Free Essays on Equality

Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Free Essays on Equality Is the promotion of equality by political means either desirable or possible? Throughout history the issue of equality among individuals has been a divisive and controversial topic. Many individuals have lost their lives in an attempt to secure equality for themselves and their family. Once considered a radical and extreme political view, today equality is generally accepted by the masses as necessary component to a free and fair society. In contemporary times the problems with equality arise in its application and the government’s role in the promotion of equality. Coupled with the three different forms of equality and it is easy to see why the issue of equality continues to be heavily debated by political leaders. In order to accurately understand contemporary discussions about the application of equality by political means we must first identify the three forms of equality. Formal equality, equality of opportunity, and equality of outcome are the three forms of equality that dominate modern debate. Formal equality centers around the belief that men are equal simply because they are men. Equality of opportunity is the equal starting point for individuals. Equality of opportunity is more concerned with the initial conditions of individuals than their final standing in society. Lastly, equality of outcome attempts to determine outcomes so that everybody’s status is equal. Many have argued that equality is such a vital element of society that it is necessary for the government to become involved the promotion of equality. With formal equality it is a difficult task for formal equality to be promoted my political means. Formal equality is based on inalienable rights that are given to every human being. I question how effective politics can be in promoting a form of equality that is so limited by its own definition. I suppose one may argue that the constitution of a state could be one way to promote formal equalit... Free Essays on Equality Equality: Why We Can’t Get There Racial and economic equality in the United States is impossible. Starting with slavery, moving to Jim Crow and culminating with hate crimes and racial profiling, there has been a continuous stream of factors preventing the realization of an equal American society. While it is true that great strides have been made to correct the social and political inaccuracies, the harsh reality is that all these attempts are futile. Practices such as affirmative action and equal opportunity programs, are effective at leveling the playing field, however, they will never be able to make it completely equal. White privilege and its social consequences represent one of the main reasons why equality is unattainable. Ideally, the destruction of white privilege and the belief systems that support it could result in the formation of an equal nation. However, human beings have no available means to destroy this demon, and hope exists only in the attempts at minimizing the damage to our country. Furth ermore, natural inclinations towards competition make inequality unavoidable. White privilege is a system that amasses to whites' greater wealth and resources. It also lends them access to a higher quality of justice, services, and capital than other racial groups. Simultaneously, white privilege has resulted in impoverishment and injustice for the vast majority of racial minorities. White privilege is more than a set of attitudes or individual opinions; it is a comprehensive framework of policies, practices, institutions, and cultural norms that influence every aspect of American society. Being white constitutes a powerful asset in the United States and globally. Using William Ryan’s theories on equality, white privilege represents a major discrepancy in his â€Å"Fair Play† perspective. If, as he sees it, individuals are all afforded the same rights with regard to â€Å"pursuing happiness,† then it is inevitabl... Free Essays on Equality Throughout time, we, as humans, have come up with a myriad of ways to discriminate against one another. As we go along we find something we don’t like about a certain group of individuals, we segregate them and shun them publicly, then after a while someone disagrees with what is happening, and eventually we slowly change our laws to accept and protect this group. Race, skin color, religious beliefs, economical status, national origin, people with disabilities, all different ways we have originally thought were things to spurn and reject, and then decide to make our equals. Most recently, homosexuality has become yet another way for us to discriminate. Can we see a trend forming? The current matter at hand is whether gays should be allowed to be married and have the same rights and privileges as a heterosexual married couple. â€Å"Under a 1996 law, the federal government does not recognize gay marriages,† (MSNBC). Though this is federal law, changes can be made by individual states. The state of Vermont has made a law that recognizes same-sex civil unions. â€Å"The key difference between civil unions and marriage is that benefits from civil unions would stop at the Massachusetts border while rights from marriage would extend across the country - giving gay couples equality under federal laws for taxes, health and retirement benefits, among other areas,† (MSNBC). On Tuesday, the highest court in the state of Massachusetts ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to wed, but would not issue them a marriage license. â€Å"The Supreme Judicial Court’s 4-3 ruling ordered the Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days,† (M SNBC). It seems when you are being discriminated against, everywhere you turn, and one thing just lead to another and you really can’t get anywhere. It turns out that only in some states it is illegal to reject a couple for housing if they cannot provide a marriage license. This is not a law that was cr...

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TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY COMPARISM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY COMPARISM - Essay Example Tourism is a new paradigm or entrepreneur development that takes into account tourism as an investment, that improves competitiveness but with greater sensitivity towards social actions and the environment. Sustainability and tourism are in fact two sides of the same coin. They are the results of favoring the best economic results, the best benefits and the best social and environmental impacts to generate development, growth and social well being. The social responsibility of tourism must be contemplated from two main perspectives. From the public sector, tourism is contemplated as a multiplying effect, as a generator of wealth and well being, and concern resolves arou8nd the difficulty that developing countries could have in defending their scenario of development in the industrial area, as tourism is where there is a great source of progress. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact to their achievements on consumers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. ... al responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in achievements designed to increase its profits as long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud. One part of social responsibility is being responsible to people, for the actions of people, and for actions that affect people. Social responsibility is about holding a group, organization or company accountable for its effect on the people around it. People within the company, people working with the company, the community the company is in and those who buy from the company. The idea of being responsible to customers has actually long been imbedded in the ethics of business. The idea of treating a customer with respect and attention is not new particularly in sales and commission based work. What is new is the idea that it's not to profit from the customer, but to genuinely care about what the customer wants and needs. Accountability for people inside a company is something new. Many times when a scandal or irresponsible behavior comes to light in the corporate world the company and those involved often try to distance themselves as much as possible. Cover ups, buy offs and "golden parachutes" all fall under this behavior. Social responsibility would nearly be the opposite of what goes on in the business world today - a company taking the blame and doing what is needed to fix the problem rather than committing more crimes to cover up the first one. Ethics Ethics is a major branch of philosophy is a study of values and customs of a person or group. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good and evil and responsibilities. Ethics are generally perceived as a set of social standards that

