Sky & Telescope Essays - Physical Cosmology, Astrophysics

Sky & Telescope Patrick Sullivan 2nd hour Astronomy Mr. Wessling Magazine Report Sky & Telescope The Future of the Universe The magazine Sky & Telescope is a very helpful magazine for beginning and amateur astronomers. The magazine contains information on new star clusters, constellations, galaxies, and even possible new planets. It gives a more in-depth look at what's going on outside our galaxy. This magazine is also helpful in showing astronomers new ways to look at stars. Certain articles can help with finding focal points, which elements of the spectrum to use to view certain stars, and how to get the best photo images as possible. Sky & Telescope also offers a wide range of different pictures for those who don't have telescopes. They always seem to find some of the best pictures to use in their magazine. Sky & Telescope has even reached the web, at www.skypub.com, where you can find the very latest in new galaxies and tools to help see these new constellations. It is also a good way to communicate with fellow astronomers and cosmologists. If you're having trouble finding out the latest missions in Space Exploration, you can go to Sky & Telescope to find out. There is a monthly article on the latest missions and findings, for those who are interested. The article I researched explained the possible Future of the Universe. At the beginning, it explains the different possible types of universe: flat, closed, and open. A closed universe, caused theoretically by the Big Bang Theory, will make the universe collapse on itself over a period of time. An open universe can keep expanding, because there are no barriers to make it collapse on itself like a closed universe. The flat universe may keep expanding, but it will be at such a slow rate that it will seem to approach a standstill. The article is explained more easily through a cosmic time line. The age of the universe starts with the Big Bang then moves to the Inflation era, through new galaxies and clusters to the end of inflation. When the universe started, it was full of high potent energy and heat, so it had to expand. This in turn created new universes. The next era, the radiation-dominated era, was caused by the high energy and inflation. Over time, the radiation decreased from the mass of the universe, and stars were created. This brought the Stelliferous era. This is when the Milky Way was formed along with many other galaxies. Next comes the Degenerate and Black Hole era. These are the eras where the planets are pulled out of their orbits, stars are turned into white dwarfs, and the black holes turn the universe inside out. Most galaxies will be crushed, and the only things left will be the black holes. After time passes, the black holes will evaporate, leaving nothing but empty space. Bibliography Bibliography Adams, Fred C., and Laughlin, Gregory. Sky & Telescope. August 1998, pages 32-39. Sky Publishing Corporation, 1998. Science Essays

Where the Red Fern Grows †Book Summary and Review American Literature Essay (100 Level Course)

Where the Red Fern Grows – Book Summary and Review American Literature Essay (100 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Where the Red Fern Grows Book Summary and Review American Literature Essay (100 Level Course) The book Where the Red Fern Grows is about a boy, named Billy, who during the Depression. The year in which this story takes place is the 1930’s. Billy really wanted dogs. He especially wanted coon dogs. He always wanted to hunt. His grandfather told something that made him think about earning his own money to save for coon dogs. No one knew, not even his family knew, that he was saving money, and doing so many jobs for coon dogs. Finally, when he saved enough money, he went to his grandfather and told him to order two coon dogs. Altogether the price was 40 dollars, he had enough money for both of them. He was really excited. He waited so long for his coon dogs to arrive. They finally came to a city, not far away from where he lived. He snuck out of his house, and went to the city to pick him up. He had to walk all the way to a railroad station. That was where the coon dogs were. He got them. They were only puppies. He then walked to a store to get his father and mother some things that they desperately needed, with the change that he had from buying the coons. On the way back home, he gave his puppies a bath in a waterfall. While he was drying them, he saw a tree that said Dan Ann. He then decided to name is puppies Old Dan and Little Ann. After he let them take a bath, he settled somewhere close by his house, and then his dogs and him went to sleep. He finally came home surprising all of his family. His family was worried sick about him. He showed all of them the puppies and they forgot about worrying about him. He showed the presents he got for his family and they were really happy. They loved him a lot. When he finally got his coon dogs he trained them too hunt coons. He started to train them ever since they were puppies with the help of his sisters. They became really good hunters and could track any coon that was in the woods. The story about his puppies spread around the town. Whenever he caught a coon he skinned and gave to his grandfather. His grandfather sold them at his store and Billy began to earn money again. In the story, Billy faces many challenges. He started to bet with people and he even competed in competition. He won the competition and got a pool of money. He loved his dogs very much. He thought he could have keep on doing bets and hunt coons for a long while. That was what he thought though. One night, Billy and his dogs were on a hunt. The dogs thought they smelled a coon. What they really smelled was a mountain lion. Old Dan and Little Ann started to fight the lion fiercely. They were becoming really beaten up. Billy finally killed the mountain lion. Then he found out that Old Dan was dead. The next day they buried Old Dan. Then Little Ann started to feel lonely. She didn’t eat was all worn out. One day, in the morning, she walked all the way where Old Dan was buried, and she died. Billy was really sad and his father buried Little Ann. Billy didn’t even want to hunt again. Since the great depression was happening, Billy and his family had to move because they weren’t doing so well through the dust bowl. Billy wanted to say good-bye to his dogs. When he finally got to where his dogs were, there was a red fern. The red fern indicated that the dogs were in heaven, and they were deeply in love with each other. He was really happy that the fern was there. He then had to move. Research Papers on Where the Red Fern Grows - Book Summary and Review American Literature Essay (100 Level Course)Book Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraTrailblazing by Eric AndersonThe Spring and AutumnThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceMind TravelWhere Wild and West MeetPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

