, however, that Emerson’s method best describes how the soul transcends. The act of recalling beauty in its true and perfect form, Beauty, will lead to transcendence and the recovery of the soul. To Plato, transcendence comes not from experiencing anything in the material world as Emerson says, but â€Å"only the study of unseen reality can draw the soul upward† (223). Ultimate, true Beauty is the soul in its purest, transcended form: The soul must be seen as it truly is. It must not be distorted as we find it when it is hinged to the body and its miseries. The light of reason must enable us to discover the soul in its pure form, where its beauty is far more radiant (302). According to Plato, this perfect form of Beauty can be found by examining one’s soul using reason and wisdom. It can only be found by looking within and examining that which is not part of the physical world and cannot be seen. Emerson on the other hand believes that the way to transcend the soul is to go forth into nature and experience its beauty in all the senses. He believes nature’s beauty will allow man to find wisdom and to be closer to God. He writes, â€Å"in the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no d... ...ight in his way of looking at the world and nature. Plato says that transcendence cannot occur by looking at the things in nature because they are merely imitations of the form of Beauty and will not recall the real thing. But Emerson says this recall is possible because God, the Good, has created this beauty. In doing so, Emerson demolishes the world of appearances and extends the divided line, naming the natural, visible world as the world of reality. Hence going out into nature will allow one to know God and true Beauty, resulting in transcendence and contradicting what Plato said in The Republic. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. â€Å"Nature.† The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ed. Brooks Atkinson. New York: Modern Library, 1992. Plato. The Republic. Trans. Richard W. Sterling and William C. Scott. New York: W.W. Norton, 1985.

Hiring the Educated

Hiring the Educated — A New Approach to Staffing the Automobile Factory Dawn Kennedy January 25, 2012 Managing Human Resources Dr. Pat Smallwood Hiring the Educated — A New Approach to Staffing the Automobile Factory Overview: This case shows us how Ford and Chrysler’s workforce and staffing processes have changed over the years. We see how the industry has moved from being dominated by the less educated worker to the highly educated worker and why this phenomenon has taken place. We are also taken through how the new selection process that Ford uses to hire it’s employees, as well as the statistical information surrounding their hiring process. Question 1: What do you think Ford’s overall strategic perspective is? How well does its new selection system support this strategy? Ford’s overall strategic perspective is to hire the highly educated worker in an effort to lower training costs and to be able to succeed in the global market. According to the article, I would that Ford is right on target as far as cutting training costs. As far as succeeding in the global market, the article makes it clear that this remains to be seen, however, my personal opinion is that Ford is a very strong competitor and will continue to be for many years to come. Question 2: What steps are included in Ford’s selection procedure? According to the chapter, what other techniques could it incorporate? Ford’s selection process includes rigorous math and cognitive testing, as well as teamwork skills testing and finally drug testing, followed by a physical exam. Other techniques that could have been incorporated include trainability testing, personality testing, and honesty testing. Question 3: Are there any other factors that are causing the auto companies to alter their selection procedures and look for more educated employees? They are looking for ways to lower training costs and they also need more employees who can supervise themselves due to a lack of adequately trained supervisors. Question 4: How do you think this scenario will play out? Will the educated workers leave? Will they stay? I think the educated workers will stay because they are now the ones that are being sought after for their ability to multitask and be more fluid within the different departments. Question 5: What type of work will the high school dropouts and immigrants who used to be selected to work in these car plants now be doing? The high school dropouts and immigrants may be given an opportunity to prove themselves through the use of the rigorous testing Ford has implemented for their hiring processes, but chances are that these individuals will be demoted or let go for more menial labor positions. Question 6: What benefits will Chrysler get from educating high school students? The recruits will be highly educated in the areas in which Chrysler consider important and will be work-ready upon their graduation from high school. This means that the people that they are educating while still in school will be valuable assets to their company as soon as they graduate. Once they are available to the general workforce, there will be no delay in these individuals ability to begin being of service to Chrysler. CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: Upon submission of this paper I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared specifically for this course. ************************************************************************ Instructor’s grade on assignment: ______________ Instructor’s comments:

