Transition Economy of Brazil Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Transition Economy of Brazil - Research Paper Example The success story of Hungary, Russia, Poland and China shows that former communist countries can create growth from the ruins and limitations of socialism. In Poland, a decentralized and comprehensive approach to the twin problems of bank and enterprise restructuring proved effective in transforming its economy and establishing the foundations for sustained economic growth. During the 1991-97 period, nonperforming loans declined and the number of creditworthy enterprises rose substantially. As for Russia, the largest post-communist transition economy of them all, it endeavored to establish strong fiscal and monetary controls as its bedrock of macroeconomic stability. These served as levers to check imbalances in public sector financing. Russia learned its lesson well from an earlier financial crisis when the unwieldy growth of soft loans skewed its market (Dunn, 2006). The non-collateralized loans had been liberally granted to state-owned enterprises that could not afford to pay them back. All the transition economies realized early the importance of privatization to dismantle the state monopolies that characterized the former communist countries. In Brazil, vital industries and services like oil, gas, telecommunications and postal service used to be under state monopolies. A series of constitutional amendments were taken up in 1995 and 1996 to do away with the distinctions in nationalized and foreign companies, thus effectively lifting the government stranglehold on these industries.

Terrorism Act in Canada Essay Example for Free

Terrorism Act in Canada Essay The impact of the Anti-Terrorism Act on the Muslims and Arabs in Canada The Anti-terrorism Act in Canada and its effects on the Muslim and Arabic communities September 11, 2001 marked a catastrophic change not only in American society but in every western state including Canada. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon have had a ripple effect, spreading to the entire world and terrifying thousands of people. Following these attacks, world populations were devastated and governments faced a never-before seen need to make laws governing this new form of terror. Countries like the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Canada have passed anti-terrorism legislations that define â€Å"terrorism† and how to respond and prevent such attacks. Generally speaking, some scholars and ordinary individuals argue that the new anti-terrorism Act in Canada may aim to combat terrorism but it also violates the rights of certain individuals. The new Act gave the authorities especially the police task forces the power to investigate suspect terrorist cases without worrying about the charter of rights and freedoms. This ends with the question of security of state versus the rights of individuals. They argue that the shock and the disbelief that infected the Canadian Government after the September attacks to take a fast and effective legislation to protect the country from a prospective threat, â€Å"pushed the government to implement the Bill C-36 that was turned to be the Anti-terrorism Act in four months only after the September Attacks without thinking about the consequences of this new law. † (Andreychuk) Firstly we should know what is the Bill C-36 or the Anti-Terrorism Act to examine whether or not it affected some minorities in Canada. As stated above, the Bill C-36 was a quick response to the September Attacks in the USA. Bill C-36 was first introduced in the House of Commons by Justice Minister Anne McLellan on 15 October 2001. The Bill defines â€Å"terrorist activity† as an act that is committed â€Å"in whole or in part for a political, religious, or ideological purpose, objective, or cause. † (Mazer). The new Act gave the investigative branch of the police and the CSIS more powers to investigate the very private details of the lives of the suspect terrorists. Also the act put more restrictions on the immigration policies as well as the security measurements in the airports and the borders as well as the seaports during the amending of existing Act like information security Act (Carter). In addition to these new restrictions, the accused person has no right to see or to know the evidence which the government has against him. Even when the Act was amended in 2008, the only person who can see a summary of the evidence is a lawyer who was appointed by the government and he can’t shoe this evidence to the accused. From the practical point of view, the most minorities in Canada to be affected by these new measurements are the Muslim minority in particular and the Arabic minority in general. The inclusion of religion as a motive for ‘terrorist activity’ within the Act may cast a pall over one’s faith. The Muslim and Arab communities of Canada have already expressed that many of their members consider that they have fallen victims to racial or cultural discrimination because of the Act. We can say that the bad luck has accompanied the Muslims in this issue. Currently and unfortunately all the terrorists are coming from an Islamic background like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Chechnya. This forced not only our government but also most of the government in the world to link terrorism to Islam as a religion. The government will not stay silent until a big disaster happens as in the case of September attacks, London attacks as well as Madrid attacks. If we look at the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we may find some sections that have been violated by the new Terrorism Act. Sections eight to fourteen have been extremely infringed after the attacks. Thousands of individuals have been seized in a way that violates the charter. Another shift that happened to our tolerant society is that the supreme court of Canada has shifted the nature of its rulings regarding the infringement of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. â€Å"There has been a clear change of mind, within the Court, regarding the authority of international human rights law, at least where highly sensitive security matters are involved, such as deportation of political refugees suspected of being linked with terrorist organisations. † (Coutu Giroux) The party that argues that the Muslims and Arabs have been affected negatively by the Anti-terrorism Act might prove their argument by comparing it with the American Patriot Act which was the American anti-terrorism act. In the American version of the anti-terrorism legislation it condemned any discrimination against Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Americans from south Asia and affirmed that â€Å"the concept of individual responsibility for wrongdoing is sacrosanct in American society and applies equally to all religions, racial and ethnic groups†( Roach 72) . If we read our Anti-terrorism Act we won’t find such a clarification. But from a practical point of view, this clarification didn’t immune the Muslims in the USA from profiling but at least it affirmed the principle of equality. On the other hand there is another party that advocates that agrees with the anti-terrorism Act and denies that it is targeting the Muslim and Arabic minorities in Canada. On the other hand, we can’t blame the government for such actions, whether or not that the religion is the driving force to these kinds of attacks. The government is working hard to ensure that the Canadian nation live in a secure and stable climate so that we can maintain our economic supremacy. Also it is working hard to ensure that the history will not blame it for neglecting national security issues like terrorism. From this perspective the government had this kind of response to the September cowardly attacks. The other counter party argue that the Arabic and the Islamic communities are not under persecution or any kind of discrimination according to religion or origin. They argue that these new Anti-terrorism Act is applied on every Canadian citizen whether he is Muslim, Christian, Jewish or any religious background. It is applied on every citizen regardless of his ethnic background whether he is polish, Scottish, Arabic or French. In the airports the safeguards don’t ask the passengers about their religion or ethnic background if they are travelling from Canada but the passengers who are coming to Canada from suspicious countries, that help the terrorist organizations or have this kind of organizations on their lands such as: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the government tends to have more restrictive laws regarding them because they are the most likely individuals to be terrorists. It is important to mention that the government of Canada put three justifications to the new Act when it was introduced. Firstly, the Anti-terrorism act is in compliance with the charter of rights and freedoms. Secondly, the current criminal law is deficient in protecting the national security of Canada from similar attacks to those ones that happened in the US. Finally, the new act enhances the charter values. I’ll go over each one of them briefly. Firstly, the government argued that the criminal law was inefficient in keeping the Canadian territories safe from future terrorist attacks. They argued that the police forces don’t have the required tools to prevent Canada’s own September 11 so there was an urgent necessity to give the police force and the CSIS these tools to do their job to protect our country. Secondly the government argued that the new Act didn’t violate the human rights stated in the charter. The minister of justice stated that â€Å"the act was subject to a very thorough review on Charter ground and that its measures have been designed so they will respect the values of the charter, and, we expect, survive legal challenges† (Roach 75). Thirdly, the government argued that the new Act didn’t not only violate the charter rights but it did enhance these rights as well. The government argued that the new Act embodied new provisions regarding hate crime propaganda against any religious minority in Canada. The government officials were aware of the Tsunami of hate propaganda and crimes that will be resulted after the September attacks against Muslims and Arabic minorities that’s why the new Act was popular and it has been supported by a lot of people who were worried about the hate crimes. Also the Act allowed the deletion of any content on internet that might refer to be hate propaganda against Islam. In same time the government argued that the Act promoted the value of equality between the individuals because the law is applicable to everyone in the country. Finally it is clear that the Anti-terrorism Act or Bill c-36 has been criticized and debated from every level in the society from the ordinary individuals who are saying that the Act violated the rights and freedoms of Muslim and Arabic minorities in Canada, to our government which is defending the new Act. In my personal opinion, the government is free to pass laws and legislations to protect our national security because if any terrorist attack happened, every on in the country will blame the government from not preventing the great loss in lives and money. But it is important to say the government should try to balance those laws with our own freedoms and regulations as long as our national security is protected. In same time, I see that Muslim and Arabic minorities are not affected badly by this law because this law is applied to all Canadians not Muslims only.

Beauty, Biology, and Society Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Beauty, Biology, and Society What is beauty? How do human beings decide who is attractive and who is not? Society is full of messages telling us what is beautiful, but what are those definitions based on? Do we consciously decide whom we are attracted to, or is biology somehow involved? The issue of beauty and how we define it has been studied for centuries. Scholars from all fields of study have searched for the "formula" for beauty. Darwin in his book The Descent of Man wrote, "It is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body. It is however, possible that certain tastes in the course of time become inherited, though I have no evidence in favor of this belief." (1) Science has tried to look at beauty beyond the conscious level. It has tried to determine what roles biology plays in human attraction. Scientists have discovered that symmetry and scent play a role in defining human attraction. (3) But while this can begin to explain beauty on the most basic of levels, what accounts for variations in the standard of beauty? The idea of beauty varies within different societies and communities. Do these cultural preferences have a biological basis? What is the relationship between biology and society in relation to the idea of beauty? How do they relate to each other, and how do they differ? In particular what role does science play in the preference that many societies, (in particular South Asian, East Asian, and North American Cultures), have for fairer skin? Beauty is experienced through visual stimuli. The human being's intake of beauty is through both conscious and unconscious decisions. (4) (4) The question is what motivates our unconscious decisions... ...t/html/astrid/femphers.html 3) Evolutionary Psychology of Sexual Attraction https://cognet.mit.edu/login/?return_url=%2Flibrary%2Ferefs%2Fmitecs%2Fthornhill.html 4) The Biological Purpose of Beauty http://www.beautyworlds.com/beautybiological.htm 5) The Role of Afrocentric Features in Person Perception: Judging by Features and Categories , Journal of Personality and Social Psychology http://www.colorado.edu/~iblair/Blar_features.pdf 6) When Black Isn't Beautiful, , The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3899316,00.html 7) What's In a Colour?. http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-2/issue1/colourbar.html1/ 8) The Colour Bar of Beauty http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-2/issue1/colourbar.html1/ 9) Races and Racism http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro02/web2/)%20http://www.geocities.com/pak_history/racism.html

