The Truman Show

The Truman Show Media Encroachment Essay In the movie The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998) the character Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is turned into the main character of a worldwide successful TV show without knowing it. He had been an unwanted child and was adopted by a company, thus becoming the first child in the world adopted by a company. The television show portrays his life in Seahaven from his birth on, where he is the unknowingly the main character, while all the other persons in his world are actors directed by the producer Christof (Ed Harris), who wants to create the perfect world and therefore plans every single step Truman takes and all the relationships that Truman establishes. The movie The Truman Show can be interpreted as a portrait of the encroachment of the media onto the private lives of the american nation, which forces them to watch and buy their products. We will write a custom essay on The Truman Show Media Encroachment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Since the 16th century people have always wanted an engrossing conflation of real and imaginary (Tony E. Jackson 2010, 141). This has had the effect that film studios and producers have come up with TV shows which have become the most popular television formats in the last couple of years. One explanation which accounts most for the success is that reality television makes it possible for the average person to be both a viewer and a TV star at the same time (Breyer 2004, 3). The producers use this desire to get deeply into the personal lives of the pseudo-stars. As a result it keeps them watching these shows on a regular basis. In the movie the producer Christof manufactures ways to keep on the island (Jackson, 2010, 145). When Truman was a boy Christof created a scene where Truman was sailing on a boot with his father, when suddenly a big storm came up and his father vanished. One programmed outcome of this event is a fear of going over water; as a result he cant leave the island Seahaven (Jackson 2010, 145). When the character suspects for the first time that his world might be fake, the producer tries to use this fear in order to keep him on the island. Since this trick didnt work, he creates a leak in a nuclear power plant, which finally prevails on Truman to go back into his world. In the USA the media use the power of storytelling in television shows and movies by creating dramatic turning points, cliffhangers and unexpected or happy endings to make the viewers wanting to turn on the TV on a weekly basis. The anticipation of the end is what makes the beginning and middle of any story engaging (Jackson 2010, 146). Every movie or TV Show budget is partly financed by commercial breaks, through the film studios which make money by showing specific advertisement and therefore getting money from the producing company of the products (Glickman and Kim 2012, 1). Since the television show The Truman Show in the movie The Truman Show presents the life of the main character 24 hours a day without any break, there is no place for commercial breaks. As a result, the show generates enormous revenues through far from subtle product placements (Knox Fall 2010, 2). Every product seen on the show -from food, shoes to buildings- can be bought in the Truman catalogue (Wise 2002, 37). In this way they try to reach their goal of influencing people to buy their products. The media landscape of the US use the product placement as representative of the migration of advertisements from separated, regulated spaces into the spaces of programs, films, and eventually out of the media and into our lives (Wise 2002, 37). .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .postImageUrl , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:hover , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:visited , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:active { border:0!important; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:active , .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub2b7b8e57c3bd9dd25b2ba29d0d96f5e:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Documentary - A Time For Burning EssayWise describes these kind of branding everyday life as work of the advertiser to make the brands and logos the personal habits of the consumer (2002, 37). In conclusion we can state that the movie illustrates, on the one hand, how the film studios in Hollywood influence and manipulate us by advertising products through product placement; on the other hand, the movie stands for the wish of the average American to become famous and rich (that is to say, the American Dream). All this is done cleverly by building up a thrilling arc of suspense, thus making the viewer watch their shows and buy their products. Bibliography: Breyer, Richard. 2004. Reality TV. The World I. 19 (1): 3 Glickman, Len and Kim, Anita. 2012. Product Placement and Technology: Developments, Opportunities, and Challenges. The Entertainment and Sports Lawyer. 30:1 Jackson, Tony E. September 2010. Televisual Realism: Truman Show. Mosaic 43(3):140-146. Knox, Simone. Fall 2010. Reading The Truman Show Inside Out. Film Criticism.35 (1): 1 Wise, Macgregor .2002. Mapping the Culture of Control – Seeing through the Truman Show. Television New Media. 3: 37- The Meaning of The Truman Show. TransparencyNow. http://www.transparencynow.com/trusig.htm (Accessed: 02.10.14 16:42) Other Meanings:Birth, Mind, Myth. TransparencyNow. http://www.transparencynow.com/trudom.htm (Accessed: 02.10.14 17:16)