Non-Accounting Majors

Various accounting principles plays vital role in the success of efficient management of inventories of any companies. Inventories are important aspect of the company since it is the one the determines the available raw materials for the production of the organization, or it could be that it determine the available stocks of the company on their warehouses to be distributed to the market (Robertson, 1998). So much with the importance of inventory management, let us now pay more attention on the importance of accounting to inventory management. Well, the idea of check and balance of accounting could be used by managers assigned in inventory management. Inventories must be checked every now and then depending on the need of the company, the demand and supplies of raw materials must be on balance in order not to affect the operation of the business. Moreover, inventory managers having knowledge in accounting would enables them to determine the allowable level of ending inventories by the end of every period so as to make the financial condition as well as the assets to be stable. There are also times that there are inventories that are non-taxable, therefore, the inventory manager must know how to present those non-taxable inventories to the accountant of the company. The inventory manager should know this kind of principles in order not for the company to pay too much tax and for the smooth flow of data transfer from one department to another since the inventory manager has to identify first those non-taxable inventories before presenting the report to the accounting division. With this, even simply knowledge in accounting would give companies chances of working things smoothly. I am not saying that inventory managers have to acquire accounting studies as well. But the mere basic principles of accounting would be just enough for us to perform our responsibilities well and to avoid committing mistakes as to the proper ways of presenting the needed data of various departments of the organization. REFERENCE Robertson, L. (1998). Managing Inventory [Electronic Version], 1. Retrieved 9-20-07 from http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/july98/mech.htm. Â   Â  

Historical linguistics Essay

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language.[1][2][3][4][5] Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context. The earliest known activities in descriptive linguistics have been attributed toPÄ Ã¡ ¹â€¡ini around 500 BCE, with his analysis of Sanskrit in Ashtadhyayi.[6] One subfield of linguistics is the study of language structure, or grammar. This focuses on the system of rules followed by the users of a language. It includes the study of morphology (the formation and composition of words), syntax (the formation and composition of phrases and sentences from these words), and phonology (sound systems). Phonetics is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds and nonspeech sounds, and how they are produced and perceived. The study of language meaning is concerned with how languages employ logical structures and real-world references to convey, process, and assign meaning, as well as to manage and resolve ambiguity. This category includes the study of semantics (how meaning is inferred from words and concepts) and pragmatics (how meaning is inferred from context). Linguistics also looks at the broader context in which language is influenced by social, cultural, historical and political factors. This includes the study of evolutionary linguistics, which investigates into questions related to the origins and growth of languages; historical linguistics, which explores language change; sociolinguistics, which looks at the relation between linguistic variation and social structures;psycholinguistics, which explores the representation and function of language in the mind; neurolinguistics, which looks at language processing in the brain; language acquisition, on how children or adults acquire language; and discourse analysis, which involves the structure of texts and conversations. Although linguistics is the scientific study of language, a number of other intellectual disciplines are relevant to language and intersect with it.Semiotics, for example, is the general study of signs and symbols both within language and without. Literary theorists study the use of language in literature. Linguistics additionally draws on and informs work from such diverse fields as acoustics, anthropology, biology,computer science, human anatomy, informatics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and speech-language pathology. Prev Page