Anonymous Research Essay

Anonymous (used as a mass noun) is a loosely associated hacktivist group. It (is estimated to have) originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic, digitized global brain.[2] It is also generally considered to be a blanket term for members of certain Internet subcultures, a way to refer to the actions of people in an environment where their actual identities are not known.[3] It strongly opposes Internet censorship and surveillance, and has hacked various government websites. It has also targeted major security corporations.[4][5][6] It also opposes Scientology, government corruption and homophobia. Its members can be distinguished in public by the wearing of stylised Guy Fawkes masks.[7] In its early form, the concept was adopted by a decentralized online community acting anonymously in a coordinated manner, usually toward a loosely self-agreed goal, and primarily focused on entertainment. Beginning with 2008, the Anonymous collective became increasingly associated with collaborative, international hacktivism. They undertook protests and other actions in retaliation against anti-digital piracy campaigns by motion picture and recording industry trade associations.[8][9] Actions credited to â€Å"Anonymous† were undertaken by unidentified individuals who applied the Anonymous label to themselves as attribution.[10] They have been called the freedom fighters of the Internet,[11] a digital Robin Hood,[12] and â€Å"anarchic cyber-guerrillas.†[13] Although not necessarily tied to a single online entity, many websites are strongly associated with Anonymous. This includes notable imageboardssuch as 4chan, their associated wikis, Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica, and a number of forums.[14] After a series of controversial, widely publicized protests, distributed denial of service (DDoS) and website defacement attacks by Anonymous in 2008, incidents linked to its cadre members have increased.[15] In consideration of its capabilities, Anonymous has been posited by CNN to be one of the three major successors to WikiLeaks.[16] In 2012, Time named Anonymous as one of the most influential groups in the world.[17] Origins The name Anonymous itself is inspired by the perceived anonymity under which users post images and comments on the Internet. Usage of the term Anonymous in the sense of a shared identity began on imageboards.[14] A tag of Anonymous is assigned to visitors who leave comments without identifying the originator of the posted content. Users of imageboards sometimes jokingly acted as if Anonymous were a real person. The concept of the Anonymous entity advanced in 2004 when an administrator on the 4chan image board activated a â€Å"Forced_Anon† protocol that signed all posts as Anonymous.[14] As the popularity of imageboards increased, the idea of Anonymous as a collective of unnamed individuals became an Internet meme.[18] Anonymous broadly represents the concept of any and all people as an unnamed collective. As a multiple-use name, individuals who share in the â€Å"Anonymous† moniker also adopt a shared online identity, characterized as hedonistic and uninhibited. This is intended as a satirical, conscious adoption of the online disinhibition effect.[19] â€Å"| We [Anonymous] just happen to be a group of people on the internet who need—just kind of an outlet to do as we wish, that we wouldn’t be able to do in regular society. †¦That’s more or less the point of it. Do as you wish. †¦ There’s a common phrase: ‘we are doing it for the lulz.’| †| —Trent Peacock. Search Engine: The face of Anonymous, February 7, 2008.[19]| Definitions tend to emphasize that the concept, and by extension the collective of users, cannot be readily encompassed by a simple definition. Instead Anonymous is often defined by aphorismsdescribing perceived qualities.[2] One self-description, originating from a protest video targeted at the Churc h of Scientology, is: We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.[20] Overview â€Å"| [Anonymous is] the first Internet-basedsuperconsciousness. Anonymous is a group, in the sense that a flock of birds is a group. How do you know they’re a group? Because they’re traveling in the same direction. At any given moment, more birds could join, leave, peel off in another direction entirely.| †| —Chris Landers. Baltimore City Paper, April 2, 2008.[2]| Anonymous consists largely of users from multiple imageboards and Internet forums. In addition, several wikis and Internet Relay Chat networks are maintained to overcome the limitations of traditional imageboards. These modes of communication are the means by which Anonymous protesters participating in Project Chanology communicate and organize upcoming protests.[21][22] A â€Å"loose coalition of Internet denizens,†[23] the group bands together through the Internet, using IRC channels[21] and sites such as 4chan,[21][23] 711chan,[21] Encyclopà ¦dia Dramatica,[24] and YouTube.[3] Socia l networking services, such as Facebook, are used for to mobilize groups for real-world protests.[25] Anonymous has no leader or controlling party and relies on the collective power of its individual participants acting in such a way that the net effect benefits the group.[23] â€Å"Anyone who wants to can be Anonymous and work toward a set of goals†¦Ã¢â‚¬  a member of Anonymous explained to the Baltimore City Paper. â€Å"We have this agenda that we all agree on and we all coordinate and act, but all act independently toward it, without any want for recognition. We just want to get something that we feel is important done†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [2] Anonymous members have previously collaborated with hacker group LulzSec.[citation needed] Membership It is impossible to ‘join’ Anonymous, as there is no leadership, no ranking, and no single means of communication. Anonymous is spread over many mediums and languages, with membership being achieved simply by wishing to join.[26] Commander X and the People’s Liberation Front A person known as Commander X provided interviews and videos about Anonymous.[27] In 2011, he was at the center of an investigation into Anonymous by HBGary CEO Aaron Barr, who claimed to have identified him as a San Francisco gardener. Interviewed following the attack on HBGary Federal, Commander X revealed that while Barr suspected that he was a leader of the group, he was in his own words a â€Å"peon.† However, Commander X did claim to be a skilled hacker and founding member of an allied organization, the Peoples Liberation Front (PLF).[28] According to Commander X, Peoples Liberation Front, a collective of hactivists founded in 1985, acted with AnonOps, another sub-group of Anonymous, to carry out denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks against government websites in Tunisia, Iran, Egypt, and Bahrain. Explaining the relationship between Anonymous and the PLF, he suggested an analogy to NATO, with the PLF being a smaller sub-group that could choose to opt in or out of a specific project. â€Å"AnonOps and the PLF are both capable of creating huge â€Å"Internet armies.† The main difference is AnonOps moves with huge force, but very slowly because of their decision making process. The PLF moves with great speed, like a scalpel.†[29] On September 23, 2011, a homeless man in California named Christopher Doyon was arrested and stated by officials to have used the Commander X screen name.[30] He pleaded not guilty.[31] Low Orbit Ion Cannon Main article: LOIC The Low Orbit Ion Cannon is a network stress testing application that has been used by Anonymous to accomplish its DDOS attacks. Individual users download the LOIC and voluntarily contribute their computer to a bot net. This bot net is then directed against the target by AnonOps.[32] Joining the bot net and volunteering one’s resources for the use of the group is thus one way of being a â€Å"member,† a concept that is otherwise hard to define. The Pirate Bay In April 2009, after The Pirate Bay co-defendants were found guilty of facilitating extensive copyright infringement â€Å"in a commercial and organized form†, Anonymous launched a coordinated DDoS attack against the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organisation responsible for safeguarding recording artists’ rights.[33] When co-founders lost their appeal against convictions for encouraging piracy, Anonymous again targeted the IFPI, labelling them â€Å"parasites.† A statement read: â€Å"We will continue to attack those who embrace censorship. You will not be able to hide your ludicrous ways to control us. Megaupload On January 19, 2012, Megaupload, a website providing file-sharing services, was shut down by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).[36] In the hours following the shutdown, hackers took down the sites of the DOJ and FBI, as well as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.[37]Barrett Brown, described as a spokesperson for Anonymous, called the attack â€Å"the single largest Internet attack in [Anonymous’] history.†[38] With the protests against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) protests only a day old, Brown stated that internet users were â€Å"by-and-far ready to defend an open Internet.†[38] Although the actions of Anonymous received support,[citation needed] some commentators argued that the denial of service attack risked damaging the anti-SOPA case. Molly Wood of CNET wrote that â€Å"[i]f the SOPA/PIPA protests were the Web’s moment of inspiring, non-violent, hand-holding civil disobedience, #OpMegaUpload feels like the unsettling wave of car-burning hooligans that sweep in and incite the riot portion of the play.†[39] Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle concurred, stating that â€Å"Anonymous’ actions hurt the movement to kill SOPA/PIPA by highlighting online lawlessness.†[40] The Oxford Internet Institute’s Joss Wright wrote that â€Å"In one sense the actions of Anonymous are themselves, anonymously and unaccountably, censoring websites in response to positions with which they disagree.†[37] Government websites Anonymous claimed responsibility for taking down government websites in the UK in April 2012 in protest against government extradition and surveillance policies. A message was left on Twitter saying it was â€Å"for your draconian surveillance proposals.†[41] Occupy movement Anonymous activists merged with Occupy Wall Street protesters. Anonymous members descended on New York’s Zucotti Park and organized it partly. After it became known that some Occupy protesters would get violent, Anonymous used social networking to urge Occupy protesters to avoid disorder. Anonymous used Twitter trends to keep protests peaceful.[42] A similar protest occurred outside the London Stock Exchange in early May 2012 during a May Day Occupy protest.[43] Internet pedophilia Alleged Internet predator Chris Forcand, 53, was charged with child sexual and firearm offenses.[44] A newspaper report stated that Forcand was already being tracked by â€Å"cyber-vigilantes before police investigations commenced.[45] A television report identified a â€Å"self-described Internet vigilante group called Anonymous† who contacted the police after some members were â€Å"propositioned† by Forcand. The report stated this was the first time a suspected Internet predator was arrested by the police as a result of Internet vigilantism.[46] In October 2011, â€Å"Operation Darknet† was launched as an attempt to cease the activities of child porn sites accessed through hidden services in the deep web.[47] Anonymous published in apastebin link what it claimed were the user names of 1,589 members of Lolita City, a child porn site accessed via the Tor network. Anonymous said that it had found the site via The Hidden Wiki, and that it contained over 100 gigab ytes of child pornography. Anonymous launched a denial-of-service attack to take Lolita City offline. Cyber-attacks and other activities The group is responsible for cyber-attacks on the Pentagon, News Corp and has also threatened to destroy Facebook.[54] In October 2011, Anonymous hackers threatened the Mexican drug cartel known as Los Zetas in an online video after one of their members was kidnapped.[55] In late May 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down a GM crops website.[56] In early September 2012 alleged Anonymous members claimed responsibility for taking down GoDaddy’s Domain Name Servers, affecting small businesses around the globe.[57] In mid-September 2012, Anonymous hackers threatened the Hong Kong government organization, known as National Education Centre. In their online video, Anonymous members claimed responsibility for leaking classified government documents and taking down the National Education Centre website, after the Hong Kong government repeatedly ignored months of wide-scale protests against the establishment of a new core Moral and National Education curriculum for children from 6–18 years of age. The new syllabus came under heavy criticism and international media attention, as it does not award students based on how much factual information is learned, but instead grades and evaluates students based on their level of emotional attachment and approval of the Communist Party of China, almost in blind brain-washing fashion.[58] Israel In response to Operation Pillar of Cloud in November 2012, Anonymous launched a series of attacks on Israeli government websites. Anonymous protested what they called the â€Å"barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people.†[59] Syria On November 30, 2012, the group declared an operation to shut down websites of the Syrian government, in response to a internet blackout the previous day believed to be imposed by Syrian authorities in an attempt to silence opposition groups of the Syrian civil war Reaction from law enforcement agencies Arrests â€Å"| First, who is this group called Anonymous? Put simply, it is an international cabal of criminal hackers dating back to 2003, who have shut down the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. They have hacked into the phone lines of Scotland Yard. They are responsible for attacks against MasterCard, Visa, Sony and the Governments of the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.| †| —Canadian MP Marc Garneau, 2012[67]| In December 2010, the Dutch police arrested a 16-year old for cyberattacks against Visa, MasterCard and PayPal in conjunction with Anonymous’ DDoS attacks against companies opposing Wikileaks.[68] In January 2011, the FBI issued more than 40 search warrants in a probe against the Anonymous attacks on companies that opposed Wikileaks. The FBI did not issue any arrest warrants, but issued a statement that participating in DDoS attacks is a criminal offense with a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.[69][70] In January 2011, the British police arrested five male suspects between the ages of 15 and 26 with suspicion of participating in Anonymous DDoS attacks.[71] Matthew George, a Newcastle, New South Wales resident, concerned with forthcoming Australian internet filtration legislation, was arrested for his participation in Anonymous DDoS activities. George participated in Anonymous IRC discussions, and allowed his computer to be used in a denial of service attack associated with Operation Titstorm. Tracked down by authorities, he was fined $550, though he was not fully aware that his actions were illegal, and believed his participation in Operation Titstorm had been a legal form of civil protest. His experience left him disillusioned with the potential of online anonymity, warning others: â€Å"There is no way to hide on the internet, no matter how hard you cover your tracks you can get caught. You’re not invincible.†[72] On June 10, 2011, the Spanish police captured three purported members of Anonymous in the cities of Gijon, Barcelona and Valencia. The operation deactivated the main server from which the three men coordinated DDoS attacks. This particular group had made attacks on the web servers of the PlayStation Store, BBVA, Bankia, and the websites of the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand. The operation revealed that their structure consisted of â€Å"cells† which at any given time could coordinate attacks through the downloading of software; the decision-making process to attack occurred in chat rooms. The Spanish national police stated that this operation corresponds to the fact that the Spanish government and NATO considers this group of hackers a threat to national security.[73] On June 13, 2011, officials in Turkey arrested 32 individuals that were allegedly involved in DDoS attacks on Turkish government websites. These members of Anonymous were captured in different cities of Turkey including Istanbul and Ankara. According to PC Magazine these individuals were arrested after they attacked these websites as a response to the Turkish government demand to ISPs to implement a system of filters that many have perceived as censorship.[74][75] During July 19–20, 2011, as many as 20 or more arrests were made of suspected Anonymous hackers in the US, UK, and Netherlands following the 2010 Operation Avenge Assange in which the group attacked PayPal, as well as attacking MasterCard and Visa after they froze Wikileaks accounts. According to US officials statements suspects’ homes were raided and suspects were arrested in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Washington DC, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, and Ohio, as well as a 16 year old boy being held by the police in south London on suspicion of breaching the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and four being held in the Netherlands.[76][77][78][79] On February 28, 2012, Interpol issued warrants for the arrests of 25 people with suspected links to Anonymous, according to a statement from the international police agency. The suspects, between the ages of 17 and 40, were all arrested.[80] On September 12, 2012; Anonymous spokesman Barrett Brown was arrested at his home in Dallas on charges of threatening an FBI agent. Agents arrested Brown while he was in the middle of aTinychat session.[81]