12 castigos por no pagar child support

12 castigos por no pagar child support Cuando un padre o una madre que no vive habitualmente con su hijo no paga la pensià ³n de alimenticia  Ã¢â‚¬â€œtambià ©n conocida como manutencià ³n o  child support en inglà ©s- puede sufrir consecuencias de diversa naturaleza, incluso de carcter migratorio. En Estados Unidos, esta obligacià ³n afecta a todos los padres o madres que no conviven habitualmente con sus hijos, incluidos los migrantes indocumentados.  ¿Quà © es la pensià ³n alimenticia o child support? La pensià ³n de alimenticia o manutencià ³n, conocida en inglà ©s como child support, es la cantidad de dinero que un padre o una madre que no vive con sus hijos debe pagar al progenitor que sà ­ convive con ellos para su mantenimiento. En el caso de que los padres no està ©n ni hayan estado casados, la paternidad deber probarse o reconocerse  primero.  ¿Cà ³mo se calcula cantidad a pagar por child support? La cantidad que se debe pagar depende de diversas circunstancias, como las necesidades del menor, costo del seguro mà ©dico, los ingresos de cada uno de los padres, la existencia de ms hermanos u otras obligaciones familiares, el tiempo que el menor pasa con cada uno de los padres, etc. Puede haber un acuerdo entre los padres o, a falta del mismo, seguir las reglas de cà ³mputo del estado en el que reside el menor. Cada uno de los 50 estados de los Estados Unidos tiene distintas reglas. Si se desea obtener una idea de la cantidad que podrà ­a corresponder a un nià ±o se puede utilizar una calculadora online (en inglà ©s). Es necesario elegir la del estado que corresponde. Hay que destacar que, como regla general, se tiene en cuenta el salario bruto de los padres, es decir, incluidos los impuestos que le retienen o paga. En el caso de los migrantes indocumentados que por su estatus migratorio puede que no puedan probar cunto ganan la cantidad se estima segà ºn su ingreso potencial, lo que se conoce en inglà ©s como potential income. Esto tambià ©n puede pasar con otros padres sin que importe su estatus migratorio y se dà © la circunstancia de que trabajan a tiempo parcial, ya que se puede considerar que podrà ­an trabajar ms. Por otro lado, dependiendo de los estados, si uno de los padres recibe ayuda del estado podrà ­a considerarse que sus ingresos equivalen a 0. Adems, hay que tener en cuenta que no se tienen en cuenta los gastos mensuales de cada uno de los padres. Segà ºn los à ºltimos datos proporcionados por la oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, la cantidad media que se recibe en concepto de child support por nià ±o por mes es de $329. Como regla general la cantidad a pagar se fija en el mismo momento en que se establecen los derechos de visita del progenitor que no vive con el infante o adolescente. Posteriormente puede solicitarse una revisià ³n de la cantidad si hay un cambio en los ingresos por parte de la persona que debe pagar, tanto si se incrementan como si disminuyen.  ¿Cà ³mo se obliga a un padre o madre a pagar por child support? En principio, deberà ­a haber un acuerdo voluntario entre ambos padres. En la actualidad apenas un 10 por ciento de todos los acuerdos de child support se hacen de ese modo.  Si no hay acuerdo voluntario entonces el padre o la madre que convive con el menor puede: contratar a un abogado privadamente para que resuelva el casopresentarse en corte y directamente demandaracudir a la oficina del fiscal del estado en la agencia de Child Support y solicitar ayuda. En los casos en los que el progenitor que vive con el menor recibe beneficios sociales como Medicaid o TANF se puede recibir ayuda legal gratuita para este tipo de casos. Se puede asà ­ intentar garantizar el pago de las mensualidades futuras y tambià ©n el cobro de la cantidad que està © pendiente de pago. 12 castigos por no pagar la pensià ³n de alimentos Pueden variar de estado a estado, pero en general puede significar que el padre o la madre que no paga la pensià ³n de alimentos cuando tiene obligacià ³n de hacerlo puede sufrir una o varias de las siguientes consecuencias que tienen que ser acordadas en corte y mediante orden judicial: Embargo (garnirshment, en inglà ©s) de parte de la nà ³mina  (payroll). En este caso se le entrega mensualmente la cantidad embargada al padre o a la madre que conviven con el menor.Embargo de una parte de lo que cobra por desempleo.Embargo de las cuentas de banco.Embargo de la cantidad de devolucià ³n que se obtiene del gobierno federal o del estado tras rellenar las planillas de los impuestos (tax returns).Multas, que pueden ser fijadas por la agencia estatal que se ocupa de pensià ³n de alimentos o por una corte. Las multas son el origen de deudas finales altas cuando lo que se debà ­a inicialmente por impago del child support era mucho ms bajo.Pena de prisià ³n. Tiene que ser decretada por una corte y generalmente se da en situaciones de desacato a la corte (contempt) o se trata de una persona que ha incumplido en ms de una ocasià ³n. Son muy raras las penas de prisià ³n superiores a seis meses.Expulsià ³n del Ejà ©rcito, en el caso de militares.  Notificacià ³n a los credit  bureau, lo cual puede afectar  negativamente al  crà ©dito. Suspensià ³n de la licencia de manejar.Anulacià ³n del pasaporte estadounidense o no entrega de uno que se solicita  siempre y cuando la deuda por impago sea igual o  o superior a $2,500.  