Parallels between Gilgamesh and Genesis Essay

I. Introduction: Today, we are often bombarded with various inventions and discoveries coming from different parts of the world. But it is with great amazement when we look upon the advancement made by an ancient civilization that has come to be acknowledged as the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia, at a time when most of its neighboring people-group was pursuing a nomadic life. Not only have they revolutionized human society through its invention of the wheel, writing too, must have originated in this place as shown by the Epic of Gilgamesh. Ancient as it is, being one of the world’s earliest-known epic poetry (â€Å"Epic†) taken from Sumeria and which the Babylonians developed into a long poem, it is undoubtedly beautiful; and ancient as it may be, high respect should be given   to it as one of the literary masterpieces of mankind. Genesis on the other hand, is the first book of the Bible. Genesis is the Greek word for â€Å"beginning† or â€Å"origin†, and is a Greek translation derived from the Hebrew b’reshith meaning â€Å"in the beginning†, the first word in the Old Testament. II. Meaning and Importance A. Epic of Gilgamesh At the outset, as one reads through the poem, it would readily display the glorification of the central figure, the historical warlike king of Uruk —Gilgamesh. All throughout the poem, the reader is led through his many exploits and achievements of Gilgamesh that gives the over-all impression of a constancy of battle-like stance. This I would not find surprising since this people’s land was always subjected to crisis such as the threat of invasion or the flooding of the rivers. As to the story, it relates much on how he has overcome every opponent, obstacles, and almost everything he had set out to do. Such achievements were made possible and justifiable as the narrative describes the super-human nature of the lead figure — being two-thirds divine and one-third human. How Gilgamesh emerges as a conqueror comprises the first part of the story. It would seem that the author wants to establish the fact that all the hopes and aspirations of its people are embodied in Gilgamesh. The first part shows and proves that whatever man could aspire to achieve or be has been done by the superhuman Gilgamesh. The second part directs the story towards the king’s bid for immortality through his quest for the immortalized Uta-Napishtim. Structurally speaking, these two parts (which would almost appear as unrelated) divides the story. Both would seem to take the reader into two different directions, driving down two different points. The death of Enkidu serves as the turning point that separates the two parts. What serves for continuity for the narrative are the inherent traits of Gilgamesh’s character — his fearlessness and obstinacy to be undaunted by obstacles. What is also a unique trait of the account of Gilgamesh is that the reading of the story is through a transcription of an oral story-telling, which the narrator in the story also revealed as a transcribed oral story of ancient times. Just as Gilgamesh was described as half-human and half-divine, so is the overall nature of the story. The narrator convinces its listeners and readers alike of the real existence of the king. However, its way of convincing is ironic since it proves the authenticity of its story through the existence of the very walls of the city of Uruk which we, present-day readers would find nowhere but in the walls of our imagination (â€Å"Assro-Babylonian Mythology: Gilgamesh†). The epic serves not only as a literary feat for early civilization; it also bears the identity of the early settlers of the Tigris-Euphrates area. However, its relevance supersedes its cultural identity. This ancient story connects its people with us and all of humanity as they ponder the same question which afflicts all men — death, the destiny of every man. It also attempts to answer whether any mortal man could possibly escape it and also the mystery of what lies ahead after death. In finding the answer and conclusion to these questions lies the significance of the two parts of the story. As mentioned, the first part is given to prove the semi god-like abilities of Gilgamesh. If he then, who bears such qualities failed in his bid for immortality, as shown on the second part, how much more for ordinary mortals? The narrative convinces its hearers or readers of the inevitability of death and must resign oneself of this fact. The most that man can do is to be fearless in facing it, the way Gilgamesh triumphantly faced death together with Enkidu in the great Cedar Forest. However, its main conclusion is: that man is powerless to escape it. B. Genesis Genesis originated as part of a larger literary unit that was only later broken up into books. That larger unit is the religious history of ancient Israel, usually called the Pentateuch. In it were traced Israel’s origins from its chief formative experiences down to its settlement in the land of Palestine. Also incorporated into the narrative were law codes formulated at various times in Israelite history. The entire complex came to be ascribed to Israel’s founder and first lawgiver, Moses. This position has been modified as a result of modern Biblical scholarship. Genesis is a logical division of the original text of the Pentateuch. It represents a twofold introduction to the story of Israel’s formation as a â€Å"covenant people†Ã¢â‚¬â€God’s chosen people. The patriarchal history comprises cycles of stories relating to three major figures of the pre Israelite past, namely Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, together with supplementary traditions about other ancestors who were of secondary interest. After an introductory genealogy there appears first the story of Abraham and Isaac. Included is a fragmentary history, possibly of Moabite origin, of Lot, the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites, who were related to the Israelites. There is also the history of Ishmael, who is regarded as the ancestor of the Arab peoples. The second major cycle is that of Isaac and Jacob. This cycle also contains supplementary material, some of the Edomites origins, relating to Esau, ancestor of the Edomites. Finally, there is the extensive and distinctive story of Joseph, the major intrusions into which are a variant history of Judah in chapter 38 and the â€Å"blessings† of the Israelite tribes in Chapter 49. Chapter 1 tells of God’s act of creation. Chapters 2-11 record human history from Adam to Abraham and describe the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel, and the Flood. The connecting link between all these parts of Genesis as well as between it and the other books of the Pentateuch, which it introduces, is a concept of divine intervention in man’s history. This concept has been given the name Heitsgeschichte, â€Å"salvation history†. Israel believed itself to be the product of a history in which it had encountered a God who had made it His Covenant people. The great events of this history are traced—the Exodus from Egypt; the experiences of the Red Sea, of Sinai, and of Kadesh, where Israel waited outside the Promised Land; and the occupation of the Promised Land. All these reveal a God of mercy and kindness, though also of justice and retribution, a God who had chosen Israel out of simple, gratuitous love. This historical perspective was imposed in Genesis both on the patriarchal legends that had been derived from Palestine and on the mixed Mesopotamian- Palestinian myths and sagas from which the book’s first chapters are constructed. Thus in Genesis, Creation is seen no longer as mere myth, that is, as a religious conviction visualized in narrative. It is instead, the first in a series of God’s saving acts, by which he had brought forth an ordered universe out of primordial formlessness. Man was placed in that world as God’s image and likeness, to be its ruler. But men improved unequal to the task. His wilfulness set him in opposition to God and introduced disorder into the world. After this followed murder and the hatred of man for man, for example, Cain and Abel, Lamech and the Cainites, even cosmic disorder, which the story of the sons of God and the daughters of men attempts to, explain. The Flood is understood in Genesis as both divine retribution and mercy: it brought an end to an evil generation, but a faithful remnant was preserved in the person of the righteous Noah and those who were saved for his sake. III. Gilgamesh and the Flood in the Bible The epic makes mention of the Flood in reference with one of the oldest books of the Bible. Similarities of the two accounts were the flood, the gigantic boat, and the fact that animals and living creatures were made to come aboard along with the one human family who entered the boat. There are major disparities though as to the recounting of the event. In the account of the Bible, the coming of the Great Flood in Noah’s days was not held as a secret before men, whereas in the story of Gilgamesh, the gods have intended to have it kept as a secret. Noah was even commanded by God to preach and warn the people of its coming (as a sign of His mercy) while he builds the ark. The people however, did not listen and even taunted Noah. Such reactions may have been likely since many Bible scholars believe that prior to this incident, rain had not yet fallen on the earth. In the Bible account, the door of the ark was supernaturally closed and opened by God alone. Noah had no power or aut hority over it. In Gilgamesh’s, the sealing of the door bears no spiritual meaning. Noah’s God and the gods in Gilgamesh were shown to have deeply regretted the sending of the flood that has wiped out humanity expect for those inside the great boat. One of the gods in the epic was displeased at first with the survivors, while the God of Noah readily blessed them. IV. Conclusion The work unfolds before us the thoughts and intents of the Sumerians and the rest of the Mesopotamians. Like the rest of most societies, they give enormous significance to fame and wealth. Fearlessness is held as a great virtue, born out perhaps of their constant living in fear of antagonizing their gods who they believed caused them all their troubles. Although Mesopotamians have achieved much, they did hold a pessimistic view. Life, it seemed for them, was a constant struggle a struggle against the forces of nature and the caprices of their gods. Towards the end of the story, even the endeavors of men would come to nothing as he comes to the end of his life. â€Å"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die† would have been the guiding principle of Mesopotamians. Perhaps so, since one historian had noted that over forty percent of their grain production was used to make beer. Although we discuss this epic as an ancient story, the quest for the answers about life and death still continuous to haunt several people even to this present-day. Above all, however, Biblical critics of the 20th century are willing to measure Genesis by historical standards other than those of the 19th century. By those standards Genesis was condemned or defended in the time of the â€Å"Babel and Bible† controversy. That dispute developed when the Sumerian and Akkadian literatures of ancient Mesopotamia were discovered and deciphered in the 19th century. The conclusion was easily drawn that the message of Genesis was of no more relevance to the history of religions than the myths of Babylonia, whatever might be the other values of the book. But the 20th century idea of history is more attuned to that which inspired the authors of Genesis. This view recognizes that recording specific facts and dares is not the, real object of history writing. Rather, the aim is to discover and portray realities that challenge human experience and demand an accounting. By the criteria of historicism Moses can hardly said to have existed; yet Israel itsel f is the historical witness of Moses. Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two great books that could inspire people when they read it. The facts and information’s are somewhat intertwined in some ways. These two books should be treasured and cherished especially by those who want to know the history of our forefathers, their fall and how they were saved by a mighty Creator.