Energy Policy in Canada

Each day millions of tons of fossil fuels are being consumed by the world. As most people already energy is the basis of industrial civilization; without energy, modern life would cease to exist. Presently, fossil fuels make up a large portion of present day energy sources. Canada, one of the world's largest industrialized nations uses an abundance energy to support its ever growing society. However, the population of Canada is slowly growing each day and with that the closer demise of fossil fuels. For this reason Canada has implemented an energy policy which in turn is to establish guidelines and standards. In Canada, natural resource ownership is largely controlled by the various national provinces, which are allowed to legislate in the areas of resource development, production control, taxation, and resource extraction. Provincial governments have major responsibility for both the management of resources and environmental protection within their boundaries. The provinces are assisted in varying degrees by private companies in the exploration, development and distribution of natural resources. Because so much of Canadian energy policy lies outside of federal jurisdiction, strategic partnerships and linkages among provinces themselves and between provinces and the government are very important. In many cases, these take the form of shared commitments to provincial and territorial energy programs, building codes, environmental goals, and efficiency targets. However, the government's resolve n environmental issues is still being questioned, however, due to a sharp debate over the matter of legislative versus voluntary measures on climate change For this reason it can be stated that Canada's energy policy has some good policies but is still greatly flawed. Moreover, it is essential that alternatives to hazardous fossil fuels are found and efficiently implemented before the demise of fossil fuels is soon a reality. Also it is imperative that people of the world learn to conserve and prevent further abuse of fossil fuels.

The Human Paradox essays

The Human Paradox essays Human Inconsistency: Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" Thesis: Dostoevsky's manic and depressive episodes aided in his ability to properly illustrate the workings of the human mind, through his writing. II. What is Manic Depression and Depression? III. Other Writers with Mental Illnesses Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, author of several acclaimed books-including "Notes From Underground"-a semi-autobiographical story, introduced a new form of writing, "stream-of-consciousness", to Russia and Europe. Soon, this form of writing that would become the mark of the Existentialist, spread to the America's. Interestingly enough, the "stream-of-consciousness" that manifested itself in his writing was actually the product of a mood disorder, which can be characterized by intensely emotional thoughts. Caught in a rift of contrasting thoughts, the Manic-Depressive-commonly endowed with superior artistic abilities, can be very insightful to the ways of man. Manic-depression can clinically be defined as a mood disorder with two contrasting states: mania and depression. There must be an occurrence of one or more Manic or Mixed episodes and often, the individual has also had one or more Major Depressive episodes in the past. In Manic-Depressive disorder, also known as Bipolar disorder, the manic and depressive episodes recur in varying degrees of intensity. The DSM-IV describes Manic and Depressive episodes as: "The essential feature is a distinct period when the predominant mood is either elevated, expansive or irritable, and when there are associated symptoms of the manic syndrome." These symptoms include hyperactivity, pressure of speech, flight of ideas, inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, distractibility, and excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences, which are not recognized. The manual describes depressive episodes as: "The essential feature is either a dysphoric mood...