Efectos migratorios para obtencià ³n de beneficiosPena de crcel para los padres que se mudan a otro estado En este à ºltimo caso, el padre o la madre que incumple con su obligacià ³n de pagar el child support se muda de estado con la intencià ³n de que sea ms difà ­cil hacerle cumplir puede ser condenado por un delito federal, en aplicacià ³n de la ley que se conoce como Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. Esta ley prevà © penas de crcel para los padres que se mudan a otro estado y dejan de pagar por ms de un aà ±o y deben ms de $5,000 o no han pagado por ms de dos aà ±os y el monto supera los $10,000. Si se trata de una primera ofensa, la pena de prisià ³n puede ser acordada hasta un mximo de seis meses. Para los que es su segunda ofensa, la pena de prisià ³n puede alcanzar los dos aà ±os. Adems, se sigue teniendo la obligacià ³n de pagar los atrasos. Consecuencias migratorias si no pagan el child support El no pagar la pensià ³n de alimentos a los hijos puede tener distintos efectos migratorios. Por ejemplo: Los residentes permanentes que desean convertirse en ciudadanos americanos por medio del proceso de naturalizacià ³n pueden ver que su peticià ³n es rechazada. Asimismo, el no pagar la pensià ³n de alimentos puede tener consecuencias graves en todos aquellos casos en los que es necesario acreditar buen carcter y/o la ley concede discrecià ³n para conceder un beneficio migratorio a un oficial o a un juez de inmigracià ³n. Como ejemplo de casos migratorios en esta categorà ­a destacan: El ajuste de estatus  para adquirir la tarjeta de residencia permanente.La cancelacià ³n de la deportacià ³n.Y la salida voluntaria.La obtencià ³n de la green card por el registry.Por à ºltimo, no olvidar que los casos de no pago de la pensià ³n de alimentos puede acabar en casos extremos en un arresto. Por ejemplo, en el caso de  indocumentados, puede significar posiblemente su deportacià ³n. Por otro lado, cobrar child support no se considera welfare ni carga pà ºblica y no afecta a la hora de recibir un beneficio migratorio.  ¿Quà © hacer cuando no se puede pagar child support? Todos los padres y madres tienen la obligacià ³n de contribuir al mantenimiento de sus hijos. Sin embargo, en ocasiones es muy difà ­cil hacer frente a esta obligacià ³n econà ³mica. Por ejemplo, en los casos de despido o de enfermedad. Pero teniendo en cuenta las consecuencias serias del impago nunca se debe dejar de pagar sin ms. Adems de notificar al otro progenitor sobre la incapacidad temporal para pagar es recomendable hacerlo saber tambià ©n a la agencia estatal o local que se ocupa de estos asuntos (en la mitad de este artà ­culo aparece un enlace para busca el que corresponda al estado en el que se debe pagar). Tambià ©n se puede buscar en internet por child support agency y aà ±adiendo el nombre del lugar en el que se reside. Adems, considerar si procede solicitar en corte una modificacià ³n del acuerdo de pago de pensià ³n alimenticia. Mientras se encuentra una solucià ³n, es recomendable hacer un esfuerzo para hacer frente al pago del child support o al menos contribuir parcialmente con lo que se pueda. Pero nunca dejar de pagar sin notificarlo. Casos especiales: infante en Estados Unidos y progenitor otro paà ­s Puede darse el caso en el que un nià ±o en USA no recibe el pago de pap o mam que est en otro paà ­s, pero que el incumplidor sà ­ ingresa a los Estados Unidos. Puede estar hacià ©ndolo como turista o porque tiene una visa de trabajo vlida. En este caso se puede notificar la situacià ³n a la oficina de Aplicacià ³n de Inmigracià ³n y Aduanas (ICE). Y ahà ­Ã‚  pedir que se le revoque la visa y que no pueda entrar a Estados Unidos. Tambià ©n puede darse un caso distinto. Si el menor est en Estados Unidos y el padre o la madre que no paga est en el extranjero, se puede obligarle a pagar en corte. Y es que Estados Unidos tiene un acuerdo con 77 paà ­ses para hacer posible que los nià ±os reciban de sus padres y madres la pensià ³n de alimentos. Casos especiales: infante fuera de Estados Unidos y progenitor en este paà ­s Hay casos en el que los nià ±os estn en el extranjero y su progenitor en Estados Unidos y à ©ste no cumple con la obligacià ³n establecida legalmente de pasarle una pensià ³n de alimentos. En estos casos se puede recurrir a un abogado estadounidense para que haga valer en corte esa obligacià ³n. Adems, si el paà ­s en el que vive el nià ±o tiene acuerdos con los estados de USA en el que vive el padre (o la madre) que no paga pensià ³n alimenticia, se puede solicitar que cumpla con su obligacià ³n con la ayuda de ese gobierno. Por ejemplo, en el caso de Mà ©xico se puede reclamar con bastante à ©xito cuando el nià ±o es mexicano, se encuentra allà ­ y el pap est en uno de los estados con los que hay un acuerdo de este tipo. Incluso en los casos en los que el padre o la madre obligado al pago sea un inmigrante indocumentado. Tambià ©n puede darse un caso distinto. Si el menor est en Estados Unidos y el padre o la madre que no paga est en el extranjero, se puede obligarle a pagar en corte. Y es que Estados Unidos tiene un acuerdo con 77 paà ­ses para hacer posible que los nià ±os reciban de sus padres y madres la pensià ³n de alimentos. Puntos Clave: Pago de Child Support Los padres o las madres que no conviven con sus hijos tienen obligacià ³n de contribuir a su mantenimiento, es lo que en EE.UU. se conoce como child support o pensià ³n de alimentos o manutencià ³n. Esta obligacià ³n tambià ©n afecta a los migrantes indocumentados.La cantidad del pago del child support se fija por acuerdo entre los padres, a falta del mismo cada estado establece unas calculadoras para fijarlo.Todos los estados tienen oficinas pà ºblicas para ayudar a reclamar las pensiones por alimentos.El padre o la madre que no paga puede sufrir castigos monetarios, civiles y migratorios. En casos graves puede incluso recibir pena de prisià ³n. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal para ningà ºn caso concreto.