Pro Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pro Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example Recognition of gay marriage will pave the way to truly equal and accepting society where all people share the same freedoms and get the opportunity to love, be loved and create a family regardless of their sexual orientation. All arguments against gay marriage are ideological in their nature and they can be easily disapproved. According to Kellard, gay marriage does not threaten the institution of tradition marriage because not all traditional marriages are based on love. Many couples decide to marry in order to get money, social benefits or the access to healthcare. The rate of divorces in the USA tends to climb high and, obviously, it is not an indicator of a solid traditional marriage. Despite common beliefs that gay marriages are harmful for children, they serve as a better alternative to families where children have only one loving parent. Conservative religious beliefs does not apply to those who do not share them so it is not fare to take away freedom of love and religion from those who are granted to have it constitutionally (Kellard). Overall, there is no reason to think about gay marriage is something harmful and threatening; it is just a union of people who want to live together as a family. Objections to same-sex marriages are usually expressed by extremely conservative people who reinterpret information and even lie in order to present the issue in negative light and persuade Americans that they will ruin everything by supporting gay marriage. For instance, Dana Loesch, who is a well-recognized columnist, often writes about lawsuits filed by gay couples against certain organization in different states. In her articles gay couples sue with people who deny taking photos of their wedding, baking a wedding cake or renting a pavilion for their marriage (cited in Lampo). However, according to Lampo, all these cases have nothing to