Private Lives by Noel Coward Act One

Private Lives by Noel Coward Act One Private Lives is a play written by Noel Coward, first performed in 1930 on the London stage, starring Adrianne Allen and Laurence Olivier as the supporting characters, Gertrude Lawrence as the female lead (Amanda) and Coward (yes, the playwright himself) in the lead male role (Elyot). This witty comedy explores what happens when ex-spouses encounter one another while on their second honeymoon. During Act One, as the synopsis of the script will indicate, we learn that Amanda and Elyot are not suitably matched with their fellow newlyweds. Instead, despite their natural inclination to be petty and argue with each other, they fall suddenly and madly back in love. But will it last? The Setting of Private Lives Act One of Noel Cowards play takes place in a French hotel overlooking a harbor (with an expensive yacht within view of the characters). The two hotel rooms are side-by-side, each with their own balcony. Elyot and Sybil British couple celebrating their honeymoon. It is Elyots second marriage. She wonders how she compares to Amanda, Elyots first wife. (From five years ago.) He explains that doesnt hate his ex-wife, but he does feel sorry for her. Sybil asks if he could ever love Amanda again. He explains that love should be cozy and not filled with drama and jealousy and rage. She also states that she looks for masculinity within her husband: I like a man to be a man. He speculates that his new, feminine wife has designs to shape his character into some masculine ideal. She objects, but he comments that her plans might be subconscious. After ending the conversation about his ex-wife, he suggests that they go down to the casino. Amanda and Victor After Sybil and Elyot exit, another honeymooning couple appears in the next room. The newlyweds are Victor and Amanda (Thats right Elyots ex-wife.) Victor strikes up a conversation similar to he previous couple. He is curious about Amandas ex-husband. She reveals that she and Elyot physically fought each other on many occasions: VICTOR: He struck you once, didnt he? AMANDA: Oh more than once. VICTOR: Where? AMANDA: Several places. VICTOR: What a cad! AMANDA: I struck him too. Once I broke four gramophone records over his head. It was very satisfying. As they discuss her first marriage and their honeymoon plans, we learn a few contrasts about each character. For example, Sybil hates sunburned women because it seems unladylike. On the other hand, Amanda is anxious to get a sunburn, despite her husbands distaste. We also learn that both Amanda and Elyot are found of gambling, not just at the casino, but taking risks in life. In the middle of their conversation, Victor realizes that he does not really know his new bride very well. He is shocked when she says that she is not a normal person. AMANDA: I think very few people are completely normal really deep down in their private lives it all depends on a combination of circumstances. After a romantic kiss, Victor and Amanda exit to prepare for their evening together. Elyot sits alone on his balcony. Amanda does the same. They do not notice each other until begins singing along to music. Amanda notices him first, and although they are surprised to see each other, they attempt to remain calm. Amanda excuses herself and goes inside. Elyot tries to explain to Sybil that they must leave at once, but he does not reveal the reason. When she refuses to allow them to leave, Sybil bursts into tears as Elyot rages about her stubbornness. In the next room, Amanda is in a similar argument with her husband. However, when Victor remains obstinate she reverts to the truth. But Victor believes that she has only imagined her ex-husband. Victor storms off, headed for the bar. Sybil leaves in hysterics, headed for the downstairs dining room. Elyot and Amanda recall their early days together, reminiscing over the pleasant times and walking through the character flaws that led to their downfall. ELYOT: Were not in love all over again and you know it. She asks about Elyots travels throughout the world. In the middle of that conversation, Elyot confesses that he loves her. He wants her back again. They kiss. He proposes that they escape immediately, but she thinks that they should be honest with their new spouses. He convinces her otherwise and together they leave the hotel room. Victor Meets Sybil Sybil and Victor both enter their respective balconies looking for their missing spouses. Victor chats with her, inviting her for a drink. They look off into a distance, noticing the yacht down in the harbor. Act One ends wondering if Elyot and Amandas whirlwind reconciliation will last, and whether or not the jilted spouses Victor and Sybil will find comfort in one anothers company.

20 Cognitive Biases That Screw Up Your Decisions

20 Cognitive Biases That Screw Up Your Decisions A cognitive bias, according to Wikipedia  refers to a systematic  deviation from rationality whereby our judgement of other people and situations are drawn from an illogical line of thinking. What this means is that we often make our decisions based on emotions rather than logic. And this can lead us to make very bad decisions that could be detrimental to our quality of life. Okay, so we make bad decisions. What can we do to fix that?   We can start by learning what the more common biases are. If we learn what they are, we will be able to identify when they are in the process of happening  . That being said, here is a list of 20 cognitive biases that screw up our decisions.  Source: [BusinessInsider]

Thomas Jefferson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example The purpose of education is to enlighten and promote inquiry. Religion has an antithetical purpose. It closes the mind, discourages inquiry and promotes dogmatism. As Jefferson writes, the churchmen who taught him betrayed a deeper interest in "how many angels could dance on the head of a pin" while they should have taught their students "how to make that pin work better for mankind." The implication here is that religion in the classroom and churchmen as teachers will not promote investigative inquiry and may stifle students' natural curiosity. Jefferson advocates a practical approach to education, one which will teach students that which they need for their own intellectual maturation and that which the nation itself requires for its development and advancement. With that objective in mind, Jefferson first proposes "general diffusion of knowledge," as in the provision of public education to all citizens. Within the context of public education, the subjects which should be taught are reading, writing, arithmetic and history. Beyond the parameters of a curriculum whose goal is the promotion of numerical and linguistic literacy, Jefferson proposes that the more advanced, the more talented of the students receive a higher education at the expense of the taxpayers. The subjects which should be taught should be reflective of enlightenment and reason. These subjects are "anatomy, medicine, modern languages, and science." The selection of these subjects is predicated on Jefferson's belief that they promote practical and useful kn owledge. Opposed to the "tyranny of the traditional curriculum," Jefferson's education plan revolves around three core objectives. The first is the propagation of knowledge for the purposes of developing a literate, knowledgeable populace who is capable of constructively contributing to the nation's growth and advancement. The second is a more intensive and focused period of higher education, provided at the taxpayers' expense, to those who have displayed intellectual talent and who have the potential to constructively contribute to national advancement. The subjects that these students will be taught are practical, useful and determined by their inclinations. The third core principle upon which Jefferson's education plan is founded is the exclusion of religion from educational system in response to the "tyranny of religious dogma" and the extent to which it functions as an obstacle to the promotion of investigative inquiry, knowledge and critical thinking. It need be noted that despite the fact that Jefferson's own educational experience left much to be desired, his education was typical of his peers. At first, he was educated by his father and taught basic literacy and survival skills. Following that, he was educated in a family schoolhouse by both secular and teachers and churchmen. At this point, his education was traditional and focused on the classics. As he explains, fear was the primary motivator in his education; fear of being beaten by his teacher. Added to that, from Jefferson's perspective, his education, while typical of that of his contemporaries, was impractical. In commentary upon the stated, one may affirm the validity of Jefferson's evaluation of the educational system of his time. Besides diffusing knowledge, education is supposed to broaden the mind and contribute to the development

History Education in Primary Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History Education in Primary Schools - Essay Example The pedagogical imperative of such historic education was to harbor conformity, rather than the modern notion of enabling critical though. 1 Colonialism and the World Wars brought about a change in how history would be taught, especially after Education became the state’s function. The emphasis then shifted towards a nationalistic approach of teaching history, what we term as propaganda. We now we live in an era where history is studied in a global context, with the supplementary aim of creating a sense of multiculturalism and diversity. Among the roles of history education, especially in the current context of increased cross cultural interaction, the role of History Education includes: 2 Schools as Social transmitters Promoting active Citizenship Making History Real Promoting Positive Values The same study suggests that debate on the role of history education usually occurs on: Nature of truth Tempering truth Avoiding Moral Relativity While the methodology and focus of histo ry education might be a matter of debate, the importance of this area of study remains uncontested, particularly from a functional aspect. FOCUS OF HISTORY EDUCATION: The focus of history education has often been a matter of debate between politicians and the academia, the crux of which has primarily been the purpose of teaching history. Politicians like the British education secretary, Michael Gove3, claim that the purpose of history education is to inculcate a sense of nationalism in the students so that they are in touch with their political and cultural roots. A score of policy makers believe that the history currently being taught in schools deviates from important British history and is more inclined towards European history and global events. This would obviously imply trimming and framing the curriculum with selected facts and information that would reinforce patriotic sentiments in the targeted students. Academians like Dr Marcus Collins, of Loughborough University, claim t hat such a selective approach of history education is reminiscent of a subtle form of propaganda, that has been a feature of undemocratic nations. This school of thought believes that the most pressing issue with history education isn’t the curriculum, but the amount of time that is devoted to teaching history. Where history education should be made compulsory to higher levels of education, policymakers are bent towards further curtailing the time that is allotted to teaching history. If this notion is translated to educational policies, then history education will indeed become impotent in imparting the necessary analytical skill set it sought out to cater to. It is believed that British history cannot be isolated from European history as much of Britain’s political activity took place beyond its borders, across continents. This debate is part of the government’s frustration over the liberal academic approach that is prevalent in schools, citing a lack of focus and discipline as major issues. As a consequence, the government4 has erected a new program where military officials will be planted as teachers in school to maintain decorum and cement a more focused approach to teaching with the notion of the ‘

Biology DB 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biology DB 5 - Essay Example Support is a function that is mainly conducted by the stem, and for this reason a yam is modification of a normal plant. Botanically yams are in the family of monocotyledonous referred to as Dioscoreaceae and genus Dioscorea. The main reason as to why they are grown is because of their tuber or storage organs. The root cortex of a yam as compared to that of a corn is huge, which enables it to store sugar, starch and other substances. Casparian strip, which is water-impermeable strip of waxy material situated in the endodermis does not control uptake of minerals into the xylem as compared to other plants such as corn plants. This is because most of the minerals are stored and retained in the root, which functions as a stem. Yam as a plant can be said to support leaves because a stem is absent, the anatomy of yam as a plant can be said to be a modification of other standard plant. Animals and animal products are beneficial to human beings for different purposes other than for food. Animal products are highly beneficial in production of materials for clothes. Pigs are essential in production of valuable products such as suede for manufacture of clothes and production of shoes. Cattle produce leather which is sourced from the hides in the animal skin. The leather is used in the manufacture of clothes, shoes, purses, wallets and car upholstery. Feathers from poultry especially from geese and ducks are important in stuffing down clothes such as pillows and jackets. Sheep is a great source of wool that is used in processing yarn for knitting socks, shirts and other different cloths. Rabbits are a source of far used in knitting socks, yarn and other types of clothing. The most important benefit of animals is medicinal applications. Animal products have been tested methodically as a source of drugs especially in modern medicine. For instance, a snake venom is used as an