Research of Pthisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Research of Pthisis - Essay Example Laennec argued on both clinical and post-mortem grounds that pathognomonic was the hallmark of phthisis. Through the knowledge he had on the cause and location of the disease he identified different diagnoses like scrofula and tuberculosis meningitis. A challenge that was common among the French physicians was the identification of the disease. There are different types of diseases that existed in their vocabulary thus; it was hard to know a disease. They relied mostly on correlations between clinical signs and pathological changes to differentiate diseases and with future developments; criteria of identifying a disease have been developed (McNeill, pp. 22). This saw the improvement of the diagnosis to patients as it was easy to identify the disease a patient was suffering from. Something that troubled the physicians was fever and this was solved in 19th century when they came to identify fever as a sign of a disease. Phthisis in Early Civilization A discovery of human remains in 200 8 showed that tuberculosis existed 9000 years ago in a settlement in the eastern Mediterranean during the Neolithic era (McNeill, pp. 24). This is the oldest ever reported evidence of TB infection in human beings and it was confirmed by morphological and molecular methods. Some authors have identified tuberculosis to be the first disease to be known to humankind. More evidence on tuberculosis during the Neolithic era was also discovered in a cemetery in close proximity to Heidelberg. Signs of the disease have also been discovered among Egyptian mummies in the period between 3000 and 2400 BCE. This shows that the disease has been in existence for many centuries and this is why extensive research has been done on the same. In 1881 Grebart discovered a... Since the discovery of tuberculosis as a killer disease, extensive research has been done on the same. The research has continued to advance with more discoveries that are helping to mitigate the disease. Through research of tuberculosis, physicians have also been able to research on other diseases. There are other diseases that are closely related to TB like typhoid and medical researchers have been able to differentiate TB from other diseases. All the signs of the disease at the fingertips of physicians and this have helped to mitigate the cases of wrong treatment. Through research on tuberculosis, physicians were able to discover that fever is a sign of a disease and not a disease by itself. This discovery better research and from there physicians were able to discover other diseases like yellow fever. The discovery of the vaccine on the 20th century was of great importance. BCG has played a vital role in curbing TB and more so in third world and densely populated countries. Despi te the efforts that are been made through international organizations, TB has remained to be a threat of human life and currently India marks the highest deaths from TB per annum.

Mid Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mid - Essay Example Petrarch is known as the â€Å"Father of Humanism† because he was the one who theorized that â€Å"language was the key to learning and a window to the human soul† (Woods). In short, he was the one who first realized the interplay between language and the human being. For Petrarch, if only the human being can use language effectively, we can know ourselves and the world better and we can serve others better as well. Petrarch was also the first to theorize on the need to know the theoretical and practical purpose of human life in order that one may live well and happily (Woods). Petrarch, however, endured the Black Death because a woman whom he had met in his youth, Laura de Noves, died of Black Death, and of whom Petrarch could only write, â€Å"her soul, as I believe, returned to heaven, whence it came† (Petrarch on the Plague). Women were excluded from the history of our culture because â€Å"our tradition tells us†¦that philosophy itself [including history], and its norms of reason and objectivity, exclude everything that is feminine or associated with women† (Witt). Moreover, society is simply biased against women as it promoted the â€Å"negative characterization† of women or anything pertaining to the feminine aspect (Witt). Our culture and cultural heritage therefore have been not only biased against women and once did not recognize many of the rights that they freely exercise now. The passage actually comes from William Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, Act 2, scene 1, 12-17. This means that the speaker is sick and tired of the pretense that he experiences from the world around him. He seems to have been forced to adopt this insincerity ever since and that everytime he adopts this worldview, he suffers â€Å"adversity† in his life. However, without this adversity, he would not have realized the good thing that such adversity would bring him – the â€Å"precious