Rational for the lesson I design by using technology in teaching Assignment - 1

Rational for the lesson I design by using technology in teaching English( power point and Hot potato software) - Assignment Example 276). CALL uses a wide range of technological tools to assist language teachers and learners to achieve an effective learning process (Leakey 2011, p. 56). Technology in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) refers to CALL–based teaching methods (Levy and Stockwell 2006, p. 15). There are many technological tools that can be employed as CALL enhancements for TEFL including: computer programs like PowerPoint and Hot Potatoes, online interactive systems like Skype, internet social networks like Twitter and Face book, web blogs and wikis among others (Levy and Stockwell 2006, p. 23; Nadia 2013, p. 3). Although these technological tools are regarded with skepticism by some analysts, they play an important role in improving the overall TEFL process both to the teacher and to the students (Leakey 2011, p. 96). The following essay details a critical analysis on the use of CALL tools for TEFL with specific reference to the tools I used. I chose the Microsoft software, PowerPoint to design materials for my TEFL lesson and Hot Potatoes for student exercises and activities. This lesson was designed for intermediate level students in Saudi Arabia. The class is composed of young children between the ages of 12 years and 16 years (International Bureau of Education 2011, p. 21). These kids have just completed their primary or elementary school level. The class is composed of both girls and boys who have learned Arabic as their first language (International Bureau of Education 2011, p. 22). The class has 25 pupils. The students need CALL resources such as laptops and computers to use for the presentation and subsequent tasks. The internet is also needed for this lesson mainly for the Hot Potatoes testing program. The first strength is that, I am a highly trained professional in the fields of TEFL and in CALL implementation. This ensures that I will execute my responsibilities effectively to impart English skills in the students. I am also armed with suitable