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Management - Assignment Example Starbucks purchases Fair Trade coffee. This arrangement helps local farmers by guaranteeing a minimal price of $1.26 per pound of wholesale coffee. It also provides them with technology transfers and access to financial assistance such as short term loans to finance the crops of Coffee. Starbucks believes in the value of implementing wellness programs to help out different stakeholder groups including customers, suppliers, and employees. Starbucks purchased 269 million pounds of coffee in 2010; 84% of its purchases came from C.A.F.E. Practices approved suppliers (Starbucks, 2011). The Starbucks stores are designed to save as much energy as possible through the acquisition of superior technology and innovative processes. Water conservation is another practice that Starbucks Cafe practices. The average American uses more than 6 times more water per year than the average African. The company supports social causes such as world hunger and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The company refers to its employees as baristas. The baristas are supposed to help the company create the â€Å"Starbucks Experience.† The wastage that Starbucks stores produce is minimized through the implementation of its recycling program. The implementation of the firm’s recycling program is customized per store since it is dependent on the availability of existing recycling programs in the community. # 2--Week 3 Discussion Question 2 A company is constantly in the news due to its dominance of the retail marketplace is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the most successful retail store in the history of the United States. The company creates value by offering products at lower prices than the competition. The firm has a superb supply chain that allows the company to source products at lower costs. The company also uses bulk purchasing to achieve savings. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest employer with over 2.1 million employees worldwide (Walmart, 2011). The competitive advantage the company enjoy s is composed of a variety of factors which include: better customer service, lower prices, superb marketing, size of product offering, and superior locations. The firm offers over one million products to its customers. Wal-Mart is a multinational corporation that is publicly traded in the NYSE that operates in 28 countries. My employer does business in the United States solely. The core strategy used by Wal-Mart of beating the competition in terms of price is not aligned with the strategy the company I work for uses. My employer uses a differentiation strategy to attract customers. The products and services offered by my employer are unique, which is contrary to Wal-Mart’s strategy of offering common household products. An attribute or characteristics that both Wal-Mart and my employer share is a commitment towards customer service. A second characteristic that both companies share is the existence of an e-commerce operation. Wal-Mart has an online store that sell is product s to the entire global customer base. The e-commerce operation my employer uses differs in that the company focuses only on the domestic marketplace. # 3-- Week 3 Discussion Question 3 People eat outside their homes more often when the economy is doing well and their disposable income is higher. During bad economic times upper level restaurants are hurt more than cheap products. The industry leader in the fast food industry, McDonald’s, achieved global sales of $24 billion and $4.94 billion in net income

Litarary theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Litarary theory - Essay Example Sidney does not agree with Shelley that poetry is an expression of the beauty that has been expressed by the mind or the pet. Sidney says the poet use the creative power to invent a new world while Shelley believes that the impression touches the core of a person who prolongs the experience. Just as a child attempts to express himself through sounds and gestures, a poet tries to express the feelings of joy and happiness he carries as impressions the world has made on his mind. A poet first feels the happiness and then this emotion is expressed through the use of words and language, says Shelley but Sidney contends it is a new creation, new nature when the poet is in harmony with the Creator. What Shelley implies is that the beauty of the world is expressed through a poet. This happens when the poet delves deep within, appreciates the nature and its beauty. What springs forth from the inner self is the feeling when the mind is in harmony with the nature. Both however agree that the poet is in harmony – Shelly refers to it as harmony with the world, with the beauty, harmony with the impressions the world has made on him. Sidney says the when the poet exercises the highest power of humanity, he resembles the Creator. This suggests the poet is in harmony with the creator. Hence, what transpires is that a poet has to be in harmony for poetry to be created – call it the nature, the world, the beauty, the creator, whether it is the imagination or the real world. 2. Compare/contrast the mimetic theories of Pope and Wordsworth. Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how works of literature imitate or represent the real world. The mimetic theories of Pope and Wordsworth discuss the rules for the critic or the reader. Pope believes that since nature is unerring and unchanging, one should follow the rules of the nature while Wordsworth’s poems imitate the primary laws of the nature. Poetry has its origin in the orderly

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Management - Assignment Example Starbucks purchases Fair Trade coffee. This arrangement helps local farmers by guaranteeing a minimal price of $1.26 per pound of wholesale coffee. It also provides them with technology transfers and access to financial assistance such as short term loans to finance the crops of Coffee. Starbucks believes in the value of implementing wellness programs to help out different stakeholder groups including customers, suppliers, and employees. Starbucks purchased 269 million pounds of coffee in 2010; 84% of its purchases came from C.A.F.E. Practices approved suppliers (Starbucks, 2011). The Starbucks stores are designed to save as much energy as possible through the acquisition of superior technology and innovative processes. Water conservation is another practice that Starbucks Cafe practices. The average American uses more than 6 times more water per year than the average African. The company supports social causes such as world hunger and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. The company refers to its employees as baristas. The baristas are supposed to help the company create the â€Å"Starbucks Experience.† The wastage that Starbucks stores produce is minimized through the implementation of its recycling program. The implementation of the firm’s recycling program is customized per store since it is dependent on the availability of existing recycling programs in the community. # 2--Week 3 Discussion Question 2 A company is constantly in the news due to its dominance of the retail marketplace is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the most successful retail store in the history of the United States. The company creates value by offering products at lower prices than the competition. The firm has a superb supply chain that allows the company to source products at lower costs. The company also uses bulk purchasing to achieve savings. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest employer with over 2.1 million employees worldwide (Walmart, 2011). The competitive advantage the company enjoy s is composed of a variety of factors which include: better customer service, lower prices, superb marketing, size of product offering, and superior locations. The firm offers over one million products to its customers. Wal-Mart is a multinational corporation that is publicly traded in the NYSE that operates in 28 countries. My employer does business in the United States solely. The core strategy used by Wal-Mart of beating the competition in terms of price is not aligned with the strategy the company I work for uses. My employer uses a differentiation strategy to attract customers. The products and services offered by my employer are unique, which is contrary to Wal-Mart’s strategy of offering common household products. An attribute or characteristics that both Wal-Mart and my employer share is a commitment towards customer service. A second characteristic that both companies share is the existence of an e-commerce operation. Wal-Mart has an online store that sell is product s to the entire global customer base. The e-commerce operation my employer uses differs in that the company focuses only on the domestic marketplace. # 3-- Week 3 Discussion Question 3 People eat outside their homes more often when the economy is doing well and their disposable income is higher. During bad economic times upper level restaurants are hurt more than cheap products. The industry leader in the fast food industry, McDonald’s, achieved global sales of $24 billion and $4.94 billion in net income

Review of The augmented CAPM Literature Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Of The augmented CAPM - Literature review Example was criticized by various authors and a new augmented CAPM was devised in order to take systematic risk into account while investing in stock market and completely ignore the unsystematic risk. This augmented CAPM is accurate for applying in the Hong Kong market and thus, its validity is checked through this literature (Hearn, n. d.). Asset pricing models are defined as frameworks that are devised for identifying and measuring risk. The models also identify the rewards that are attached with risk bearing. The theories attached to the models helps in realizing reasons for expected returns on the government bonds to be less than that on the stocks. It also assists in developing idea behind two stocks with different expected returns. The change in expected returns over time is also explained through this model (Hearn, n. d.; Huang, Yang and Hu, 2000). The basic premises of asset pricing model are that the investor’s desires for higher expected returns. The investors do not like to take risk and hold diversified portfolios so that the risk is distributed in different sectors. The models also specify fair rate of return for particular asset. The information regarding rate of return is very crucial for taking any investment decision for corporations who evaluate projects and the formation of portfolios for inves tors. The theories related to models helps in characterizing the risk of a project or acquisition and also examine the discount rate associated with the risk. The asset pricing model was first developed by Sharpe (1964) and Lintner (1965). However, there had been lot of advancement in asset pricing for the past 35 years. The progress was important for understanding the issues encountered while implementing asset pricing models in any emerging market. So, this model should be followed and also modified over time, while investment situation changes due to several challenges. The first asset pricing theory is known as Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) developed