Marketing and Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing and Sales - Essay Example It is for this reason that marketers and salespeople alike, focus on integration and alignment of the two functions and a greater focus on the ultimate objective, rather than departmental goals. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as â€Å"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.†(American Marketing Association 2008) Sales is largely a subset of marketing and focuses on the delivering and exchanging part of the paradigm. It also involves maintaining cordial working relationships with clients, partners and customers all across the society. Marketing is broad context that also encompasses sales and merchandizing. In context of a small business, there are stark differences between the two concepts. The core focus of the marketing process includes: Discovering the products, services or ideas to be implemente d. Producing products with the ideal features and quality that cater to the target market. Correctly pricing the product. Promoting the product through several techniques to allow the message to spread to maximum people. Selling and delivering the product to willing customers. It is clear that selling is just one of the activities of the entire marketing process. It essentially involves effort to implement the plan and make the actual sale. All marketing activities support the eventual objective of magnifying sales. It must be noted that it is extremely important that marketing and sales activities are aligned in ways that complement rather than ways that contradict (Atkins & MBA 2009). Some of the key differences in the way marketing and sales are done are: A marketer looks at the decision making aspect of the spectrum. He empathizes with the customer by identifying needs, wants, deciding on the target market, positioning the brand, promoting and taking other steps that communicate to the customer that the product is designed specifically for him and that he should consider its purchase. A seller, by contrast, focuses on the execution state after the work has been done by the marketer. His main focus is on reaching targets, achieving goals and focusing on numbers. He also needs to ensure the timely availability of products for customers. Importance of Aligning Marketing and Sales: In many companies and small business, the personnel and actions of sales and marketing contradict each other significantly. Sales people accuse marketers of being unaware of the actual needs of customers or overestimating the buying power of customers resulting in overpriced or unneeded products. They argue that marketers then expect them to generate sales revenue with such redundant and overpriced products. Such decision making leads to deviation from the ultimate objective of maximizing profits and hinders growth in sales numbers. Marketers, in contrast, suggest that salesmen have a very shortsighted focus on individuals and short term sells rather than looking at the bigger picture. This alienates the firms from prospective long run profitability and stable revenue. Furthermore, the limited knowledge they have about the strategic decision making involved in coming about the final product makes them vulnerable to misinterpreting the essence of the product and its