Cultural Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cultural Music - Essay Example What we are going to explore in this paper are the values, cultural music uphold, its historical significance, where it came from and the factors that distinguishes the cultural music from that of popular culture. We would put light across factors like religious rituals, social rituals, materialism and how it developed. Cultural value becomes a relative idea today because it is everywhere turned into something quantifiable, as the principle of exchange value (i.e., price) is extended into all spheres of life. Music when considered on a broad spectrum, is an art, and the value of art becomes a shifting term in an economy of cultural meanings, defined by its relation to other signifying elements in the cultural system, not to anything "real" to which it might ultimately refer. But when it comes to musical judgments, cultures are never explored in the context of social values. Though the formation of "taste cultures" has always been socially defined. Participation in certain genres of music say, grand opera, street ballads, or rural folk music was historically determined by a person's social position, not by a purely independent aesthetic choice. Indeed, from a sociological perspective, cultural taste is always a social category rather than an aesthetic one; it refers to the way we use cultural judgments as social "currency, " to mark our social positions. This may be less clear today, since contemporary society is characterized by the fragmentation of older taste cultures and the proliferation of new ones. In this context, cultural musical transactions take place with increasing rapidity hence the heating up of the cultural economy and its rapid turnover of new products. Not only are taste cultures themselves shifting, but people now tend to move between them with greater ease. These factors contribute to a sense of the relativity of any single position. Contemporary musical choices enable us to make selection from among umpteen choices, such choices refer to the pluralism, and the effect of that plurality is inevitably to confirm that, in matters of musical judgment, the individual can be the only authority. (Johnson, 2002, p. 7) Musician Perception Musicians are perceived as "speaking on behalf" of the cultures they perform. As Harnish says, "For those of us teaching in geographic areas of little diversity, we are charged with or charge ourselves with the task of representing the music and culture of the ensemble". (Solis, 2004, p. 14) Debate about music, even technical debate between musicians, has always been an attempt to wrestle with this conundrum: music flows from individuals to other individuals and yet seems to be shaped by supra individual forces. The basic model of that conundrum does not change. Music teachers, however, are the only

Freedom of Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom of Speech - Essay Example A very popular case of a Christian student of a public school, wearing a tee-shirt proclaiming ‘Homosexuality is shameful’ was found offensive by the school and illegal constitutionally by the federal court. The main reason cited by the judges was that it offended the sensibilities of the minority, in this case, that of sexual orientation and that ‘it interfered in their learning’. The reaffirmation of the illegality of the student’s case raised many pertinent cases and the main point of the case remained wide scope of free speech. Does declaring one’s point of mind or personal preferences should really be constituted as illegal and if that is so, what is the relevance of freedom of speech as awarded by the 1st amendment of the constitution? In the present time, freedom of speech is being taken as a fashion statement. While exerting their right of expression by words or deeds, people must ensure that their personal freedom does not impinge on somebody else’s rights and in any way violate their sense of self-esteem, religiosity or as stated sexual orientation. Freedom of speech is universally accepted as a right for free expression so long as it is confined to themselves and nonoffensive for others. It is equally true that people have been exercising this right for a long time for peaceful purposes through various means like media, public speeches, and debates etc. The controversial issues, being discussed publicly and hotly debated at public platforms, have produced some highly relevant results, favored by masses. Controversy, at times, becomes necessary for the dissemination of information which is so necessary for the resolution of disputed issues and controversial topics.

The Interactional View by Watzlawick Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Interactional View by Watzlawick - Essay Example The Interactional View says that the first axiom is people are always communicating, even when they are not saying anything. It says that communication is content plus relationship. Content is what people say, while relationship is how people say them. Metacommunication is also the relationship, which the way people communicate about their communication. The last time my grandmother and I talked, the content of our topic is dating. She warned about dating white Americans because of her stereotyping that they can have very sexual views of women. I did not want to correct her that even Chinese men also have sexual views of women. Then, I told her that I am not currently dating any white or any other ethnic or racial group, but if I did, it should not be a problem because I own my heart and life. She got angry and yelled at me over the phone and hanged up. I was very hurt, but I called her again and said sorry. I remember now that my metacommunication regarding this topic is angry and d efensive. I have disrespected my grandmother. To understand more my communication with my grandmother, I can use the concepts of complementary interchange, one-up communication, one-down communication, and one-across communication. Complementary interchange means that parties know that they have power differences. One-up communication is a move to control the exchange, one-down communication is a move to give control of the exchange, and one-across communication is the move to level the control of the exchange.  