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Prescribed methods and tools can be developed for all consulting jobs because all Organisations eventually have the same type of problems - Essay Example many organisations to seek advanced management concepts, lean production through Total Quality Management, business process re-engineering (BPR) techniques, and leveraging. Leveraging mainly refers to the techniques of multiplying gains and losses. In this regard, leveraging ratio cannot be avoided by organisations. Leveraging ratio is typically the amount of organization’s equity in relation to debt. This aspect, in management consultancy, implies to the knowledge and skills that an organisations has in terms of human capital to what the organisations lacks according to Carmeli (2005). Organisations are constantly striving to improve efficiency, as such; consultants bring with them a multitude of tools and methods, many of which can add great value to the client (O’Mahoney & Markham 2013). The consulting industry is broad and encompasses a wide range of projects. Any organization for instance, an organisation might require changes to its human resource structure, as seen throughout ROLE PLAY (?). Management consultancy is a new form of management that deals with execution of ideas and knowledge, and therefore it requires commodification of knowledge in its expansion. Commodification in this context means the process of transforming management ideas in a particular manner that can be sold on a market for management solutions (Heusinkveld & Benders, 2005). The process of knowledge commodification is unproblematic and linear since it is concerned with only turning new ideas into marketable commodities. Therefore, methods and techniques used in management consultancy are applicable to all organisations; as all organisations strive for ideas that are marketable. Consulting firms are capable of packing management knowledge into a saleable form then they transmit these solutions by advising the organization appropriately. Most organizations are profit and growth driven, and the techniques developed by consulting companies should be the same. Demand for new