Osamu Dazai Essay Example for Free

Osamu Dazai Essay Osamu Dazai was one of Japanese novelist and considered one of the most important storytellers of postwar Japan. While known primarily as a novelist, Dazai also earned recognition for his numerous short stories, including â€Å"Omoide† (â€Å"Memories†), â€Å"Sarugashima† (â€Å"Monkey Island†), and â€Å"Ha† (â€Å"Leaves†), which were published in Bannen, his first collection of short stories. Like most of his longer fiction, Dazais short stories are autobiographical and reflect a troubled life marred by alcoholism, drug addiction, and several suicide attempts. Nevertheless, Dazais fiction showcases his artistic imagination and unique confessional narrative technique. Dazai was born the youngest of ten children in Kanagi, a small town in northern Japan, to one of the wealthiest families in the region. While Dazais later years were turbulent, he grew up a sensitive child in comfortable surroundings. Later in his life, however, his wealthy background led to self-consciousness, contributing to a nagging sense of isolation that is an undercurrent throughout his fiction. Dazai underwent his apprenticeship in writing during the 1920s while attending secondary schools in Aomori and Hirosaki and published many of his early stories in magazines founded and run by aspiring young authors. By the time he attended Hirosaki Higher School, however, Dazai began to live the unconventional lifestyle that brought him much fame. Despite his widely recognized talent, however, alcoholism, drug addiction, affairs with geishas, suicide attempts, and frequent psychological traumas plagued him the rest of his life. In 1930, Dazai enrolled in the Department of French Literature at Tokyo University, but by the end of his first year, he ceased attending classes. Instead, Dazai became involved with left-wing politics, caroused, and renewed his relationship with a geisha he met while attending Hirosaki Higher School. His family disapproved of this relationship, leading to one of Dazais suicide attempts. He attempted to take his own life on at least three other occasions and finally succeeded in a double suicide with a young war widow in 1948. This episode, among several instances of double suicide in Dazais fiction, is retold in his widely acclaimed novel, No Longer Human. Dazais highly autobiographical fiction first garnered popular and critical attention after the publication of his first collection, Bannen (The Final Years). The first and most significant of these stories is â€Å"Omoide† (â€Å"Memories†). With its highly personal tone, â€Å"Memories† reveals a common narrative technique in Dazais writing. Revealing his childhood and adolescent traumas, as well as his need for companionship and love, Dazais first-person narrative attracts the readers sympathy while raising doubts about the authenticity of the narration because of exaggerated rhetoric. â€Å"Gangu† (â€Å"Toys†), another tale in Bannen, illustrates Dazais playfulness. In this tale, the narrator — after briefly relating his financial troubles — details his plans to concoct a tale recounting the memories of an infant. While these and other early pieces exemplify the personal tone of much of Dazais work, another group of tales shows his talent for imaginative storytelling. Two tales — â€Å"Gyofukuki,† translated as â€Å"Metamorphosis,† and â€Å"Sarugashima,† translated as â€Å"Monkey Island† — provide good examples of this. In place of the Dazai like protagonist present throughout most of his other short fiction; â€Å"Metamorphosis† is about a peasant girl who, on the verge of puberty, takes on the appearance and identity of a fish. â€Å"Monkey Island† presents two humanoid monkeys as its protagonists. In astonishment, one of the monkeys soon realizes they are the objects of atte ntion, rather than the spectators, of the humans walking through the zoo. In his final years, he composed a series of stories that evince his interest in domestic issues, as titles such as â€Å"Villons Wife,† â€Å"Father,† and â€Å"Family Happiness†Ã¢â‚¬â€suggest. As critics have remarked, the stories of these collections are among the few works of artistic value produced by a Japanese author under the strict government censorship during World War II. While famous in Japan and avidly read — especially by the younger generation — Dazai has not achieved the international stature of Japanese writers such as Natsume Sseki, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and End Shusaku. This is partly due to problems with translating Dazais highly personal style. Yet Dazai has earned himself a position in modern Japanese letters more or less comparable to that of an F. Scott Fitzgerald, as opposed to a William Faulkner, in modern American literature. Donald Keene, Dazais principal English translator, has described him as a Japanese writer â€Å"who emerged at the end of World War II as the literary voice of his time.† While Dazais body of work is sometimes criticized for its narrow scope, many critics maintain that his fiction contains some of the most beautiful prose in modern Japanese literature. Dazai became celebrated for two short novels, The Setting Sun and No Longer Human, both translated into English. I read both of them back when I was reading all the Japanese fiction I could get my hands on, but did not care for either, and have not read either again. The Setting Sun was published in 1947, and is set in those years shortly after the end of the war. It was a very popular novel, and the title came to represent Japanese of the upper classes who had fallen because of the war and American occupation. But Dazai was already well known for personal characteristics reflected in the major characters as wellnihilism, drunken dissipation, despair (a kind of model for our hippie generation)so, although the central character is a young woman, Kazuko, the novel is read as strongly autobiographical. This is true for No Longer Human, too, which is perhaps even more autobiographical, and, as Donald Keene describes it, is an attack on the habits and traditions of Japanese society, but above all a record of his alienation from society. (1063) I was not attracted to the narcissistic qualities in these two novels, or to the fact that Dazai, after having failed in two previous love suicides (in which the women succeeded) succeeded in a love suicide June 13, 1948 (he and the woman drowned in the Tamagawa Reservoir). I just didnt much like him or his charactersnever used those novels in courses I taught. But I did use one of his short stories, Villons Wife, several times, because it was in the anthology I most frequently used in the survey course of Japanese Literature, Donald Keenes Modern Japanese Literature, and I actually came to like that story very much (sort of like Oes The Catch, the exception that proves the rule). The husband in the story may be the closest self-portrait of all, and the most despicable, in his drunken dissipation, unfaithfulness, and unforgivable treatment of his wife, but the story is told by the wife, who, in her attempts to accommodate herself to all of this comes through as an attractive and courageous characterand you realize that even Dazai, in his more sober moments perhaps, must have appreciated her virtues. Anyway, thats the one I recommendthen, if you want to read either, or both, of the novels, you will be reading fiction that was very popular in Japan in the decade after the end of the war, and may, indeed, reflect some of the values in flux in that traumatic time, particularly for young Japanese who would have seen themselves as having lost everything. I will be comparing Akutagawa to Edgar Allan Poe next month for their short lives and some of the qualities of their fiction, and it is easy to compare Dazai to Akutagawa (1892-1927), as well. Akutagawa was more of Tanizakis generation, but died in his late 30s, as a suicide, as Dazai did. But, I am happy to say, I am very fond of Akutagawaa highly disciplined literary artist. (MAIN BODY) â€Å"NO LONGER HUMAN† This book, by Osamu Dazai, is an example of the Japanese genre of shishosetsu, a kind of autobiographical fiction. Its different from what we think of as autobiography, in that the purpose is not so much to tell a story there is no real emplotment, beginning, middle, end in the traditional (or Aristotelian) sense, but rather, the text is a sort of rambling exploration of the self. Style is de-prioritized, sincerity and immediacy are tantamount. There is no constrained form, but rather, an attempt to establish a direct link between author and reader, to explain a particular perspective. The book is largely autobiographical, based on events from Dazais own life. He was a literary rock star, but a deeply miserable guy, attempting suicide several times before finally succeeding. Theres actually a monument at the spot where he killed himself (along with his mistress), and apparently people gather there on the anniversary of his death every year. In any case, the book itself is interesting. It makes me want to learn Japanese, for starters, because no matter how great the translator, theres no getting around the fact that the grammatical structure of Japanese is completely different from that of English, most importantly, for this book perhaps, in that it is entirely possible, and even common, to construct a sentence in Japanese with no subject. Apparently the entire book is written in this form, which would be particularly appropriate to the work itself. Though I wonder if the Japanese reader would really think of this as particularly artful, given that its apparently a standard thing to them. But I guess thats a question for psycho-linguists to answer. The book is the related story of a very unhappy guy who is essentially chronicling his downward spiral. Though its hard to say if its really a downward spiral though he does pinpoint a moment at which he ceased to be human, its not entirely clear that he was ever really human (by his own definition) to begin with. One question is what it means, in his eyes, to be human. There is a clear parallel to Notes from the Underground (Dazai was big into Dostoevsky, and the main character refers to Crime and Punishment), in that both are notes from deeply unhappy men who are convinced of their own uniqueness, but there are definitely differences. Dostoevskys character is raging against rationality, and the way in which it dehumanizes people, so in a sense, though he calls himself a mouse, etc, he could be seen as claiming that he is really the only human. Dazais character, Yozo, sees himself as inhuman, mainly, it seems, because he lacks certain basic human traits. He claims, for instance, that he has never felt hungry. However, there is also a certain issue of domination at play he is unable to say no to anyone, to turn down anything. In this sense, one could say that he is entirely determined by the outside world. Despite the fact that he has an inner life, he keeps it hidden from the outside world. In fact, his behavior is entirely, he claims, an act, he plays the clown for the amusement of others, refusing to let his own feelings show. But Im not certain if this is really the case. For instance, he wants to be an artist, and actually disobeys his father in order to pursue his artistic career, and confesses to the other authority figure in his life, Flatfish, that he wants to make art. So it seems as though the masking process is incomplete in this case, and at times he does behave authentically. I wonder if the same could be said for the Underground Man? I think that its slightly different in his case, in that the construction of the Underground Man is such that he cant behave authentically, because he has no stable self. Yozo, on the other hand, certainly has an inner life, its just a rather empty one. He doesnt seem to have any real will of his own, or rather, the will that he does have is purely towards self-destruction he can get booze and drugs, and drink himself into a stupor, without any difficulties. But then again, he also seems to have a brief lull of happiness, directly following his marriage. But even there, its hard to say if hes happy. Maybe its most accurate to say that he is so constructed as to be incapable of happiness? Hmmm. Theres more thinking to be done here. Unfortunately, I seem to like each Dazai Osamu (1909-1948) book less than the previous one. No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku, 1948) is more epigrammatic that The Setting Sun (Shayo, 1947), but perhaps I am too old for it (as I was once too young to read Proust) to be much moved for the plaint of a creature too delicate for the world. I cant muster sociological interest in it as social history of the 30s either, since dissipitation is basically timeless (though the preferred means vary). I read the epilogue differently from translator and longtime Columbia professor Donald Keene: as showing the notebooks writer was successful at mimicking good nature, not that his widow is right and the writer wrong. (In the way that most men fail to see their own cruelty, Yozo had not noticed his gentleness and capacity for love-p. 9; really? a capacity for love? and gentleness? or solipsism mixed with diffidence?) I am not so sure that Keene was right that the Japanese are certainly much more like A mericans than they are like their ancestors of one hundred years ago. As far as literature is concerned, the break with the Japanese past is almost complete (p. 7), though this is more credible now than it was six decades ago. Dazai seems very traditionally Japanese to me in many ways, a descendant of Sei Shà ´nagon both in wit and to some degree in aesthetics (Dazai is still plenty delicate and fairly indirect, even about what she would have considered vulgar and even sordid matters, very regretful and very perishable). Would Keene have been moved to translate Dazai, if there was nothing of the Japanese tradition that Keene venerates in Dazai? Let alone, recall translating Dazai as if I were writing a book of my own, an experience he only otherwise had with Kenkà ´s Essays in Idleness (On Familiar Terms, p. 189). I like Keenes characterization of Yozo as a man who is orphaned from his fellows by their refusal to take him seriously (p. 8, see p. 139), which in turn is a result of his desperate clowning. Of course, this resonates with my experience of people not believing I could possibly be serious when I am, and feeling Im not like other people, incapable of getting by. And unusual or extravagant things tempt me (p. 23). It is interesting that someone who felt himself different from an early age and for whom it would be no exaggeration to say that my only playmates while I was growing up were girls (48) became a diffident lady-killer rather than a homosexual. Ã…Å'ba cannot forget his abuse by a female servant when he was young. In high school, he played the buffoon. At university, he finds bad influence from Horiki and leads a life of debauchery (nonstop smoking, alcohol abuse, promiscuity), culminating in a double suicide (it cannot seriously be billed a love suicide) in which the married woman drowns and he survives. After being expelled from the university, Ã…Å'ba is clan and sober for a time in a relationship with an innocent young woman, but Horki shows up and leads Ã…Å'ba back into temptation, now adding morphine to alcohol abuse and being incarcerated in a mental asylum, where he is numb rather than violent. As for being zombified by Japans defeat, Dazai seems to me to have been as self-destructive and intellectually nihilistic while the Japanese Empire was rising as in the general anomie after Emperor Hirohito renounced divinity and the US occupied the archipelago. (Imamuras Pigs and Battleships show some of this social breakdown and women who were better at surviving it than the men.) The original publication sold more than six million copies in Japan, more than any Japanese novel other than Kokoro (1914) by SÃ… seki Natsume. A manga version was published in 2009, the centenary of Dasais birth, and also filmed. (CONCLUSION) Attending Meiji Gakuin University from the age 15 to 19, Toson gradually became aware of literature under the influence of unconventional traditions of the school. Toson literature is even said to originate during his days at the university. Toson joined Bungakukai, a literary group, and as a romantic poet, published a collection of poems including Wakanashu. Later, Toson turned a novelist and published Hakai (â€Å"The Broken Commandment†) and Haru (â€Å"Spring†), and is thus regarded as a prominent naturalist novelist. His other works include, Ie (â€Å"Family†), considered to have achieved the highest level in Japanese Naturalism literature, Shinsei (â€Å"New life†), a confession of his own incestuous relationship with his niece, Yoakemae (â€Å"Before the Dawn†), a historical novel modeled on the life of his father. Altbough he began his serialization of Tohonomon (â€Å"The Gate of the East†) in 1943, he died of a stroke at his own hom e in Oiso, Kanagawa prefecture on 22nd of August. (BIBLIOGRAPHY LIST) Dazai, Osamu, and Donald Keene. No Longer Human. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1981. Print. Lyons, Phyllis I., and Osamu Dazai. The Saga of Dazai Osamu: a Critical Study with Translations. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1985. Print. Hachimaki, Emi. ä º ºÃ©â€"“å ¤ ±Ã¦   ¼. é â€™Ã§ © ºÃ¦â€"‡å º «Ã£â‚¬â‚¬Aozora Bunko. Aozora, 1 Jan. 1999. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000035/files/301_14912.html. (REFERENCE) http://kirjasto.sci.fi/dazai.htm http://www.jlit.net/authors_works/dazai_osamu.html http://wlc.drake.edu/wordpress/japanese/2010/02/28/osamu-dazai%E3%80%80%E5%A4%AA%E5%AE%B0%E6%B2%BB%EF%BC%89/