Editing Essay

Editing Essay Editing Essay After youve finished the revision process, you still have one more step to do. Whereas the writer focuses on ideas and structure in the revision process, the editing process involves checking for errors in grammar, spelling, and word choice. An essay full of errors is unlikely to inspire confidence in readers, so check your draft carefully. The following tips will help you as you move through the editing process. Editing Essay Tips Again, put your essay aside for a day after you complete the revision process. At this point, youve gotten used to seeing the same errors, and you may not be able correct as many. Be aware of your habitual mistakes. Do you constantly get marked down for commas? Have teachers commented on your poor spelling? Think about past errors and make a commitment to correct them. Use the editing process more than once, since it will take time and effort to find every error. Move through the essay slowly and point to each word as you read so you dont speed through the essay too quickly: Place a ruler under each line so your eye doesnt wander ahead. Reading your work aloud can help you to catch many mistakes, especially word choice errors. Trust your instinctsif you have a feeling something isnt right, take a closer look or ask a teacher or workshop partner for advice. Learn grammatical rules so you know how to both find and correct errors. Having a good grammar handbook can make a world of difference. Use a computer. However, dont overly rely on grammar and spell checks to catch every error. A computer can in fact be wrong sometimes, so dont let your program automatically change words or structure. Workshop your essay with another student. A peer editing toolkit, which is enormously helpful for guiding these workshops, appears on the University of Buffalos Writing Strategies Web site. Last but not least, check for typing errors. These include incorrect margins, inappropriate font sizes, and strange spacing. Editing Essay Service If you need help with editing or writing your essay, you may confidently use our professional services. We employ the best essay writers and editors who can write a perfect essay for you or make your own writing flawless! We deliver well-written and thoroughly-edited essays without delay. We are able to help with any assignment within the shortest deadlines! Popular posts: Help Editing Essay Editing Editorial Essay Topics Editing Essay Editing Essay Online

Network Security Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Network Security Plan - Term Paper Example The physical security will involve securing network cables and servers from intruders. The intruders might originate from within the organization or from outside. Response teams in case of any intrusion will include people like the network security companies or the information technology department within an organization. The response plan to network failure may include having some redundant network cables laid down within the building. The wireless network will provide response plan by having multiple access points covering the same area. The security plan will try to identify what network infrastructure is easily accessible by intruders to the network. Different forms of validation will be proposed to prevent unauthorized person from accessing the network. The network will be evaluated by inviting white hat hackers to try and hack into the network. The hackers will provide a list detailing weaknesses in the network together with some improvement proposals. The incidence response wi ll provide situations where third party organization provides the infrastructure to run the organization in times of crisis. Some of the infrastructure providers are the telephone company providing their line for network connection while the fiber optic cable is down. Incident Response 4 Support 5 Vulnerability assessment 6 Code injection leak test 6 Substation leak test 7 Network scanning 7 Manual testing on passwords 8 Carrying out vulnerability tests in links 8 Physical Security 9 Spyware 9 Incidence response policy /Team 10 Incident Response The network users will face a denial to service incidence. The incidence will involve denying authorized users of the network crucial services like accessing mails over the network. The incidence can be caused by things like hackers flooding the network with data that are not needed by the users of the network. Such flooding will slow down the network, and workers cannot even read an email using the organization network. The occurrence of de nial of service is a common thing within companies which might lead to dissatisfaction of customers and workers. Mitigation of such incidence would involve setting up firewalls within the network to identify any unwanted packets in the network. Response plan would involve purchasing packet scanning software. The software will identify packets that are flooding the organization network and their origin machine. The packets once identified termination of the network connection to the machines flooding the network should be carried out immediately. The backup network can be used at this situation leaving out the flooded network. Switching to the network will ensure the network runs at the preferred speed and delivery of service continues as planned. Another incident would be breakage of the backbone network which might be a fiber optic cable. The breakage of the cable might have been caused by vandals or natural calamities like floods, earth quakes and earth drift. Such situations woul d mean zero connection to the Internet because the network infrastructures are down. Having a redundant network connection from an Internet service provider can provide a response plan. The redundant network connection should be using totally different infrastructure to reduce the probability of the two networks not working. One of the infrastructures can be a network provider using satellite to provide connection. The satellite connection