Rhetorical Analysis of Mirror, Mirror On the Web by Lakshmi Chaudhry Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of Mirror, Mirror On the Web by Lakshmi Chaudhry - Essay Example The writer is successful in using the tools of effective communication to advise internet users concerning the intention of using the internet and its effective utilization to avoid deception from selfish users. Rhetoric in Lakshmi Chaudhry’s Mirror, Mirror On the Web is evidenced by the way he attempts to inform, persuade and motivate his readers. Chaundry’s rhetorical devices are critical in his essay as they provide heuristics that enable him to discover, understand and develop excellent arguments concerning the use of the web. The three persuasive audience appeals prevalent in the essay include logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos constitute persuading the audience by use of reasoning that backs up the claims. Pathos provides means of persuading the audience by appealing to their emotions as a way of enhancing the receptivity of the argument. Ethos is critical in writing since they trace the immoral actions and appraise the moral acts to promote ethics in society (Longaker and Walker 23). Lakshmi Chaudhry’s article portrays clear evidence of the three persuasive evidence appeals. The writer argues that with the corollary of individualism has become narcissism, an inflated evaluation of self-worth devoid of any real sense of "self" or "worth." (Chaudhry 2) The current generation is characterized by widespread selfhood in favour of success. People lose the morality of being concerned about others and adopt character traits of callousness where personal happiness becomes the sole goal of hard work. This is actually what drives the generation ‘Me’ to fame since they want to be the centre of attention. People have embraced the internet as a panacea for various political ill motives (Chaudhry 3).

Conceptual paper on marketing of your choice Research

Conceptual on marketing of your choice - Research Paper Example Sustainability is relative to the societal concept, which means that tourism resources must be under control to ensure an environment free from pollution. Besides, it focuses on depletion and must be applied appropriately in a way that benefit the future generation. With many concerns of environment, tourism industry has since adopted the concept of sustainability. As such, it has remained an important concept towards environmental sustainability. Mayon (2013), clarifies that there is a wide range of possibilities by, which the public spend holiday activities and leisure time. Touring and exploring the environment is one of the leisure activities that most people love. Whereas, some members of the public may decide to seek for the nature walk in the jungle far away from home, others may decide to utilize such an opportunity in luxurious hotels. Regardless of any form of leisure, precautions must be taken to ensure that its negative impacts to the environment are avoided. It has also been pointed out that tourism exert pressure to the environment around the destinations that are frequented by members of the public. In essence, a tour around coastal terrain causes an impact to the communities, especially around areas that are mostly dominated by visitors. In certain environments, hotels and lodges have been built taking up land that initially played an important host to both living organisms and the society that are also critical to the ecosystem. Besides, campsites and bone fire that are used as alternative accommodation to warm the environment during at night have also attributed to massive degradation of the environment. The above activities enhance the rate of landslides and depletion of water catchment areas. Eventually, the environment becomes even much more eroded when raw toxic wastes from restaurants are released into water bodies hence increasing the rate of