Love Triangles and Betrayal in Carmen Essay Example for Free

Love Triangles and Betrayal in Carmen Essay The creation of operas from pre-existing literary texts is a complex process implicating the original author, the librettists, the opera directors, the publishers, and the composer. In the process of transformation, the involved parties consider prevailing cultural values as well as their own artistic ideals. These considerations weigh all the more heavily on the process when the literary text involves complex romantic relationships. Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875), Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello (1887), and Claude Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande (1902) provide examples of this transformation process. In all three of these works, love triangles figure prominently. These love triangles, though they share some superficial similarities, are extraordinarily different in terms of their composition and the ultimate fate of the characters. Carmen When the directors of the Opera-Comique, a venue with repertoire typically geared towards an extremely conservative, family-oriented, bourgeois audience (McClary, 1992, p. 15-16), commissioned Bizet to write an opera in 1872, Bizet suggested Prosper Merimee’s novel Carmen as a possible subject (Macdonald, 2010). The directors of the Opera-Comique were divided in their support of this work as a subject for an opera. De Leuven, in particular, was against this choice, citing the scandalous nature of the story and the conservative nature of the venue’s target audience as reasons behind his disapproval: â€Å"Carmen! The Carmen of Merimee? Wasn’t she murdered by her lover? At the Opera-Comique, the theatre of families, of wedding parties? You would put the public to flight. No, no, impossible. † (as cited in Jenkins, 2003). Indeed, it appears that the on-stage death was of particular consternation for the director: â€Å"Death on the stage of the Opera-Comique! Such a thing has never been seen! Never! † (as cited in Nowinski, 1970, p. 895). The choice of Carmen ultimately played a role in de Leuven’s resignation from his post in 1874 (McClary, 1992, p. 23). The source text for Carmen is a novella by Prosper Merimee. The author originally published this work in 1845 in the Revue des deux mondes, a non-fiction journal. The author had previously published travelogues in the same journal, and this work contained no indication that it was a work of fiction (Boynton, 2003). Instead, the work reads as a â€Å"true† story of Merimee’s voyage to Spain in 1830. In the midst of his travels, the author-narrator encounters Don Jose, the man who, after succumbing to Carmen’s seductive powers, kills her in a jealous rage following her confession of a love affair with Lucas. The librettists for Carmen, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, at the time that they were commissioned to write this work for the Opera-Comique had already successfully worked together as a team on a number of works (including Offenbach’s La Belle Helene and La Vie parisienne) for the Parisian boulevard theatres (McClary, 1992, p. 18). In their previous librettos, the team had split the work: Meilhac wrote the prose dialogue, and Halevy supplied the verse (McClary, 1992, p. 18). In operatic settings, the prose would typically be left as spoken dialogue (for the Opera-Comique) or set as recitative. In transforming Merimee’s novella into a libretto, Meilhac and Halevy made numerous changes. Unfortunately, there is a lack of primary source evidence detailing the minutiae of the collaborative process which would shed further light upon the reasons behind these changes (Jenkins, 2003). These changes include minimizing Carmen’s criminal activities, adding the character of Micaela, and eliminating Merimee’s framing device. The removal of Merimee’s framing device (accomplished by not including a narrator) and the introduction of Don Jose before his downfall make Carmen, and not Don Jose, the focus of the story (Jenkins, 2003). Indeed, the Carmen of the libretto, with her voice not being interrupted by the narrator’s commentary, speaks directly to the audience (McClary, 1992, p. 21). Carmen was composed as a four-act opera comique, originally with spoken dialogue (as opposed to recitative). The dialogue was transformed into recitative by Guiraud for a production in Vienna, and it was performed this way for many years before producers reverted to Bizet’s original spoken text (Macdonald, 2010). Further changes to Merimee’s original resulted from Guiraud’s involvement. Meilhac’s original dialogues at times quoted directly from Merimee’s Carmen, and these instances of direct quotation were largely eliminated in Guiraud’s version (McClary, 1992, p. 45). With the addition of Micaela, the librettists created a moralizing character, the polar opposite of Carmen, with whom the Opera-Comique audiences could readily identify (McClary, 1992, p. 21). The addition of Micaela complicates the love triangle. In Merimee’s original, the love triangle included the characters of Carmen, Don Jose, and Lucas. In the operatic version, both Don Jose and Escamillo are in love with Carmen, and both Carmen and Micaela are in love with Don Jose. The librettists also substantially changed Carmen’s character. Though they downplayed Carmen’s involvement in criminal activities (she is no longer the leader of the smugglers as Merimee portrayed her) arguably in order to make her more sympathetic, they focus almost exclusively on her sexuality (to the exclusion of her healing powers and intelligence as presented in the original) (McClary, 1992, p. 22). Bizet’s music underlines the differences in characters and underlines the complex nature of the interlocking love triangles in the opera. Micaela is presented as a sweet, pure, innocent woman. Her entrance is conventional, and her music is marked by neither intense chromaticism nor indications of exoticism (McClary, 1997, p. 120). Carmen’s entrance, in contrast, disrupts the formal procedures Bizet set up from the beginning of the opera, and her music is largely chromatic and marked with features typically associated with the exotic (McClary, 1997, p. 120). Her music, like her body and personality, is irresistible to any man she sets her sights on. Don Jose’s music is different from that of both of his female admirers. His melodic lines are long, irregularly phrased, and lacking in regular cadences (McClary, 1997, p. 124). Additionally, he, unlike Escamillo, lacks a signature melodic line (McClary, 1997, p. 127). McClary points to the incompatibility of Carmen’s and Don Jose’s musical styles as evidence of the ultimate failure of their relationship. In contrast, Carmen’s brief duet with Escamillo in act four seems sincere because their musical styles are compatible (McClary, 1997, p. 125). Ultimately, Don Jose kills Carmen in a fit of jealousy over her relationship with Escamillo, and Micaela