Impact of Globalization on International Security

Impact of Globalization on International Security In order to better discuss the question at hand we must first discuss briefly what globalization is? Globalization as a term has been widely spread during the last two decades, even though it is not a very precise or agreed term. We can say that globalization is a process where different societies, cultures and economies have integrated more and more in a global network via trade, communication and transportation. The term includes economic globalization, i.e. the integration of national or regional economies into the international economy through trade, financial flows, the proliferation of technology, migration etc. Globalization refers also to the international circulation of ideas, languages and culture. It is a process being driven by a combination of factors like economic factors, political factors, technological, social and cultural factors.  [1]   We must understand the fact that globalization and its components are not spread equally, nor do them influent the same throughout the world. For example many African states are much less globalized than European states and in terms of components, for example financial globalization is much more diffused than migration. A concrete example where components of globalization are not spread equally would be China where economical and technological globalization is much more present than liberal ideas. According to Habermas nation states are more and more under pressure both on functional and on normative grounds. They are increasingly unable to handle the intensity and volume of flows of people, capital, information, and problems that cross their borders. He argues that nowadays it is more difficult for nation states to maintain political sovereignty and that the dynamic of democratization is leading to a new transnational and global form of governance.  [2]   Despite Habermases deduction of where it leads, the fact stands that in a globalized world states cannot solve problems in a unilateral way. In security terms states cannot tackle their own security threats efficiently, which leads to the need for states to cooperate in order to manage the threats that result from globalization. Globalization affects in two major ways issues of security in one way it diminishes their threat (positive way) and in the other it increases them (negative way). There are a whole range of security threats from the more traditional, such as interstate and intrastate wars, economic collapse, arms proliferation, refugee crises, infectious diseases, insurgencies, genocides and ethnic cleansing, to relatively more new threats like climate change, oil depletion, nuclear weapons, drug and human trafficking, population trends, terrorism and cyber war.  [3]   Globalization has had a positive impact or a more restrictive effect in security issues like interstate and intrastate wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, and prohibition of further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). We have noticed that since the end of the cold war armed and military conflicts have diminished in number, time and space. With globalization is less convenient to make war and is more difficult for them to spread since it is very likely for measures to be taken from the UN and NATO to confine these conflicts and arrive to solutions as soon as possible. In todays globalised world there is more security provided from international organizations; trade and spreading of democracy makes it less likely to go to war, also the possession of WMD makes states more hesitating.  [4]  If we see the trend there are more efforts to confine conflicts, for example Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Ivory Coast and now Libya (although this remains highly debatable); nuclear weapons have decreased in number and continue to decrease although more countries now posses them.  [5]   There is also the other side of the medal where globalization has increased the level of some security threats like migration, terrorism, infectious diseases, oil depletion and climate change. With the development of technology, trade, communication and transportation it is more difficult to prevent and solve problems like migration, terrorism, infectious diseases and financial crisis from passing states borders. Also in the highly globalised world that we live in today climate change has become a major problem one that requires enhanced cooperation in the international level but that withholds many complexities. Globalization has brought more welfare which in turn has helped increase the global population and the speed at which resources are consumed, and now we face the threat of depletion of a major resource like oil. All of the security threats mentioned above require more cooperation in the international level to find some stable solutions. Through globalization problems like or ganized crimes which used to be primarily domestic problems now are internationalized.  [6]   Despite the effect that globalization has on security issues we must emphasize the fact that not all states are affected the same, i.e. maximizing the gains while lowering the risks. For example more developed states can cope better and are much less vulnerable to risks of globalization than are developing countries. Nevertheless, globalization in general reduces the ability of states to act successfully in a unilateral way and to respond to security threats. This increases the necessity for states to cooperate and manage the threats that result from globalization. Globalization also means that seemingly weak actors like individuals (terrorists) or small and isolated problems like viruses can have a disproportionate influence on international security. Furthermore states have different vulnerabilities meaning that their propensity to cooperate in the international arena will vary according to their vulnerabilities and interests.  [7]   Even between rich and powerful countries we can notice differences in the ways they deal with global security threats. The USA for example often behaves unilaterally when dealing with security challenges caused or aggravated by globalization. A different behavior is seen on other important actors such as member states of the European Union. EU member states try to find effective multilateral solutions to the same problems that USA tries to tackle on its own. With the Lisbon treaty and the changes in CFSP, EU has enhanced its capabilities and its efforts to tackle these problems in a more cooperative way. We must say that EU tackles better in a multilateral way nontraditional security threats like migration, climate change, economic issues, drugs and human trafficking.  [8]   Moreover globalization has considerable effect on the study of international security and how we perceive threats. While it is fairly easy to find countless books and articles that deal with hard power and military related topics in international security; we notice a decline in attention concerning the analysis and study of nontraditional security threats like migration, infectious disease and economic crisis. For example researchers of the less traditional international security issues like economic crisis, climate change and public health take for granted the idea that internal behavior in domestic policies can have a thespian influence on specific international problems. For these researchers globalization only intensifies trends that have perpetually been present among us, to them it displays merely a change of degree rather than type. It is quite different for analysts who analyze more traditional security issues relating hard power, war and the use military force, to them glob alization challenges their orthodox, state centric presumption about how security issues are determined and followed. Globalization affects the study of international security for example by how traditional state centric views of war and military security issues are challenged in the way globalization alleviate threats by non state actors like organized crime, insurgencies and terrorism.  [9]   We can say that globalization has increased the persistence of a more liberal approach to the study of international security while realism is playing a more subtle role. More focus is being placed on the individual rather than states. In this case analysts and/or policy shapers of US which focus on hard power and military power will be ineffective and perhaps counterproductive since other actors whose cooperation is necessary to solve security issues will refuse to comply. Globalization has not only changed the way the study of international security is approached but also the role of major powers in these issues.  [10]   Word count Q1: 1490 The human security agenda: discuss content and meaning, and the possible consequences of adopting this framework for security analysis! Human security is a new concept developed after the cold war and it is used today by various actors and factors in international relations like states and governments, international organizations (IO) and nongovernmental organizations (NGO). It is a concept that comes as result of successful attempts to broaden the traditional concept of security. The human security agenda includes traditional and nontraditional security issues such as war, economic security, arms proliferation, refugees and migration, public health security, insurgencies, genocides and ethnic cleansing, environmental protection, nuclear weapons, drug and human trafficking, terrorism, food crisis etc. Shortly put it means a broad definition of security where the focus is on the individual level as opposed to the more traditional focus on the international or domestic/national level, i.e. the states system or states.  [11]   Human security is a very interesting concept, one that even though stands to some extent in conflict with the state centric concept of security that we are used to, governments have used it to shape foreign and security policy. Another interesting fact is that it did not come from researchers or analysts but it came from politics; it was first used in the Human Development Report of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1994. Since then the concept has taken a broad use by UN, NGOs and it has become a cornerstone of policy for important states like Switzerland, Canada and Japan. 14 states have formalized the concept in a multilateral setting within the Human Security Network, and they meet annually at the foreign minister level since 1999 to follow an analogous human security agenda on many security issues.  [12]   The content of human security agenda can be divided in two major components, freedom from fear and freedom from want. The first is linked closely to the activities of the human security network and it means to take way the threat or the use of violence and force from the life of the population. There are many successes examples from following the objectives of freedom from fear policy such as the creation and promotion of the ICC the International Criminal Court, the Ottawa Convention (to ban anti-personnel landmines), and the action to restraint the proliferation of light weapons and the misuse of small arms. The second (freedom from want) is based upon the original formulation of the UNDP and it is about securing what is considered as basic human needs in terms of food, health, economy, environmental and social security. This was included on the very famous 2003 final report of the UN Commission on Human Security. The report points to ten ways how to improve human security on a glo bal scale focusing not only in situations of conflict but as well on issues related to access to education, access to health care, fair trade, patent rights, and basic freedoms.  [13]   The human security agenda with its both divisions of freedom from fear and freedom from want its quite complex and withholds contested consequences if it is going to be adopted as a framework for security analysis, which seems to be the desire of many individuals, NGOs, some IOs, and even some states. Of course if adopted not both divisions have the same consequences, for example freedom from fear is a much more narrow view of human security and is much more coherent. While freedom from want is so broad that includes issues that present no real threat to human security. It seems that as a result from this human security includes nearly everything that can be considered a threat to peoples wellbeing. Here lies the potential risk that if everything that impacts negatively peoples well being is marked as a security threat, than security will lose its meaning. If this happens than security instead of being a term that helps prioritizing problems and being at the focus of policy makers an d analysts than it will be counter-productive. The concept will have no utility; it wont easy the process of prioritizing problems or help make policies more coherent. There must be some priorities, global equity, universal education or fair patent rights cannot rival international security issues like terrorism, wars, pandemic disease etc. We must understand that securitizing everything it wont help the problems disappear it will only narrow our tools to deal with them.  [14]   It is understandable that expanding so much the human security agenda it becomes nearly impossible to find all the resources to deal properly with the presented problems. What has already happened and is probable to continue to happen is that major stakeholders will discuss the issues in international bodies and promise more than they can deliver. Examples can be given by observing objectives like poverty eradication throughout the world, part of the human security agenda, where many powerful countries have failed consistently to provide what they pledge during UN funding campaigns. Mr. Smith suggests that: the international community must be very careful about confusing the provision of international security no matter how unfairly it may be defined with the pursuit of development/humanitarian goals.  [15]   As mentioned in the beginning the human security agenda shifts the object of security from states to people. It categorizes human security threats in 7 general categories: personal, community, environmental, economic, food, health and political security. To be more specific the novel formulation stipulates human security firstly as safety from chronic threats disease, hunger and repression and secondly it takes the meaning of protection from harmful disruption in daily life patterns being it in home or working environment. It also asserts that such threats can exist in all levels of development and national income. We notice an effort to change the concept of security from the realist and cold war definitions and obsession with arms and territorial security to a peoples security and a sustainable human development.  [16]   Despite the attempts to shift security from states to individuals the human security agenda is being developed within the framework of the UN system meaning that states member of the UN and their governments are charged with fulfilling these policies. Perhaps the human security enthusiasts forget that the traditional state centric view of the international security system already includes some basic human needs. Meaning that issues like food, health, education and individual security which are part of the human security agenda are also part of states agenda even though in some states these are issues that take a lot of attention and in others they lack the adequate commitment. Believing that this is generally the case than perhaps in order to solve or to soften such issues more attention should be focused on good government both in developed and developing countries. Perhaps this could be a better approach than adding more extremely difficult goals to an already very crowded internat ional agenda. If we take a quick look at the world we will see that it is filled will failed, weak or ineffective states and governments. If we take into account this fact than we notice that human security is very much related to the state security system itself.  [17]   Furthermore since we dont have a world government and that is very likely that we wont have one in the foreseeable future the duty of providing human security primarily falls under states and secondly under IOs. If we do not have an authority or authorities to insure protection from fear and want human security wont be achieved. Since states are so important for human security, and for them to provide it, it is necessary that they themselves be secured, than states should deal primarily with threats directed to them. That is why as long as there will be more important or urgent threats, human security agenda will have a lower priority in the international security agenda. I agree with Smiths suggestion that: we should simply revert back to the terminology of human rights and human/international development and promote those goals accordingly rather than re-package and devalue them in the form of potential security threats to the richer, and more powerful, developed world.  [18]   Word count Q2: 1437