Phenomenology and Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Phenomenology and Philosophy - Essay Example We may use our senses to make up our minds and pass judgment on certain issues but not to arrive at knowledge as such. Accordingly, and as stated, it is quite safe to say that the primary difficulty that a student faces when reading through Husserl's Phenomenology is that it forwards a different process of knowledge acquisition and the formulation of ideas than we have been conditioned to operate by. Despite the fact that Husserl's philosophy is quite different from the way in which we have been normally trained to think, leading to difficulty in fully understanding him, once we open our minds to his argument and his thoughts and consider them carefully, we are hit by the dawning realization that not only is Husserl's phenomenology directly relevant to the contemporary world but, in a way expressed ideas and conceptualizations of knowledge that exist in most cultures and in many schools of philosophy. This is especially evident in his discussion on "transcendental idealism" (40) and "phenomenological reduction" (41). As defined by G. As defined by G. Boland in "Phenomenology and Philosophy," phenomenology refers to a "20th-century philosophical movement dedicated to describing the structures of experiences as they present themselves to consciousness, without recourse to theory, deduction, or assumption from other disciplines such as the natural sciences." In other words, phenomenology is a school of philosophy which states that knowledge may be, and is, obtained from the senses and by experiences, and not only by the methods of science. Although such a statement on cognitive knowledge appears so obviously true that it requires no philosophical theories to argue on its behalf, the fact is that the growing reliance on scientific knowledge as compared to the decreasing dependence on, and trust in, the types of knowledge sources argued by this philosophy determine its importance and necessity. Not only that, but phenomenology, like other schools of philosophy, does not only state theories as such bu t precisely defines the intent of those theories and the scope which they cover. It is within the context of attempting to define precisely what phenomenology embraces and determine the types of knowledge that it can be cognitively produced, that Husserl undertook his philosophical inquiry and theorization. Husserl, a German philosopher, is considered one of the founders of the phenomenology school of philosophy and, in fact was the first to use the term, "phenomenology" (Bogland). As stated by Bogland, the main aim of Husserl's philosophical writings and studies was to the examination of "the structures of consciousness that enable consciousness to refer to objects outside itself." Doing so determined a complete focus on the human mind itself and the process of idea formation that occur within its limits. This process in which the mind itself, and nothing beyond it is studied, is referred to as "transcendental reduction" (Husserl, 12) and as "phenomenological reduction" (41). One of the interesting aspects of the human mind that Husserl called attention to is the fact that the mind is not only limited in thought and consideration to objects and things that actually do exist, but has

Maggie and Dee & sisters Essay Example for Free

Maggie and Dee sisters Essay Everyday Use is about these two colliding characters: Maggie and Dee are sisters. In the story, Maggie seems to be the powerless and passive character. She had scars from being burnt and this experience brought her to directed inward. She valued the things that are less superficial and more meaningful. She has stayed with her mother and there she learned making quilts. Dee is more the outgoing type. She cares a lot about her style. She’s into physical appearance and boys are one of her interest. Thesis Statement: The central conflict this part of the story is the triumph over legacy – who will be recognized as the successor? This very powerful story revolves around the quilt. As Dee tries to win the quilt, she also seeks her long-lost heritage after a long time of absence. (Walker 278). (66) â€Å"’Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! † She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Dee always tries to prove herself in the way of her power to persuade and aggression (Walker 278): (68) â€Å"But they’re priceless,† she was saying now furiously for she had a temper. Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that! †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ But Maggie is a strong person with inner strength and she knows that the legacy has been passed on to her (Walker 279). (74) ‘â€Å"She can have them Mama, â€Å"she said like somebody used to never winning anything reserved for her. â€Å"I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts. † Maggie said. ’† The mother knew that her daughter Maggie has been the one who deserves the heritage. Although Maggie seems weak and she will talk in peace (Walker 279). (75) ‘â€Å"She stood there with her scared hands hidden in the folds of her skirt. She looked at her sister with something like fear. But she wasn’t mad at her. This was Maggie’s portion. This was the way she knew God to work. †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Towards the end of the story, Dee knows that her mother fought for Maggie and has won the battle. She denies herself from humility that she lost (Walker 279). (81) ‘â€Å"You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live, you’ll never know it. † Dee will always hide the loss. She will not be someone who will stand up for defeat and that is in a way being a coward (Walker 279). (82)â€Å"She put on her glasses and hid everything above the tip of her nose and her chin. † Conclusion: Everyday Use explores the long years a mother’s will to raise her children, see them grow and realize their identity. Maggie spent her every day with her mother and her mother experienced her presence for the longest years. Meanwhile Dee has spent her life away from her family. The one who has learned the craft of quilting which signifies her unconditional love for her family is Maggie and finally her mother realizes that and in all sense she deserves that honor of their heritage. Citation: Walker, Alice. â€Å"Everyday Use. † In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women. Harvest Books (1974): 272-279.