This experiment is designed Essay Example for Free

This experiment is designed Essay This is experiment is designed to approximate i , the coefficient of friction, for two surfaces. We used a piece of rubber on the bottom of a wooden block on a wooden table. Assumptions To undertake this experiment, first I developed an equation allowing a straight line to be plotted from our results. This will test if Coulombs law is correct. The main assumptions made in this experiment are: 1. Acceleration is constant 2. The strings are light and inextensible, and the pulley is light and smooth 3. g, gravity is 9. 8 4. Coulombs law is correct 5. There is no air resistance 6. F=ma These assumptions have different weights in affecting our results. Some are more likely to affect our results, whilst others will only have a small effect. Assumption How strong the effect is on results Acceleration is constant This will have a moderate effect on the results. We can see that the acceleration is not constant. This is because friction does change slightly with velocity, and we are ignoring air resistance Light, inextensible strings In fact the strings do stretch slightly, and do have a small weight. This will affect the results as forces will not be constant during the experiment, and therefore produce irregular acceleration. Light, smooth pulley This will affect the results in the same way as above. We attempted to use the smoothest pulley available, but obviously it can never be perfectly smooth. That the pulley has mass does not affect our results, as we are not dependent on the pulleys mass for our results. Gravity is 9. 8 This will introduce a systematic error into our calculations, but as we will use this assumption for both the results and the model, it will not make a difference for our experiment. Coulombs law is correct This will make a big difference to our results. By assuming that , our calculations are fairly simple. However, this linear model is incorrect. This will affect our results considerably, and may results in a curve being plotted from our results instead of a straight line. No air resistance This will have a mild effect on the results. Because the block of wood and the weights are fairly small, the effects of air resistance are negligible. However there will be a small effect, which again may force the results into a curve rather than a straight line. This assumption will not impact our results very much at all. For macroscopic objects, such as we are dealing with, this law is a very good model. However if we were to repeat the experiment using single atoms for the objects, this would be a bad model. To help overcome these systematic errors, we insured that we had the smoothest pulley, and that the surfaces that we used were consistent. In other words, that the table was the same roughness all the way along it, and that the rubber was the same all over. Manipulating the model When m2 is released m1 accelerates. These two objects can be looked at separately. Using . (1) (2) (3) Using (Coulombs Law) (4) Substituting equation 4 into equation 1 Substituting into equation 3 (5) Assuming constant acceleration (see note above) As Substituting into equation 5 The two variables will be m1 and t. By putting , we can cancel m2 from the equation. Setting k to be 1022g (this is the lowest weight for which it will still move) . This is because otherwise m2 hits the floor. .. 1031. 8 should be 9. 8*1022 This allows us to plot a graph with m1 on the x-axis, and on the y-axis. Comparing the above equation with shows us that the gradient should be , and the y-intercept should be 0. 673. 6. 533333333333333333 Conducting the experiment Again, this diagram shows the layout of the experiment. m2 weighs more than m1. When m2 is released m1 accelerates. In my model I assumed that this acceleration is constant. However in reality this is not true. As mentioned previously, this will affect my results. The weight of m1 presses down on the table as the block accelerates. This causes frictional resistance between the block and the bottom of the table. The coefficient of friction between the rubber on the bottom of the block and the table is denoted by ?. By measuring the time taken to move over a specified distance, and by knowing the weight of the two masses it is possible to calculate ?. Following on from the assumptions above, it is possible to attempt to minimise the effects of these modelling approximations. For instance, if it were possible to ensure constant acceleration then doing this would reduce errors, and make the results more accurate. 1. Ensuring that the pulley was as smooth as possible. 2. Ensuring that the table was of equal roughness all the way along it. 3. Making sure that there is no wind or draughts on the block. 4. Making sure that the string is as inextensible as possible. Variation in experimental results As in every experiment, there is variation in the results. This is because in, real life, there are more than two variables changing. For example, random draughts, inaccuracy in timing, inaccuracy in measuring distance, inaccurate weights and differences in the table surface. The error bars on the graph show this error, with the central line showing an average. Comparison between experimental data and predictions of the model The predictions of the model give a line of the equation y = -1. 37x + 13. 8. This gives ? to be 1. 14. This is a lot bigger than our original estimate. In addition, 13. 8 is approximately twice as big as 6. 53. This shows that our experiment does not follow our original model. This is probably due to our assumption that Coulombs Law is true. This model will produce a straight line. Our results show a subtle curvature, implying a non-linear relationship between F and ? r. Although random variation could have created this curve, it seems that it is due to the inaccurate model of Coulombs Law. If the experiment had been based on a non-linear law then a different set of equations would have been derived which would result in a linear function being plotted. Revision of the process To improve the experiment, it would be better to use light gates to improve accuracy for timing. On the results that we collected, the higher speeds resulted in wider error bounds and thus less accuracy. This is because it was a lot harder to accurately measure these fast times. Measuring the distances we were moving over more accurately would also increase accuracy, as would more accurate measurement of mass. However, accuracy is not the main issue in this experiment. For this experiment, it seems that our model is incorrect, rather than the results. To improve this experiment, our assumptions need to be changed. Most assumptions are fine, but the assumption of Coulombs law is very inaccurate. This assumption of a linear relationship forced our results into a curve. To achieve a more meaningful analysis of these results, we need a better model on which to compare them. However, more accurate models for friction are much more complex and far less simple to use.