Graduation Speech by Faculty -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Addres

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go. You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, You're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. And you may not find any You'll want to go down. In that case, of course, You'll head straight out of town. It's opener there In the wide open air. Out there things can happen And frequently do To people as brainy And footsy as you. And when things start to happen Don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too. OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon tak...

Amen. Actions and Consequences

Costa-Gavra’s â€Å"Amen. † is a thought-provoking film that combines political thriller, suspense and expose. â€Å"Amen†, translated in Hebrew as â€Å"So be it†, deals with three significant characters, both real and fictional, who act out different moral or ethical principles. These characters, Father Riccardo Fontana, Kurt Gerstein and Pope Pius XII, provide the audience with different perspectives on the dilemma about the genocide of millions of Jews during World War II, commonly known as â€Å"the Holocaust†.By reflecting on the lives, actions or personalities of these three characters, we would understand the ethical challenges, ethical principles and actions they have faced, considered and performed. Body Father Riccardo Fontana, played by Mathleu Kassovitz, is a junior diplomat and an idealistic Jesuit priest. Father Riccardo Fontana learned the life and sufferings of the Jews in the Nazi concentration camps (through the help of Kurt Gerst ein). He also learned that the American government inquired about the genocide of Jews through a letter addressed at the Vatican.He endeavoured or tried his best to alert the Vatican about the genocide of Jews in the Nazi concentration camps. He thought that his familial connections with the local priests and at the Vatican would bring in results or considerations from the Pope. He also thought that by directly stating the problems at the Nazi concentration camps to the Pope, he would be able to bring light to the problem and have the Pope do his part by making a public statement condemning the actions of the Nazis.However, in the end, he was not able to have the support of the Vatican. He lost his life; Father Riccardo Fontana died a martyr. Father Riccardo Fontana is a fictional character in the movie; however, I believe that he symbolizes the early life of Pope Pius XII. As a morally righteous priest, I believe that he wanted to ease the pain or sufferings of the Jews. As a diplo mat, I believe that he wanted to do things in a peaceful and legal manner. I also think Father Riccardo Fontana believes on deontological ethics.Deontological ethics or deontology refers to the method of applying ethics by focusing on what actions are right or wrong, regardless whether the consequences would right or not. This ethical principle is sometimes referred to as â€Å"obligation† or â€Å"duty† ethics. These are the reasons why I believe, Father Riccardo Fontana tried his best to alert the Pope, make a difference or bring the Jews help from the Vatican even if it means to sacrificing his own life for the sake of duty. If I were Father Riccardo Fontana, I would also inform or alert the Vatican, particularly the Pope.I would seek his assistance regarding the genocide of Jews and strongly emphasize my point that it is wrong and immoral. I would let them see that as priests, we should do our best to preserve life and peace all throughout the world, despite the di fferences in race or ethnicity. I would stand for the right of my fellow Jews, especially for their right to live. However, unlike Father Riccardo Fontana, I would seek or provide other kinds of help if all of the previous acts fail. I help the Jews by hiding them from the Nazis and I will ease their pain with my prayers.Subsequently, I will continue my efforts to make the authorities do their part. I will not have myself killed, not for selfish reasons, but because I know that dying won’t solve anything. If I die, I would no longer be able to help the Jews or the needy. If I die, I won’t be able to strengthen their morale and keep their spirits and hopes high. On the other hand, Kurt Gerstein, played by Ulrich Tukur, is a real character or individual, greatly devoted to his duty as a soldier and religious beliefs as a Protestant. He is a German SS officer on board the Waffen-SS during the World War II.He is also an intelligent scientist and member of the Institute for Hygiene who developed the gas Zyklon B for treating or curing the waters drank and used by Nazi soldiers. As a scientist, hygienist and developer of the Zyklon B, he only wanted to prevent illnesses or the spread of diseases among the Nazi troops. Unfortunately, Zyklon B was used to exterminate the Jews. Raised in a family of patriotic officers and soldiers with strong sense of responsibility, his obedience or compliance to authority cannot be doubted. However, after learning this horrible truth, his values as a Protestant dominated his sense of patriotism.He alerted the Protestant leaders, then the authorities, Swedish diplomats and also the Roman Catholic Church about the immoral acts committed by his superiors. He took actions similar to what Father Riccardo Fontana did and just like the efforts of Father Riccardo Fontana, Gerstein’s efforts were in awe. Conversely, I am convinced that he believes the same ethical principles as Father Ricardo Fontana. If I were Kurt Gerst ein, I would first try to reach a higher position in the Nazi party. I will do my best to reach that position as soon as possible because time is of the essence.After having power or authority, I would instantly see to it that the officers under my authority would provide help to the Jews. I would do this secretly or behind the radar of my superiors so that I can still have my power and my life for the service of those who are suffering. With my power and my life, I will provide more help or make more things morally right. Pope Pius XII, the most controversial character in the movie, is subjected to allegations of preserving his selfish-needs, economic interests, ambition and power by doing nothing regardless of knowing the horrible truth at the Nazi concentration camps.In this sense, allegedly, the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in extension, committed passive sin. Somehow, watching the movie had made me scrutinize or contemplate on the faith and hope that I had for the Vatican or to the Pope. Putting myself in the shoes of Kurt Gerstein and Father Riccardo Fontana made me doubt that the religious authorities are not morally upright. However, considering the position of the Pope, I reclaimed my belief that he did not do anything wrong and that he only wanted greater good for a greater number of individuals or Jews in particular.As a prominent and religious leader, every action should be seriously weighed and the interests of those who are in need or prosecuted should be considered in order to prevent further harm done to them. Alerting the international public would disrupt the allegiance of the Vatican and the Nazi party and spark more tension. If the allegiance is lost and the Nazis are angered by the public statement or expose of their immoral acts, will the Vatican be able to address the retaliation of the Nazis? How can the Vatican keep Jews, provide food and shelter in chapels if the angered Nazis destroyed the Catholic chapels?Will the public state ment improve the situation of the prosecuted Jews? Will it stop a possible war? I don’t think. This is due to the fact that the Nazi party has great military power at that time to retaliate to any threat or opposition. Public protests against this inhumane party would only increase prosecution, not only of Jews but also Roman Catholics; and that would be further agonizing. I think that as a religious leader, a morally upright Roman Catholic and diplomat, Pope Pius XII did actions behind the eye of the public to help the Jews.I believe that Pope Pius XII believes in utilitarianism and because of this. Consequently, he suffered the pain of doing nothing because he knew that the consequences would be right or provide greater good. Conclusion Father Riccardo Fontana, Kurt Gerstein and Pope Pius XII are three interesting characters with varied perspectives when it comes to what is right or wrong. Father Riccardo Fontana and Kurt Gerstein believed in fulfilling their moral obligati ons while Pope Pius XII believed that â€Å"the end justifies the means†.The first two characters believed in doing things now and in considering consequences later while the third character was thinking of the consequences first before making an action. Somehow, I believe that the Holocaust or the genocide of millions of Jews in Nazi concentration camps, considering these two opposite ethical principles, is a dilemma. It is a dilemma where I believe, Pope Pius XII did the best choice. Works Cited Costa-Gavras, dir. Amen. Perfs. Ulrich Tukur, Mathieu Kassovitz. Kino International, 2002.

Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in Biological Advances

In this news article, the concerns of scientists toward an amoral approach to the advances of biological sciences and engineering are examined. Much of the article centers on a keynote address delivered by Harvard Law School professor Einer Elhauge where the professor states â€Å"The issue is that people tend not to focus on the consequences of certain forms of human re-engineering.†The professor goes on to comment that the great strides in biological science may yield a great number of advances in helping humanity overcome a number of diseases and afflictions, but he also acknowledges that there is great potential for abuse. Examples of such abuse include issues such as altering the sex of a child in the womb or even a deaf family biologically engineering the deafness of their offspring.Ultimately, the Elhuage’s focus is to convince the scientific community that, even though it has biological technology to alter evolution, it should use ethical standards before embark ing on the proverbial â€Å"playing God† concept that Mary Shelly warned science about 250+ years ago.To a great degree, the article is accurate in terms of its presentation and call for moral and ethical consciousness. Just because science reaches the technological or biological advances of a highly evolved society does not mean that science can now re-orchestrate what is considered morally acceptable in the hearts and minds of the population. As such, science should understand the limits of ethical and moral behavior and not approach advancements with total mindlessness and amorality.Congressman Calls out Tech Firms on China Ethics.The bulk of the purpose of this article is to put the onus on American and international businesses to reconsider their actions when empowering China by conducting extensive business with the nation.In the article, it is reported that Congressman Chris Smith has taken internet companies such as Yahoo, Google, Sysco Systems, etc to task for going along with China’s internet censorship program. This may not seem like an entirely important issue, but one needs to keep in mind that China is primarily a military-industrial complex dictatorship that has a horrible record for human rights violations. As Smith points out, when American businesses work in tandem with nations with such abominable track records they enable such dictatorships and help perpetuate significant human rights violations.Furthermore, it is noted that journalists in China have been censured and punished and imprisoned for exercising their free speech. Smith suggests that American businesses that contribute to such a scenario should be fined and sanctioned.What Smith is essentially doing here is he is compelling American companies to conform to ethical standards of behavior and that is commendable. However, these companies have limited ability in terms of being able to shape domestic Chinese law. Furthermore, in such a highly competitive international bu siness environment, it is difficult to impose ethics as defined by one nation onto another nation, no matter how noble the cause. Smith’s statements are commendable, but it is not entirely clear if they will be successful.Ethics board fines Dow for giving state workers airplane rideAs the title of the article infers, the center of the ethics controversy this article deals with is a fine levied at Dow Chemicals to the tune of $2,500.00 for flying three state college employees to an out of state training program. At the time of the issue of contention, Dow was launching a co-operative training program with the state college (Louisiana Community and Technical College) and provided free airline tickets to employees for meeting purposes. This, however, was a violation of state ethic laws, hence the fine.This scenario strikes one as, well, silly. For Dow to compensate the airline tickets of three state workers so all parties can hash out a co-operative venture hardly seems like une thical behavior, although it is defined as such under state ethics laws. While the whole scenario comes off as much ado about nothing (actually, $2500 to a multi-billion dollar company such as Dow is basically nothing), it technically is a violation of state laws and the levied fine is valid. However, it does not seem like any real, serious ethical violations actually took place.If anything, the situation appears more like an error as the result of an oversight as opposed to a deliberate ethical violation. Oversights, however, are not an excuse for not following directions. In that regard, the decision against Dow was valid and the fine levied justified.BibliographyAnon. (2007, February 9) Ethics board fines Dow for giving state workers airplane ride.The Associated Press.   Retrieved February 12, 2007 fromhttp://money.aol.com/news/ articles/_a/ethics-board-fines-dow-for-giving-state/n20070209095709990003Schwankert, Steven.   (2007, February 12) Congressman Calls out Tech Firms o nChina Ethics. IDG News Service, Retrieved February 12, 2007, fromhttp://www.infoworld.com//07/02/12/HNcongressmanchinaethics_1.html/article/ sourcedomain =www.dailyfreepress.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.comZerey, Ralpha. (2007, February 12) Lawyers, Scientists Urge Ethics in BiologicalAdvances. The Daily Free Press. Retrieved February 12, 2007, fromhttp://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2007/02/12/News/Lawyers.Scientists.Urge.Ethics.In.Biological.Advances-2712941.shtml?