is deprived of her true love as he gives himself up to the police following his murder of Carmen. Otello Though the two Shakespeare aficionados Giuseppe Verdi and Arrigo Boito met as early as 1862, it was not until 1879 that the events leading to the composition of Otello were set in motion (Aycock, 1972, p. 594). The four-act Otello received its premiere on February 5, 1887 in Milan. In transforming the play into opera libretto, Boito eliminated six of the fourteen characters and cut the entire first act (Aycock, 1972, p. 595). Boito also cut Othello’s statement of self-defence following his murder of Desdemona from the end of the play (Aycock, 1972, p. 596). This last cut serves to keep the opera’s focus on the tragic love story. This love story principally revolves around the actions of Othello, Desdemona, and Iago. When the opera opens, Desdemona and Othello are newly married. However, Roderigo (Iago’s friend) still loves Desdemona. Iago, upset with Cassio who has been promoted over him, fabricates proof of Desdemona’s infidelity with Cassio in order to play on Othello’s jealous nature. The proof of this infidelity, in both the play and the opera, is a handkerchief. Othello murders Desdemona, and when he learns that his belief in his wife’s infidelity was mistaken, he kills himself. In this story, both Roderigo and Othello are in love with Desdemona. Given Roderigo’s minimal role in the opera, however, Iago takes his place in the dramatic situation of the love triangle. It is his betrayal and deception that leads to the demise of the two main characters. The end of the first act contains a conventional love duet between Othello and Desdemona. As Aycock (1972, p. 595) remarks, the love between these two principal characters is mature and predicated on confidence in each other’s fidelity. The climax of this love duet, on the words â€Å"un bacio†¦Otello! un bacio,† features a new melody in the orchestra. This melody reappears only in the last act, most notably when Othello commits suicide (Lawton, 1978, p. 211). The character of Iago in the opera is much more the creation of Verdi and Boito than of Shakespeare. Iago’s Credo, where he proclaims his devotion to a cruel God and admits that he is unquestionably evil, was entirely the invention of Boito (Aycock, 1972, p. 600). For Verdi, the emphasis on this character allowed him to confirm to Italian operatic tradition, which called for a baritone villain role (Aycock, 1972, p. 601). Pelleas et Melisande Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelleas et Melisande received its Parisian premiere at the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens on May 17, 1893, and Claude Debussy was in attendance (Grayson, 1985, p. 35, 37). By the fall of the same year, he had already begun composing what would later become Act IV scene 4 (Grayson, 1985, p. 37). In the case of this operatic transformation, there was no librettist acting as a middle-man. Instead, Debussy constructed the libretto himself, from Maeterlinck’s original text. The composer remained true to the original play, changing nary a word. He did, however, cut some scenes, and these cuts were made with the Maeterlinck’s authorization. In November 1893, the composer travelled to Ghent to meet with the author, and the two men discussed several possible cuts. Debussy reported to Ernest Chausson that Maeterlinck had given him â€Å"complete authorization to make cuts and even indicated some which were very important, even very useful† (as cited in Grayson, 1985, p. 37). From Maeterlinck’s original play, there were only four scenes that Debussy did not set: Act I scene 1, Act II scene 4, Act III scene 1, and Act V scene 1 (Grayson, 1985, p. 38). These scenes appear to have been cut because they are unrelated to the central narrative, leading to the demise of both Pelleas and Melisande. While Debussy used Maeterlinck’s original text, he did, in some instances, cut some of the text to make the libretto more concise. Act III scene 3, for example, was cut so heavily so that only one third of the original text remained (Grayson, 1985, p. 40). Two further cuts came in 1902. During Pelleas et Melisande’s first season at the Opera-Comique, Debussy was forced to cut one scene from the performances: Act IV scene 3 (Grayson, 1985, p. 39). This almost purely symbolic scene features Yniold (Golaud’s son from a previous marriage). At the end of the scene, Yniold, wishing to share his experiences with Melisande, unwittingly reveals to Golaud that she is not in her room (Grayson, 2003, p. 76) – in essence, he signals her disloyalty to her husband. The scene was reinserted in its second season. Also, at the dress rehearsal, the Director of Fine Arts, censored the work, calling for the suppression of Act III scene 4, a scene where Yniold is forced, by his violent father, to spy on the suspected lovers (Grayson, 2003, p. 80). Pelleas et Melisande begins with Golaud discovering Melisande by a fountain in a forest. She seems to be lost and confused, and she follows Golaud on his wanderings. The two get married in secret and return to the castle of Golaud’s father. There, Melisande meets Golaud’s brother Pelleas, and these two fall in love. In one scene, Golaud happens upon Pelleas caressing Melisande’s hair streaming out from a tower window, and he realizes that his brother has betrayed him. Golaud, blind with jealousy, kills his brother in Act III. At the end of the opera, Melisande also dies, but not before giving birth to a daughter. The plot, then, revolves around the love triangle of Melisande, Golaud, and Pelleas. The unquestioning inclusion of on-stage deaths demonstrates how much the Opera-Comique had changed since the 1875 premiere of Carmen. From the time of Debussy’s first draft of Act IV scene 4 in the fall of 1893, it took almost a decade for the opera to reach the stage of the Opera-Comique. Debussy worked intensely on the opera in 1895 and completed a short score of the opera in August of that year (Grayson, 2003, p. 78). Though he had a completed opera, he had major difficulties finding a suitable venue for the performance of the work. Albert Carre, the director of the Opera-Comique, accepted Pelleas â€Å"in principal† in 1898, but he did not give Debussy written confirmation of the deal until 1901 (Grayson, 2003, p. 79). Though Debussy was ambivalent about Wagnerian leitmotive techniques, he does employ leitmotivs in Pelleas. While most of these leitmotivs are connected to ideas, each major character has his or her own leitmotiv (Nichols and Smith, 1989, p. 81). Melisande’s motive, for example, is comparatively lyrical, wandering, and typically played by oboes or flutes while Golaud’s motive consists of two notes in alteration with a more pronounced rhythmic emphasis. These motives are typically associated with different harmonic fields. Melisande’s melody is pentatonic but is typically harmonized with a half diminished seventh chord (Nichold and Smith, 1989, p. 