Swann’s Way Essay -- Literary Analysis

Memory takes centre stage in this novel, which departs from the traditional Nineteenth Century novel in that the narrative does not follow one protagonist throughout. In ‘Swann’s Way’ the protagonist is Marcel, but Proust, a modernist writer uses ‘distancing’ to create â€Å"an art of multiplication with regard to the representation of person ... creating aesthetics of deception for the autobiographical novel.† (Nalbantian, 1997, p.63). Also Proust referred to his narrator as the one who says ‘I’ and who is not always me.†(ibid). Proust’s highly subjective approach to fiction suits his subject of memory recall and the author uses this extract to analysis the voluntary or consciousness and the involuntary or subconsciouses memories. Marcel discovers through experience that intellectualising does not allow memories to resurface but familiar daily domestic sensations do. It is the â€Å"all powerful joy† and â€Å"exquisite pleasure† (p.58) of this subconscious memory recall which Proust is celebrating. The tone of the text is dreamlike and almost ecstatic, emphasising the spiritual aspect of memories. Proust uses lyrical words such as â€Å"fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s head† (p.58) which echoes â€Å"the little scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds,† (p.61). This imagery associates the madeleines with sensuality and the cakes evocatively recall sexual fantasies. The lyrical vocabulary attempts to persuade the reader that the subconscious and involuntary memory recall provides â€Å"the effect which loves has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself.† (p.58). Renza suggests that â€Å"memories [are] literally made new again by their introduction into the proleptic course of na... ...1980, p.53) and an â€Å"autobiographical consciousness [which] is that consciousness which thinks about itself â€Å"(Ibid,p.49). Swann’s Way is partly autobiographical. Yet it is also a literary novel which reflects upon memory and â€Å"creates a metamorphical representation of universal truths† (Lee,2000,P.89), which the reader can share in, as such it transcends Proust’s lifetime and can be emphasised with today, which can be seen from its current popularity. Proust’s text is one of â€Å"all-powerful joy† equating memories with happiness. He â€Å"manipulated the very genre of the autobiographical novel in order to convey his aesthetics regarding life and art.† (Nalbantian,1907.p.99). Deciding whether Swann’s Way is true or not is not as important as reading its evocative and beautiful language and feeling at one with Proust that memories are somehow more fulfilling than reality. Swann’s Way Essay -- Literary Analysis Memory takes centre stage in this novel, which departs from the traditional Nineteenth Century novel in that the narrative does not follow one protagonist throughout. In ‘Swann’s Way’ the protagonist is Marcel, but Proust, a modernist writer uses ‘distancing’ to create â€Å"an art of multiplication with regard to the representation of person ... creating aesthetics of deception for the autobiographical novel.† (Nalbantian, 1997, p.63). Also Proust referred to his narrator as the one who says ‘I’ and who is not always me.†(ibid). Proust’s highly subjective approach to fiction suits his subject of memory recall and the author uses this extract to analysis the voluntary or consciousness and the involuntary or subconsciouses memories. Marcel discovers through experience that intellectualising does not allow memories to resurface but familiar daily domestic sensations do. It is the â€Å"all powerful joy† and â€Å"exquisite pleasure† (p.58) of this subconscious memory recall which Proust is celebrating. The tone of the text is dreamlike and almost ecstatic, emphasising the spiritual aspect of memories. Proust uses lyrical words such as â€Å"fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s head† (p.58) which echoes â€Å"the little scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds,† (p.61). This imagery associates the madeleines with sensuality and the cakes evocatively recall sexual fantasies. The lyrical vocabulary attempts to persuade the reader that the subconscious and involuntary memory recall provides â€Å"the effect which loves has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself.† (p.58). Renza suggests that â€Å"memories [are] literally made new again by their introduction into the proleptic course of na... ...1980, p.53) and an â€Å"autobiographical consciousness [which] is that consciousness which thinks about itself â€Å"(Ibid,p.49). Swann’s Way is partly autobiographical. Yet it is also a literary novel which reflects upon memory and â€Å"creates a metamorphical representation of universal truths† (Lee,2000,P.89), which the reader can share in, as such it transcends Proust’s lifetime and can be emphasised with today, which can be seen from its current popularity. Proust’s text is one of â€Å"all-powerful joy† equating memories with happiness. He â€Å"manipulated the very genre of the autobiographical novel in order to convey his aesthetics regarding life and art.† (Nalbantian,1907.p.99). Deciding whether Swann’s Way is true or not is not as important as reading its evocative and beautiful language and feeling at one with Proust that memories are somehow more fulfilling than reality.