Criminology essay

Criminology essay Criminology essay Criminology essayWhat is the role of the prison in contemporary US society?Prison is intended for those people who refuse to submit to discipline and follow the instructions which are designed to ensure order. Therefore, the main role of the prison in contemporary US society is to isolate criminals from the society and to â€Å"normalize† deviant behavior of criminals. With the help of the prison, the state shows what standards all the citizens need to follow and â€Å"what is good and what is bad†. Moreover, prisons are often considered to be â€Å"the punishment† because the deprivation of human rights and liberty is the most severe punishment in contemporary secular society. Depriving a person of liberty, it is necessary does not forget that the prison is not a place of torture in the literal and figurative sense, but a place that is intended to change a man and to force an individual to reconsider own mistakes.Do prisons work?Today, Western society is beginn ing to realize that the prison should not be a major institution of punishment because it does not work in its pure form, while it is quite costly and problematic means of â€Å"social correction.† There is an opinion that the prison seems to be a social experiment with unpredictable consequences, and maybe a prison carries destruction by its means of isolating people from society. And thus, society signs in its inability to be a society. The use of prisons as a way to struggle against criminality, which leads to constant imprisonment, outlived its usefulness many decades ago, and it is time to move on to more humane and civilized methods of punishment, promoting policies to prevent crime and reduce the harm to society. Criminology essay Criminology essay Criminology essayThesis statement: The rise of the criminology a science contributed to the emergence of numerous theories, which though do not provide the universal explanation of crime and its causes, while the understanding of criminal behavior needs the detailed analysis of each particular crime and personality of the criminal to understand motives, reasons and the gravity of crime.The traditional positivist theory has laid the foundation to many contemporary theories and it was the first criminological theory that made crime the subject to the scientific investigation.The classical theory grounded on the positivist one contributed to the development of the scientific view on crime and uncovered multiple factors that may affect the criminal behavior and cause crimes, including social factors.However, the claim of the classical theory to view crime in sheer scientific terms which imply the analysis of the crime proper focusing on objective factors and regardless of the personalit y and psychological condition of the offender is inconsistent.Instead, other theories emerged which focused on psychological aspects of the crime. In such a way, the emergence of new theories revealed the inconsistency of the sheer rational view on the concept of crime and criminal behavior. In other words, new theories take into consideration the fact that crime is not always rational.On the other hand, new theories, such as the trait theory, which focused on psychological aspects of crime failed to take into consideration social factors.In such a way, crimes may be viewed from two different perspective: social and psychological. On the one hand, criminological theories take into consideration objective factors that exist independently of the criminal and influence the criminal behavior. On the other hand, there are criminological theories oriented on the psychological aspect of crime and criminal behavior.

Body image and gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Body image and gender - Essay Example This essay "Body image and gender" outlines the attitude of both genders to their bodies and different disorders which are connected with that. It has been shown repeatedly that body image is the most significant contributor to eating disorders (Hoyt & Kogan, 2001). Studies have also shown that approximately 90% of all persons that have eating disorders are women (Shirao et al. 2005). This might stem from the fact that during pubescence, a woman’s figure tends to deviate from socio-cultural ideals, whereas that of men tends to move toward what is lauded in society (2001). In accordance with this, the study done by Hoyt and Kogan revealed that while 84% of college men surveyed were satisfied with their current weight, only 66% of the women were satisfied with theirs. It also showed that underweight women at-risk for anorexia showed little or no signs of being more satisfied with their body image than were those women of normal or excessive weight. However, in a study done by Fr iedman, et al. (2002), the degree of a person’s obesity (whether male or female) correlated with their evaluation of body image. Further, body image was found to be a mediator or determiner of self esteem and level of depression. This general tendency in women to be more dissatisfied with their bodies than men extends even to adolescents and pre-teens. Phares, Steinberg, and Thompson (2004) have cited research showing that adolescent girls of average weight are about as likely as overweight adolescents to be on a diet.

Rafaella Sartis Europe at Home Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rafaella Sartis Europe at Home - Essay Example Furthermore, Sarti not only studied material objects from their "economic point of view, but also in their symbolic and cultural cointexts" (Schuurman). More truly, Sarti exhibited less interest in general economics, and more in the diversity of gender, religion and wealth instead of in explaining the formulation or dynamics of those differences. As a matter of fact, Schuurman stated that there was "no direct relationship between the choice of research area and the research questions asked of it," when social history should have been more about the "choice of theme or social group" and not about the "choice of region." the three functions of a household, namely, reproduction, consumption, and production, with much emphasis on consumption. However, she paid no attention to the production sphere although she has included this as one of the functions. And even with the consumption sphere, Sarti unfairly left out the objects that played a large role in the diversity which she centrally addressed, those related to tea and coffee. The first chapter was about th