91). Golaud’s motive, because of its sparse melodic line consisting of only two notes, is more harmonically flexible. Debussy uses it in a variety of harmonic contexts including whole-tone, dorian, and minor. Comparison of Works These three works present a widely diverse picture of operatic life in late nineteenth century France and Italy. In terms of source texts, there is a novella (Carmen), a play in verse (Otello), and a play in prose (Pelleas et Melisande). In two of the cases (Carmen and Otello), neither the composer nor the librettist knew the author of the original literary work. In the case of Pelleas, the composer had direct contact with the original author and constructed the libretto himself. These three operas were then composed in different forms: an opera comique in versions with both spoken dialogue and sung recitative (Carmen), a hybrid of continuous action with set pieces (Otello), and a largely through-composed work with one aria (Pelleas). In each instance, the transformation process reveals that it was not only the librettist and composer who were involved in the opera’s ultimate form: opera directors, publishers, and censors also had some hand in the final product. One shared trait amongst these three works was the need for the librettist to cut considerable amounts of literary material from the original text. This phenomenon is understandable given that it takes a considerably longer period of time to sing a text rather than say it. In choosing sections of texts to cut, the librettists were faced with the challenge of leaving enough of the narrative design so that it would remain comprehensible to the audience. The composer could then use musical devices to fill in some of the gaps that this missing text created. For example, Bizet could use different musical styles to highlight differences in race and class (McClary, 1997). Similarly, Debussy could use different harmonic languages (whole tone, pentatonic, modal) to indicate subtly differences in the quality of light (Nichols and Smith, 1989). A second shared trait is that two of the composers appear to have made decisions based on operatic convention in their composition of the opera. Bizet’s concession to operatic convention takes the form of the introduction of the character of Micaela, a character absent from Merimee’s original but whose presence, as mentioned above, was deemed necessary to make the work suitable for the conservative Opera-Comique audience. Verdi’s concessions are evident in the finale to Act 3, where he asked Boito to alter the libretto to make room for a traditional grand concertato finale (Parker, 2010) as well as in the changes to Iago’s character mentioned above. A third shared trait is that these three works focus on love triangles, with an act of betrayal or jealousy leading to the deaths of one or more of the principal characters. In Carmen, the primary love triangle revolves around Carmen, Don Jose, and Escamillo. In the end, Carmen dies. In Otello, the love triangle of Othello, Desdemona, and Roderigo has a tragic ending with the death of both Othello and Desdemona. Similarly, the Pelleas-Melisande-Golaud triangle results in the death of two of the characters: Pelleas and Melisande. In each case, the composer highlights one of the romantic relationships as being more viable or more sincere than the others. Bizet, as noted, employs different musical styles for each of the characters, with only Escamillo’s language being compatible with Carmen’s. Verdi wrote a traditional love duet for Othello and Desdemona, the sincerity of which is highlighted with its aforementioned reappearance in the final act. Debussy employs a technique similar to that of Bizet: he has Pelleas and Melisande sing together in octaves in Act IV scene 4). The similarities between the presentations of the love triangles stops with this characteristic, for the relationship dynamics within the central triangles are quite different in these works. In Carmen, the title character is both the primary female love interest and the character responsible for the betrayal. She betrays Don Jose’s love for her, however ill-founded it may be, by confessing her love for Escamillo. In contrast to the other operatic heroines studied here, Carmen is a femme-fatale. In Verdi’s Otello, the love between Othello and Desdemona is sincere, and neither one carries on an affair with someone else. The primary reason behind their deaths is Iago’s treachery. However, Othello does, in a sense, betray Desdemona by believing Iago’s lies. His acknowledgment of this betrayal can be seen in his committing suicide. In Debussy’s Pelleas, the guilty party is less clearly identified. Melisande, though she betrays her marriage by falling in love with Pelleas, is not depicted as a femme fatale. Instead, she is presented as an innocent, idealized woman (Smith, 1981, p. 105). Pelleas betrays his brother by having an affair with his wife. Though Debussy, as mentioned above, sympathizes with their love and highlights the love Pelleas and Melisande have for each other by having them sing together in octaves. It appears that these characters are not to be held accountable for their actions because their love was inevitable, foretold in advance by fate. ? References Aycock, R. E. (1972). Shakespeare, Boito, and Verdi. The Musical Quarterly, 58 (4), 588-604. Boynton, S. (2003) Prosper Merimee’s novella Carmen. New York City Opera Project: Carmen. Retrieved from http://www. columbia. edu/itc/music/NYCO/carmen/merimee. html Grayson, D. (1985). The Libretto of Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande. Music and Letters, 66 (1), 35-50. Grayson, D. (2003). Debussy on stage. In The Cambridge Companion to Debussy. Ed. Simon Trezise. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 61-83. Jenkins, C. (2003). Carmen: The Librettists. New York City Opera Project: Carmen. Retrieved from http://www. columbia. edu/itc/music/NYCO/carmen/librettists. html Lawton, D. (1978). On the ‘Bacio’ theme in Otello. 19th-Century Music, 1 (3), 211-220. Macdonald, H. (2010). Carmen (ii). Grove Online. Retrieved from http://www. oxfordmusiconline. com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O008315? q=carmensearch=quickpos=22_start=1#firsthit McClary, S. (1992). Georges Bizet, Carmen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McClary, S. (1997). Structures of identity and difference in Bizet’s Carmen. In The Work of Opera: Genre, Nationhood, and Sexual Difference. Ed. Richard Dellamora and Daniel Fischlin. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 115-130. Nichols, R. Smith, R. L. (1989). Claude Debussy, Pelleas et Melisande. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nowinski, J. (1970). Sense and sound in George Bizet’s Carmen. The French Review, 43 (6), 891-900. Parker, R. (2010). Otello (ii). Grove Music Online. Retrieved from http://www. oxfordmusiconline. com/subscriber/article/grove/music/O003882. Smith, R. L. (1981).