Castor & Pollux

Castor and Pollux Nationality/Culture Roman Castor and Polydeuces (Greek), the Dioscuri, the Tyndaridae Appears In Homer's Iliad, Hyginus's Fabulae Lineage Sons of Zeus and Leda Character Overview In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux (known as Polydeuces to the Greeks) were twin brothers who appeared in several prominent myths. The twins were worshipped as gods who helped shipwrecked sailors and who brought favorable winds for those who made sacrifices to them. The Romans considered Castor and Pollux the gods who watched over horses and the Roman horsemen known as equites (pronounced EK-wi-teez).There are many stories about the twins and numerous versions of those stories. According to the Greek poet Homer, Castor and Pollux were the sons of Tyndareus (pronounced tin-DAlR-ee-uhs) and Leda, the king and queen of Sparta. For this reason, they are sometimes called the Tyndaridae (sons of Tyndareus). Another account identifies the twins as the sons of Leda and Zeus, from whom they received the name Dioscuri (sons of Zeus). Still another legend says that Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus†and therefore a human†while Pollux was the son of Zeus†and therefore a god.This difference became significant later in their lives. All tales about the twins agree in portraying Castor as a skilled horse trainer and Pollux as an expert boxer. Inseparable, the brothers always acted together. In one of the earliest myths about the twins, Castor and Pollux rescued their sister Helen after she had been kidnapped by Theseus (pronounced THEE-see-uhs), king of Attica. Helen would later gain fame as the queen whose abduction by Paris, a Trojan prince, launched the Trojan War. The twins also accompanied Jason and the Argonauts on their voyage in search of the Golden Fleece.During that expedition, Pollux demonstrated his boxing skills by killing the king of the Bebryces. When a storm arose during the voyage, the Argonaut Orpheus prayed to the gods and playe d his harp. The storm immediately ceased and stars appeared on the heads of the twins. It is because of this myth that Castor and Pollux came to be recognized as the protectors of sailors. Another story concerns the death of Castor. According to one account, the twins wanted to marry their cousins Phoebe and Hilaria. The women, however, were already promised to two other cousins, Idas Page 212 | Top ofArticleand Lynceus. Castor and Pollux carried the women away to Sparta, pursued by their male cousins. In the fight that followed, the twins succeeded in killing both Idas and Lynceus, but Castor was fatally wounded. St. Elmo's fire is a natural phenomenon that occurs during certain stormy weather conditions. It appears as a glow on the top of tall pointed objects, such as the masts of ships, and is often accompanied by a cracking noise. When stars appeared on the heads of Castor and Pollux during the voyage ot the Argonauts, the twins became known as the protectors ot sailors.From hat time, sailors believed that St. Elmo's fire was actually Castor and Pollux coming to protect them during a storm. In another version of this story, the four men conducted a cattle raid together. Idas and Lynceus then tried to cheat Castor and Pollux out of their share of the catde. The twins decided to take the cattle themselves, but were caught as they started to sneak away. A fght broke out in which Castor, Idas, and Lynceus were all killed. This story also has several different endings. In one, Castor's spirit went to Hades, the place of the dead, because he was a human.Pollux, who was a god, was so devastated at being separated from his brother that he offered to share his immortality (ability to live forever) with Castor, or to give it up so that he could Join his brother in Hades. Taking pity on his son Pollux, Zeus declared that the brothers would take turns dwelling in Hades and with the gods on Mount Olympus. On one day, Castor would be with the gods and Pollux would be in Hades; on the next, the two would change places. In another ending, Castor remained in Hades, but Pollux was allowed to visit him every other day.Most versions of the myth say that Zeus placed the brothers in the heavens as part of the constellation†group of stars† known as Gemini. Today the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini are named Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux in Context The Romans developed a strong cult†a group that worships a specific god or gods above all others within a religion†around Castor following a military victory by the Romans over the Latins at Lake Regillus in 499 Page 213 | Top of ArticleBCE. When the Roman infantry failed to hold its ground in the battle, the dictator AulusPostumius decided to send in the cavalry (the horsemen of the military) to help. Castor's association with horsemen prompted the dictator to make a vow to build a temple to Castor in exchange for his Page 214 | Top of Articlehelp, and the Romans we re victorious. The Romans completed the temple in 484 bce. Pollux Joined his brother in the cult much later, but never had quite the same level of honor. The images of Castor and Pollux appear on many early Roman coins. The Romans celebrated the Theoxenia Festival each year on July 1 5th in their honor, with the Roman cavalry riding in a ceremonial parade.