Businesses going green with IT

Businesses going green with IT In todays ever changing world, there is an increased amount of pressure to become more environmentally conscious in they we live go about our daily lives. Some examples of environmental impacts on individuals may include trash recycling, choosing eco-friendly consumer products, vehicle purchase, as well as basic house hold energy management. We could also apply this to an industry service. Businesses in the architectural / engineering world perform construction services in the form of site development. Companies in this industry are designing and making decisions on behalf of their client based on the latest regulations to ensure all the environmental requirements are met while striving for sustainability. Sustainabilitys advancement in society has reached a new level for business organizations. Companies are not only providing services externally that need to comply with environmental regulations. They are also assessing their own internal corporate operations and its environmental impact. Maddens (December 2009) article on sustainability software brings attention to the emerging â€Å"green† software market and how companies are looking to apply this technology both internally and externally to comply with the challenging environmental laws while increasing its corporate image and profitability. Software vendors are now developing applications for businesses to track â€Å"greenhouse† gas emissions (GHG), water and other energy usages, paper waste, and improved materials for services among some of the examples. One of the leading software applications in this group is called carbon emissions accounting or Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA). ECA software enables a company to perform analysis and reporting of its GHG emissions. According to AMR Research in Maddens (2009) article, the carbon auditing software market has reached $3.6 billion and could see levels as high as $9 billion within the next couple of years. The validity of the market share has grown since being joined by large vendors such as Computer Associates, Microsoft, and recently merged SAP/Clear Standards. California based company, Enviance, is rated as one of the market leaders in this emerging industry. Their environmental enterprise resource planning (ERP) services include web based and on premise automation of tracking and reporting of health and safety, greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental factors. Their mobile platform involves personal digital assistants (PDAs) and tablet PCs for reducing the amount of paper used in meter reading, inspections for hazardous materials and environmental discharges, and auditing. Data is entered on site through the PDAs and uploaded directly to the incorporated environmental ERP system, which yields a seamless flow of information in real-time throughout all levels of an organization. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software functionality is better known for its sales, production, planning and financial data management that allows the business process to be viewed throughout an organization. It executes its objective typically through a suite of software modules integrated for the business process. One of the challenges sustainability software faces both before and after implementation is whether its verifiable. In Maddens (2009) sustainability software editorial, referring to environmental ERP implementation, Larry Goldenhersh (CEO of Enviance) conveys the detail that accounting for carbon data is not equivalent to financial data on a balance sheet. Regulatory environmental laws can be very complicated. Mr. Goldenhersh states, â€Å"Customers (companies) need to trust that the solutions they have in place will be defensible on many levels regulatory and reputational† (as cited in Madden, December 2009). In contrast to business professionals contribution to (ERP) software development, Mr. Goldenhersh goes on to explain that if sustainability applications are to have any credibility, they will need to be developed with environmental experts in hard sciences such as physics and chemistry as examples. We can also add professionals in other areas such as architectural and engineering with environmental accreditations. Green software users are employed in other sectors within an organization besides executive and management. At the design and production levels, employees can use the applicable data to create improvements for their own facilities management operations or for outside design services. Using the construction trade example mentioned earlier as it relates to the content, Maddens (2009) article explains how CADD (computer aided design and drafting) software vendor Autodesk is providing solutions to their clients enabling them to meet â€Å"green† initiatives. Autodesk has been developing green tools built into their software as well as providing an online web based environmental service. One example of a built-in tool added in their desktop software Inventor is the Sustainable Materials Assistant (SMA), which is applied in manufacturing and process engineering. The SMA application used in digital prototyping focuses on providing feedback for intelligent material selection in the design process with respect to environmental compliance. Their internet based solution is known as the Green Building Studio. This web service uses the Ecotect platform software to enable architects and engineers to perform a building analysis, generating a design that is more energy efficient and account for the overall carbon footprint in the end product (a building system). The information technology applied in this green software service incorporates many factors in this trade including carbon emissions reporting, water usage, amount of daylight, site positioning, and even a detailed weather analysis among several of the examples. Using Enviance CEOs comments on green software creditability as a parallel reference, the Green Building Studio web service was evaluated under ANSI/ASHRAE standards for this genre of computer analysis and is certified by the U.S. Department of Energy, (according to the Autodesk website) making the service verifiable. According to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), information technology was predicted to create the â€Å"paperless† office but has yet to deliver. Analysts report that companies are still using far more paper than originally predicted for business operations today (stated in Madden, 2009). The consumption of paper contributes to the impacts paper mills and logging have on the environment. Hewlett-Packard one of the leading suppliers of office equipment and supplies has strategically partnered with Capella Technologies to provide an Intelligent Print Management (IPM) software solution. The on demand printing solution allows the company to monitor and track documents and to ensure they are printed on the correct devices thus reducing costs and allow companies to become more eco-friendly. Another example of reducing paper consumption through the use of information technology in Maddens (2009) article is the Quik suite product. Efficient Technologies markets this software to automate forms and incorporate the use of digital signature technology for e-signing. The goal is to have companies fully embrace this technology to reduce its paper consumption by half or greater. There will always be a debate regarding the validity and magnitude in regards to sustainability and other environmental agendas. Maddens (2009) two part editorial suggests these issues are having an impact on information technology and the way organizations are applying them. With the ever increasing environmental regulations and public awareness, companies are becoming more sensitive to their corporate image with the consumer as well as with potential clients. Businesses are utilizing â€Å"green† software technologies enterprise wide in their internal operations as much as they are in their commercial trades to strategically position their public profile while they increase profits and reduce operating costs. References Madden, Ned. (2009, December 1). Sustainability Software, Part 1: Its Easy Being Green. TechNewsWorld. Retrieved from: http://www.technewsworld.com. Madden, Ned. (2009, December 8). Sustainability Software, Part 2: Cutting the Paper Chase. TechNewsWorld. Retrieved from: http://www.technewsworld.com. Enviance ®. http://www.enviance.com. Autodesk ®. http://usa.autodesk.com

Essay examples --

Harley-Davidson has a very strong social-cultural force. Harley-Davidson has a traditional customer base of Caucasian men in the age range of 35-74 years-old. In 2012, nearly half of the sales of a new Harley-Davidson were to new customers who have never previously owned a Harley-Davidson. A unique aspect of Harley-Davidson is that they consider their employees to be their â€Å"only long-term competitive advantage.† A quote from their website states, â€Å"To us, our culture is as strong as the iron and steel we put into our bikes, and shines as bright as the chrome.† Some recent changes in the culture include a change in age demographic. Harley-Davidson sales have increased to selling almost half of their motorcycles to new customers. Sales to â€Å"young adults 18-34, women, African-Americans and Hispanics – grew overall at more than twice the rate as sales to [the] traditional U.S. customer base of Caucasian men, ages 35-plus† (Harley-Davidson). The customer base for Harley-Davidson is estimated at 50 million people and Harley-Davidson expects this to remain â€Å"stable and strong.† In the last five years, Harley-Davidson considers international dealers like India, China, and Brazil to be emerging markets. Additional, in that time frame international sales have increased over 5%. Lastly, Harley-Davidson has another quote: â€Å"All roads lead home.† Riders are usually encouraged to be involved in their communities and neighborhoods. The company engages in partnership activities with companies such as Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls Club, and the YMCA. Economic Changes Harley Davidson, Inc. has had a consistent increase in net income for the last three years per the consolidated Statement of Operations filed in February of 2013. Despite this... ...on in any material product liability claim against us could adversely affect our operating results or financial condition. Polaris mentions a risk of reliance upon intangibles. Beneficial to Polaris, however, is their cultural environment of innovation. They have the potential to continually keep ahead of this risk. Additionally, Polaris mentions the potential for product liability. Like motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles can be risky to users when not used properly and maintained. Technological Changes Polaris does not actually mention any specific technological changes or risks in their financial statements apart from the reliance on intangibles. However, Polaris has similar risks to technological changes that Harley-Davidson does. Polaris offers unique apps and has a website that encourages an interactive usage between the user and the company.