the great gatsby Essay -- essays research papers

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel based on Gatsby’s dream and hope. In order to enrich the story, symbols are used to emphasize what the author is saying and they create a curiosity in the reader as they are frequently used throughout the story. These three symbols – green light, valley of ashes and the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg are not connected to each other but each of them represents important things in the story. The green light which is situated at the end of Daisy’s dock symbolizes Gatsby’s hope to be together with Daisy. Nick noticed how Gatsby often stared at "a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock† (Fitzgerald 25). Furthermore, during the meeting between both of them in Nick’s house, Gatsby told her that â€Å"if it wasn’t for the mist we could see your home across the bay. You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock† (Fitzgerald 90). It is clear that he always observed Daisy from his house but all that he could see was the green light. He could only hope and dream about having Daisy by his side. This is before Gatsby finally met Daisy. When, at last, he met Daisy in Nick’s house, it seems that â€Å"the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever† (Fitzgerald 90). He had Daisy next by his side therefore â€Å"his count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.† (Fitzgerald 90). Not only does the green light represent Gatsby...

Political Philosophy and Brief Critical Evaluation

Sample essay questions? 1. Describe Plato's scheme for communism in the Republic. (Discuss each of the main features of this life-style. ) Which classes, according to Plato, should practice this way of living? What justification does Plato offer for advocating communism? Offer a brief critical evaluation of Plato's communism. PHL 107 | study guide for exam 2 | page 4 2. (1) Briefly describe Plato's allegory of the cave. 2) Then state how the allegory expresses Plato's position on (a) the place of the Philosopher-Kings in Plato's utopia, (b) Plato's distinction between opinion and genuine knowledge (wisdom), and (c) Plato's position on the motives of the Philosopher-Kings for ruling. 3. (1) What is Plato's dualistic metaphysics? (2) How is this metaphysics expressed in the allegory of the cave? (3) How is it related to his position on the nature of the human person? 4. (1) What is Plato's assessment of democracy, and (2) how is this linked to his theory of justice? 3) How might a cont emporary defender of democracy respond to Plato? 5. What is the mimetic theory of art? Did Plato invent this theory? Did he accept it? How is this theory related to Plato’s criticisms of the arts? 6. (1) What two reasons does Plato give for proposing to banish the arts from his Republic? (2) How is his position on the arts related (a) to his Theory of Ideas and (b) his position on the highest goal of human living? (3) Offer a brief critical evaluation of Plato's position on the arts. . (1) What does Rawls mean by â€Å"the original position . . . under the veil of ignorance† and how does this serve as the basis for his theory of justice? (2) What are his two principles of justice? Explain the two principles.? (3) Offer a brief critical evaluation of his theory of justice. 8. (1) Starting with Rawls’ â€Å"original position . . . under the veil of ignorance,† do you think you would arrive at a principle or principles of justice similar to those of Rawls, o r if different ones, which?Defend your position. (2) As part of your answer give a clear statement of what Rawls means by the â€Å"original position . . . under the veil of ignorance. † 9. (1) What is Aquinas’s causal argument for the existence of God (the 2nd of his five arguments)? Sketch the argument. (2) Critically evaluate the argument. What appears to be the weakest part of the argument? Do you think the argument can be defended in the face of this proposed weakness? Explain. 10. (1) What is the design argument for the existence of God?You may present either Aquinas's (his 5th) or William Paley's or the fine-tuning version of the argument (but only one). (2) Why does Darwin's theory of evolution appear to undermine Aquinas and Paley’s version of the design argument? Why does Darwin’s theory not affect the fine-tuning argument? (3) Do you think that there is some way of salvaging the design argument in the face of Darwin's theory? Defend your positi on. 11. Describe Hobbes’ â€Å"state of nature. † What kind of a concept is this — historical, empirical, anthropological, analytic? Explain.Offer your own critical evaluation of Hobbes’ notion of the state of nature? Do you think it is a useful concept? Is it true? Defend your position. 12. Hobbes argues that each person has the resources within themselves to overcome the state of nature.? (1) What are these resources and how do they help the person to overcome the state of nature? (2) But why, for Hobbes, are these internal resources insufficient? Why is a very strong sovereign also needed to overcome the state of nature? (3) What role does contract or covenant play in overcoming the state of nature?

Powerlessness in “Of Mice And Men” Essay

â€Å"Of Mice and Men† , written in 1937, is set in America during the Great Depression and tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced ranch workers who move from place to place in search of jobs. All of the characters in Of Mice and Men are most definitely not powerless. Curly’s wife has control over the other ranchers despite being a female, Lennie though unintelligent has power through his physical strength and George, who although has Lennie to take care of can make his own decisions and live independently. First and foremost, Curly’s wife is not powerless because she has supreme authority over the ranchers. Although she is a female, all Curly’s wife has to do is complain to Curly about one of the ranchers and they’re canned, â€Å"†¦Curly maybe ain’t gonna like his wife out in the barn†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Subsequently, Curly’s wife has authority over Crooks because he is a negro. She could not only get him canned, but killed, â€Å"I could get you strung up in a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.† Curly’s wife is certainly not powerless in Of Mice and Men. Furthermore, Lennie is not helpless because of his physical strength. Despite him not being the smartest tool in the shed by a long shot, Lennie still has power over the other ranchers because of his massive strength. â€Å"The next minute Curly was flopping like a fish on a line, and his fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand.† Moreover, because of his strength he can â€Å"buck barley† exceptionally well, meaning that without too much trouble he and George are able to find jobs, â€Å"Maybe he ain’t bright, but I never seen such a worker.† Lennie is absolutely not debilitated in Of Mice and Men. Penultimately, George is not disempowered because he can make his own decisions and be independent. Without a doubt George is affected by having to take care of Lennie, but he also could live fine on his own, â€Å"†¦if I was alone I could live so easy.† Additionally, although Lennie is a burden in many ways he also empowers George because he is stupid. George can tell Lennie to do whatever he likes, and Lennie will do it, â€Å"I turns to Lennie  and says, ‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps.† George is unmistakably not impotent in Of Mice and Men. Conclusively, not all characters in Of Mice and Men are powerless. Curly’s wife has unquestionable power over the ranchers, Lennie has power through his supreme strength and George has power through Lennie and his own ability to survive. How can anyone say that all the characters in Of Mice and Men are powerless?