Function of Music in Theatre Essay

QUESTION #1 Discuss the dramatic functions of music in two works of Music Theatre, including some consideration of the relationship between music and other elements of the performance event. Music and drama have the capability of not only integrating to create spectacular visual and aural events in theatre, but they have a distinct capacity to support each other – to heighten one-another to innovative, intrepid and even excessive levels. These levels reached are rarely paralleled in real life, at least not as effortlessly as they are in musical theatre. It seems that in some cases, the two elements aren’t complete unless they form a relationship – just as hydrogen and oxygen bond to produce water. ‘Music is created from sound as life is created from matter’ (Reti, 1961). Music in drama is somewhat a broad topic, as this communicates the infinite range of subtleties of music in drama, but the approach to evaluating this form of theatre is particularly important; is the focus upon the effect of the music upon the drama, or the drama upon the music? Is the focus upon the unity of the two, or their distinctions? This report will focus upon the use of music in theatre as an amplifier. The aim of this document is to hold a metaphorical magnifying glass over two individual pieces of drama: Lionel Bart’s music in ‘Oliver!’ and Elliot Goldenthal’s music in ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’. The two pieces of drama are poles apart when relating the plots, themes, settings and a great many others, but although the two works have over 30 years between them in production, there are particular conventions to be found within the composition of their music scores, which both illustrate the effectiveness of the basic systems in music to develop the drama, and the revolutions occurring in the new generation of drama for today’s new generation of audience. Although the music analyzed in this report can be easily disregarded by the audience as ‘backdrop’ music, there is a much deeper and arousing basis to the composer’s production of this music, which is there for much more than simply saying to the audience â€Å"This is where the character is†. ‘The great composers were fully aware both of the thematic principle and of the technique through which they materialized it.† – (Reti, 1961) The music used in these examples were not used simply for a pleasing auditory ‘spanner in the works’, but to achieve a new level of understanding especially from the point of view of particular characters. The music of the composers Bart and Goldenthal, successfully achieves a more intense portrayal of their characters featured, through the use of both subtlety and supplement. ‘Oliver’ will be the main focus for the initial component of this report, so that the two pieces of drama can be analyzed chronologically. ‘Oliver!’ is a musical interpretation of Charles Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ and is a tender account of an orphan boy who runs away from the orphanage and journeys to London. He endeavors to â€Å"pick-a-pocket-or-two† for his new lodger Fagin, but gets caught. As Fagin tries to save him, Oliver decides that all he wants now is go to his newly discovered uncle, and live a good life. Oliver premiered on Broadway in January of 1963 and ran for 774 performances. It was converted into a film later that decade and subsequently won 6 academy awards including best picture for 1968. Throughout the duration of the Musical, the audience is drawn into Oliver’s world – hauled into his story through the use of melody and song. The initial scene where Oliver Twist first enters London is a defining component of the Musical, where (in film version) you see him gaze adoringly out at the clock tower above from underneath a dozen cabbages – the symphony slowly building as he pulls together the impulse to jump out form the basket and then stumble out into the middle of the street to view this living, breathing city before him. The music now escalates at this point and creates a strong resonance whilst he gawks with innocence and naivety at every moving spectacle around him. A brass fanfare erupts in unison with Oliver’s eruption from the basket and strongly accompanies the other sounds of the city such as the hustle and bustle of loaded carriages, trains blasting their whistles, people rich and poor alike scurrying about busily like ants – oblivious to the music unlike Oliver. This scene captures almost every conceivable aspect of the city from Oliver’s eyes and packs it tightly into song with The Artful Dodger’s swift introduction, reception and invitation in the song â€Å"Consider Yourself†, at which point he takes Oliver on an excursion around the busy city. A humorous contrast is provided here in this scene – where Dodger sings the lines â€Å"Consider yourself at home, consider yourself one of the family† whilst at the same time, both he and Oliver are being scrutinized by policemen and chased by merchants as they weave and bob their way through the immeasurable stream of dancing butchers, grocers, paperboys, fishmongers, etc. Soon after this scene, Fagin gives Oliver a lesson on how to â€Å"Pick a Pocket or Two†. The music in this scene is lighthearted and comedic but offers many subtleties to be investigated, such as the deep brass used to convey the sense of danger, the sense of capture or discovery, but the underscore of flutes happily tooting away at Oliver’s new found conception that the art of thievery is all just a game – not something evil or punishable at least. Interestingly, when you meet up with the character Bill Sikes (a fiendish henchman with a violent and deadly temper) there is an immediate shift in music, just as if his entrance creates a wind that pushes the high-spirited music out of the room to make space for his deep, rich and threatening score. Although Oliver is a high-spirited production, there are strong hints of the dilemmas of poverty and violence brought into three dimensions with song, but more contemporary dramatic works have required more than these fundamental methods to bring the characters and scenes to life – literally. ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ was released as a full-length feature film in 2001. This feature however was different to any other as the entire film was animated. The story of ‘Final Fantasy’ is set in the year 2065 where the remaining inhabitants of earth are locked in a battle to take back the Earth from marauding alien invaders. Led by a strange repeating dream, Dr. Aki Ross may be the only one who can save the human race from extinction. Elliot Goldenthal was provided the challenge of bringing the synthetic characters to life through his musical composition. ‘There seemed to be only one logical answer for me, which was to amplify the humanness in any place that was dramatically possible. I wanted to treat the character’s emotional interactions, for example, as one would treat them in normal drama, with a lyrical sweeping melody.’ (Goldenthal, 2001). Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, Goldenthal’s music for ‘Final Fantasy’ attempted at every point to bring life to the characters in the story both emotionally and physically. This is evident in the very first scene of the film where the audience is introduced to Aki, when she is having her repeated dream. The introduction of the accompanying piece is led by the sound of a glass harmonica to convey the potential sensitivity and fragility of Aki’s character. She wakes from the dream and finds herself on her spacecraft, revolving across the surface of the earth. In the next scene, she descends to earth accompanied by an almost military fanfare of brass and strings coming together on a strong Eb chord, giving a feeling of purpose and decision to this descent. Her ship touches down on the desolate, empty streets of New York, and the music instantly stops in a parallel with the apocalyptic emptiness of the long-dead city. Further on in the movie, Aki’s love interest Gray Edwards becomes critically infected by one of the aliens and is given only a matter of minutes to live unless treated immediately. Aki is forced to work against time in an attempt to save Gray, The dramatic tension in this scene is heightened by Goldenthal’s Score â€Å"Code Red†, composed basically of intense strings and strong percussion symbolizing a clock, and also signifying the value and importance of time. The music steadily builds in pitch, volume and intensity as the timer next to the operating table nears 0:00, but the tempo remains the same due to the fact that the time on the clock cannot speed up or slow down. At the climax of the scene, Aki saves Gray with only seconds to spare and as soon as the operation finishes the music abruptly ends, leaving the audience somewhat temporarily suspended in a moment of heightened tension. In a later scene, Gray and Aki are engaged in a private conversation where Aki speaks of a terminally ill eight-year-old girl she once spent time with before her death. In this scene where Aki reveals her emotional vulnerability for the first time, Goldenthal chose for this to be the first moment in the film where a piano is used. He decided on this due to the fact that the characters are so far away from any type of home in a desolate land, instead of going high-tech, a more earthy instrument is needed, something not basic, but elementary in musical design. The piano in this scene reminds the audience of home and connects the animated characters with images of a soft and sympathetic reality. A scene later in the film shows General Hein, (the villain of the film) in his office speaking of how his wife and child were killed by the aliens. Throughout the earlier scenes of the movie, the General is composed in a gloomy light, but in this particular scene, he is viewed musically in a sympathetic light. The music is tender and wistful as he unconsciously shows why his contempt for the aliens proves to cloud his judgment. There is a reference in the music that although there is compassion within this character, it is somewhat suppressed to an almost dormant state, overshadowed by hate and resentment. ‘We must always rely on the music as our guide toward our understanding of the composer’s conception of the text. It is this conception, not the bare text itself that is authoritative in defining the ultimate meaning of the work.’ (Kerman, 1989). The function of this music being strategically used in drama is for the benefit of the audience not only because it has the ability to paint a scene, but it also opens up the dialogue and opens up the characters and lets the audience see what is going on inside of them. The function is ‘to supply certain kinds of meaning to the drama, meanings that enrich immeasurably, and enrich dramatically, and that cannot be presented in any other way’ (Kerman, 1989). Drama alone can hopelessly attempt to convey some of the aspects of life that music can convey in just a few notes, and music can ridiculously hope to fulfill all the needs of a script without any real actions or dialogue, but in the end, the two combined provide an infinite array of possibilities and interpretations to be searched. In conclusion, if the composer is faced with the challenge of creating music to accompany drama, there is no unambiguous method of composition that one has to follow, but the impartiality between the two elements requires a strong correspondence at every point where they meet, or else the implication, sensation or meaning you are trying to convey will become caught in some redundant crossfire and the audience will lose the chance of gaining something extra from a piece of theatre capable of reaching outside of it’s three dimensions. – B. Daly Clark REFERENCES Goldenthal, E. (2001) The Composer’s Challenge. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, New York: Marca Registrada Kerman, J. (1989) Opera as Drama, London: Richard Clay Limited. Lippman, E. A., Hatch, C. (1999) The philosophy & Aesthetics of Music, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press Reti, R. (1961) The Thematic Process in Music, London: Faber and Faber Limited.