Pablo Neruda Essay

Pablo Neruda Essay Pablo Neruda Essay Sam Halliwell 4/28/14 Sultan English 102 Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman Pablo Neruda was one of the most influential poets of all time in both the English and Spanish languages. His poetry has inspired many poets of todays age to begin writing. However one must wonder where a man like this was able to find such inspiration. Well that can be traced back to one of the fathers of modern day poetry, Walt Whitman. Whitman played a massive role in Neruda’s poetry and his life outside of poetry. In fact Whitman so heavily influenced Neruda, that he had numerous paintings of him around his house and referenced him his â€Å"father†. This influential figure wasn’t hindered by society and helped sculpt poetry, as we know it. Pablo Neruda was born in Chile, and his real name was Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He eventually changed his legal name to Pablo Neruda after the Czech poet, Jan Neruda. Neruda first starting writing poetry when he was a teenager and was actually well recognized at the time. He began writing his first volumes in 1923 titled â€Å"Book of Twilights†. The Next year he published â€Å"Twenty Love poems and a Song of despair†. These collections of poems were highly criticized for there eroticism that was portrayed, but this later became his best-known piece of work. He was seventeen at the time he wrote these collections and it was very controversial because he was so young and the amount of eroticism within the work was astounding to most readers. Now Walt Whitman as well was highly criticized for his use of love poems. He was very well known to be having affairs with men and would oft write about them in his poems. These were also a highly criticized aspect of Whitmanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s poetry, but these views defied the time period and even went on to become some of his greatest works. More specifically his poem â€Å"We Two Boys Together Clinging† was about just that. Writing about his affairs with men of the time was very taboo and unheard of for his time. Many people of his time considered him to be a heretic and mad. Specifically in this poem he talks about â€Å"Miser, menials, priests alarming, air breathing, water drinking, on the turf or the sea-beach dancing, Cities wrenching, ease scorning, statues mocking, feebleness chasing, Fulfilling our foray† (Whitman 9-13) These few lines from that poem, go to show that he doesn’t care what others think such as a â€Å"priest alarming† or â€Å"Cities wrenching† goes to show he doesn’t care if a priest is alarmed by his affairs or what these other people think. It is this freedom of expression during this tumultuous time period that lead Neruda to draw such great inspiration from a man like Whitman. It is this freedom of expression that has lead Neruda to adorn Whitman. Neruda embodies this freedom of expression in most of his works. Especially one of his most famous works â€Å"Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair† as I stated earlier, these were especially controversial and unconventional poems that Neruda chose to share, that were unlike anything people in South America and North America had seen before. Whitman was much the same during his time, showcasing works that were well ahead of his time and also reflected his unorthodox lifestyle. Whitman’s works â€Å"Leaves of Grass† was the equivalent of Neruda’s most famous collection. His poetry collections were considered obscene by many for there overt sexuality that it displayed. However this just showcased how far ahead of his time and open minded Whitman was. Neruda sculpted his poems around Whitman’s freedom of expression. In fact Neruda owned dozens of copies of â€Å"Leaves of Grass † buying copies whenever he could, no matter what the quality or price, because it had such a bearing on his work. Neruda in fact considered Whitman as â€Å"the poet who opened the door for American poetry† (Rumeau) Neruda specifically focuses on â€Å"Whitman’s vital lesson† (Neruda), which was his acceptance and embrace of the entire world. This was Whitman’s idea of diffusing

Hafnium Facts (Atomic Number 72 or Hf)

Hafnium Facts (Atomic Number 72 or Hf) Hafnium is an element that was predicted by Mendeleev (of periodic table fame) before it was actually discovered. Here is a collection of fun and interesting facts about hafnium, as well as standard atomic data for the element: Hafnium Element Facts Fresh, pure hafnium is a metal with a bright, silvery luster. However, hafnium oxidizes to form a beautiful rainbow colored surface effect.Mendeleev predicted the existence of hafnium in a report he prepared in 1869. It was one of two non-radioactive elements believed to exist, but not verified. It was finally discovered in 1923 by Georg von Hevesy and Dirk Coster by using x-ray spectroscopy on a zirconium ore sample. The element name honors the city of its discovery (Hafnia is the old name for Copenhagen).As you might expect, hafnium is not found free in nature. Instead, it forms compounds and alloys. Because the two metals share similar occurrence and properties, hafnium is extremely difficult to separate from zirconium. Most hafnium metal has some degree of zirconium contamination. Although hafnium is found with ores (mainly zircon and baddeleyite), it is not as reactive as most transition metals.When hafnium is powdered, the increased surface area improves its reactivity. Powdere d hafnium readily ignites and may explode. Hafnium finds use as an alloying agent for iron, titanium, niobium, and tantalum. It is found in integrated circuits, vacuum tubes, and incandescent lamps. Hafnium is used in nuclear reactors, mainly as nuclear control rods because hafnium is an exceptionally powerful neutron absorber. This is one significant difference between hafnium and its sister element zirconium zirconium is essentially transparent to neutrons.Hafnium in its pure form is not particularly toxic, but it does represent a health hazard, particularly if inhaled. Hafnium compounds should be handled with care, as should any transition metal compound, because the ionic forms be dangerous. Only limited testing has been done on the effect of hafnium compounds in animals. All that is really known is that hafnium usually exhibits a valence of 4.Hafnium is found in the gemstones zircon and garnet. Hafnium in garnet may be used as a geochronometer, which means it can be used to date metamorphic geological events. Hafnium Atomic Data Element Name: Hafnium Hafnium Symbol: Hf Atomic Number: 72 Atomic Weight: 178.49 Element Classification: Transition Metal Electron Configuration: [Xe] 4f14 5d2 6s2 Discovery: Dirk Coster and Georg von Hevesy 1923 (Denmark) Name Origin: Hafnia, the Latin name of Copenhagen. Density (g/cc): 13.31 Melting Point (K): 2503 Boiling Point (K): 5470 Appearance: silvery, ductile metal Atomic Radius (pm): 167 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 13.6 Covalent Radius (pm): 144 Ionic Radius: 78 (4e) Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol): 0.146 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): (25.1) Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 575 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.3 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 575.2 Oxidation States: 4 Lattice Structure: hexagonal Lattice Constant (Ã…): 3.200 Lattice C/A Ratio: 1.582 Hafnium Fast Fasts Element Name: HafniumElement Symbol: HfAtomic Number: 72Appearance: Steel gray metalGroup: Group 4 (Transition Metal)Period: Period 6Discovery:Â  Dirk Coster and George de Hevesy (1922) Sources Hevesy, G. (1925). The Discovery and Properties of Hafnium. Chemical Reviews. 2: 1–41. doi:10.1021/cr60005a001Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 971–975. ISBN 0-08-037941-9.Lee, O. Ivan (1928). The Mineralogy of Hafnium. Chemical Reviews. 5: 17–37. doi:10.1021/cr60017a002Schemel, J. H. (1977). ASTM Manual on Zirconium and Hafnium. ASTM International. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-0-8031-0505-8.Weast, Robert (1984). CRC, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Boca Raton, Florida: Chemical Rubber Company Publishing. pp. E110. ISBN 0-8493-0464-4.

Ethical products Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ethical products - Case Study Example Slave trade was a trade too; it took a long struggle to fight slave trade which is still yet to be completely eliminated from the word according to the United Nations report. During the last century blacks from Africa were considered to sub human beings in the American society. In the recent there have been reports of industries releasing their waste into the rivers. Reports about nuclear waste dumping in the wrong areas have been rampant in the media especially in the last decade. From 1950s up 1970s the United States federal government was burying nuclear waste plutonium in Idaho. According to National Geographic News April 12, 2002, Snake River aquifer may be leached into by the buried plutonium waste. Snake river which is about 25000 square kilometers provides dirking and irrigation water for large population (Mayell, 2002). The diamond trade in Liberia that later turned out to be called the bloody diamonds because of fueling the civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone during the last decade. The late Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC) was a darling of the west because of the resources that were plenty in the Great Lakes region. One component of fair trade is corporate social responsibility also called corporate citizen ship where the interests of the society take the first place by the organization taking responsibility for the impact of activities by the company or organization. on communities , customers, employees or suppliers. One of the biggest companies that has hit headlines on corporate social responsibility is the Microsoft company with the Melinda and Bill Gates foundation. The foundations' global development program has been trying to assist people get out of poverty and hunger by creating opportunities for them in Agriculture, helping small farmers to improve crop production and market access. They have been working with partners to help the poor societies get access to financial services, which are only available to only a few in African societies. While recognizing internet and computers as drivers of economic and social progress, the foundation has assisted with access to these tools and pro fessional skills, search for work, conduct business on-line, access government services and exchange ideas with others (Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation, 2008). Other areas where the banded ethical products are Not geared toward social exclusion but inclusion are the global health program of the Melinda and Bill Gates foundation whose mission is to encourage the development of life saving medical services and help in access the existing vaccines against the common deceases in developing countries. By assisting in research toward the development of drugs against malaria, tuberculoses and HIV amongst others, it shows a sure sign that it is committed to improving the quality of life for the marginalized societies and the grater society as well. It is through the development of the ethical products such as the fair trade that the organizations for preventing the exploitation of the producers for commodities like coffee emerged. A system that allowed people recognize the products that certain standards (labor or environmental) put by an independent body which issues certifications. In the United States it called Fairtrade certification. It sets

Developing Economies' Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Developing Economies' Issues - Essay Example Less than half a century ago, many underdeveloped countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore which were amongst poor nations of the world; have made rapid growth, flourished & now they are amongst the wealthiest nations of the world. This is all due to some economic reforms their governments have implemented in order to make their country a prosperous one. Any developed nation like the US, China, UK, Japan, Germany etc has such policymakers who focus on every possible ways to get strong economically. They focus on every aspect that can add up sustainability in the economy; like health, infrastructure, literacy & education, living standards, productivity etc. All these factors combine to form a solid economy & a successful nation. No doubt every nation wants that its economy should get stable & strong, but everyone is not like Chinese people who struggled very hard to achieve their goals & made a bench-mark in economical development. India is also one of the developing nations. More than 50% of Indians are poor, but their economy is getting stronger day by day. How is this all happening anyway? The answer is that more than half a population of Indians is suffering & sacrificing for their country.   People such as Indians who are mostly related to the agricultural sector suffer the most, as this sector receives the least income when the foreign investment is being made in cosmopolitan cities. The infrastructure is being rebuilt, the literacy level is increased in cities & there are more job openings in big cities as compared to the villages. Most labor comes from backward areas because there are very fewer opportunities in their own surroundings. Hence the labor force in villages decrease & ultimately this s ector fully vanishes. On the other hand, when the economy of any country gets strong enough, then it makes such imports which fulfill the needs of agriculture in the country. For example, the geography of the  US does not permit to have a large agriculture sector, but it imports all such things without burdening the economy or tightening taxes on the public. So every 3rd world country’s citizen should make sacrifices like those made by Indians, in order to make their country economically stable. At this time, India is highly suffering from the Kuznets factors; there is so much economic inequality in the society as the country is developing, but when India would be in the list of fully developed nations, this inequality will decrease when a certain amount of average income will be achieved.