Objective Morality Essay

My purpose in writing this is to argue for the existence of an objective morality based entirely on rational and scientific reasoning. By â€Å"objective morality† I do not simply mean that morality exists in the sense that various societies consider various actions to be immoral. What I mean is that certain actions are inherently right or wrong regardless of what any society thinks about them. In other words, I mean that there is an â€Å"objective morality† which exists independently of human beliefs and human civilization. There are many people who have the opinion that it is not possible to believe in such an objective morality without also believing in concepts such as God or an eternal soul. I believe that they are wrong. I will attempt to show that an objective morality exists and that this morality is the same regardless of which religion, if any, is correct. Many people believe that without a religious framework, the only possible conclusion is that all morality is nothing more than a human construct without any objective existence. In other words, what morality a person or a culture accepts is like picking a favorite flavor of ice cream. Some individuals prefer strawberry ice cream, other individuals prefer chocolate, and no person’s preference is â€Å"more correct† than another’s. In a similar manner, they argue, different individuals and different societies have various favorite moral belief systems, and just as with ice cream, no particular set of moral beliefs is â€Å"more correct† than any other. A common argument for this type of thinking is the following. Throughout history, different cultures have had vastly different moral systems. In fact, on almost any moral issue, it appears that there is absolutely no agreement or consensus shared by even a majority of the cultures throughout history. In addition to this, there appears to be no way to prove the superiority of one moral system over another using logic alone. So the only way in which one moral system can actually be the correct one is if religion is the tie breaker. That is, whichever value system the â€Å"correct religion† advocates is the correct value system. Otherwise, there is no way to decide between them. I believe that this type of argument is easily refuted. In order to argue for the existence of an objective morality, I will have to do more than just point out the flaws in lines of reasoning such as this. I will have to provide my own arguments that an objective morality does exist, and I will have to discuss where this morality â€Å"comes from†. I will also have to explain a process by which we can attempt to determine what it is. This is what I intend to do. I would first, though, like to take some time to point out some of the errors in the reasoning above. There are two points that the argument above makes. The first regards the lack of consensus regarding morality. The second involves the inability to prove the superiority of one moral system over another using logic alone. It is true that throughout history, different cultures have held vastly different beliefs about morality. These cultures have also held vastly different beliefs regarding natural physical laws. Consider, for example, the belief in gravity. Currently, it is believed that the phenomena which we call gravity is the result of the fact that objects with mass cause a curvature in â€Å"space-time†. Under this framework, we believe that a clock located in a high gravitational field will appear to run slower than an identical clock in a region with low gravity. We also believe, under this framework, that the path of something without mass, such as a beam of light, is affected by gravity. This was not always the case. At the beginning of the twentieth century, for example, it was believed that the phenomena of gravity is the result of the fact that all objects with mass exert an attractive force on each other. According to this view, the path of a beam of light should be unaffected by gravity and identical clocks should run at the same speed everywhere. This had not always been the case either. At an earlier time it was believed that the natural place for objects such as rocks was on the ground while the natural place for things like steam was up in the sky. According to this perspective, rocks fell to the ground while steam rose because everything tends to go to its natural place. If we do a more thorough examination, including all the cultures throughout all of history, we will find an even larger variety of opinions regarding the law of gravity. This does not, though, mean that there is no objective law of gravity which exists independently of human society. The beliefs in gravity which I described are attempts by human societies to approximate reality. Clearly, some approximations are better than others. Perhaps the current belief in the curvature of space-time is also incorrect and will later be replaced by an even better approximation. However, most people would have no problem agreeing that the curvature of space-time explanation of gravity is a better approximation to reality than the explanations which came before it. All that this shows is that even though different cultures hold very different beliefs about a certain issue, this does not necessarily imply that there is no objective reality behind these beliefs. The claim which I will be arguing for is that this is the same for morality as it is for gravity. All the moral beliefs which came before us and all the moral beliefs today are, in exactly the same way as in the case of gravity, approximations to the objective reality which exists independently of human beings. Although probably none of these approximations correspond to reality exactly, as with gravity, some approximations are better than others. For example, the value system of a society which condones slavery but condemns cannibalism is incorrect, but it is a better approximation to reality than that of a society which condones both slavery and cannibalism. The claim that no one has yet been able to prove the correctness of a particular moral system through logic alone is also correct. However, if we continue the analogy with gravity, we will realize that no one has also been able to prove the existence of gravity through logic alone either. The reason we believe that a rock will fall to the ground is because that is what we have always observed when we have let go of rocks in the past. There is a little more to it than that, of course, but not much. Our current theory of gravity predicts many specific phenomena. These include rocks falling to the ground, planets orbiting the Sun, the creation of ocean tides by the moon, and identical clocks running at different speeds. The only reason why we do believe in our current theory of gravity is because every time we have observed these phenomena, what we saw corresponded with what the theory predicted. If we were deprived of these observations, we would have no reason to believe in gravity at all. There is no way, using logic alone, that a person can prove the existence of gravity or the superiority of one theory of gravity to another. It is only by using logical reasoning in combination with observation that a person can argue for the existence of gravity. Even then, it is not be possible to do so with total 100% assurance. The fact that the current theory of gravity has always made correct predictions in the past does not guarantee that the theory will give correct predictions tomorrow. What a person can do, though, is to show, by using logical reasoning in combination with observations, that our theory of gravity is most likely true. This is what I intend to do for morality. There are, of course, some differences in arguing for an objective moral law and an objective gravitational law. Perhaps one of the most significant is that it is possible to construct equipment which quantitatively measure the effects of gravity. That is, it is possible to construct a speed detector that tells you that a rock is moving with a velocity of ten meters per second at a certain moment in time. On the other hand, it is not currently possible to construct a morality meter which tells you that a certain action is wrong with an immorality of ten immorality units. Nevertheless, this is an obstacle which I believe can easily be overcome. I will explain the way in which I overcome this obstacle a little bit later. For now, I would just like to point out that the fact that we can not build such a detector does not automatically imply that an objective morality does not exist. It was not that long ago that we were unable to detect or measure the existence of electrons. This, however, does not imply that electrons did not exist in that time period. Electrons (objectively) existed regardless of whether or not we could build devices which detected them. The same, I believe, is true for morality. I have divided my discussion into four parts. The first part is this introduction. In the second part, I attempt to show that it is objectively wrong to torture another person for pleasure, and I discuss where this objective morality â€Å"comes from†. In this second part, I do not deal with something even as mildly complicated as torturing one person to prevent the suffering of another. Since I am trying to show that an objective morality exists independently of human beliefs, just showing that there exists one action which is objectively wrong should be sufficient to demonstrate my position that some objective morality exists. However, just believing that an objective morality exists should not be enough to satisfy anyone’s inquiry into the matter. In part three, I discuss how we can determine what this objective morality says about controversial moral issues. As in the case of gravity, I only claim to have a method to find good approximations to this objective moral law, not to get it exactly right the first time. By spending more time applying this method to a particular moral issue, we will obtain better approximations. I give examples of how this method can be applied to issues such as abortion, war, animal rights, and forcing your morality on others. I also discuss if an action which does not harm anyone can be immoral and if it is ever correct to say that one life is â€Å"worth more† than another. In addition, I give a method for establishing a belief about if another being possesses consciousness, which is useful in attempting to determine if we have an obligation to act morally towards that being. The fourth part is relatively independent of the rest of my discussion. In part four, I briefly discuss other alternative views about the nature and origin of morality. I touch on several topics. I discuss how a belief in God can be reconciled with the position which I advocate and why I think that it is not logically consistent to hold the opinion that a belief in God is necessary in order to believe in an objective morality. I discuss moral systems based on ideas like karma and perfect justice which are often associated with reincarnation. I also discuss a few other views regarding morality and what I think their flaws are. I talk about what I think is wrong with thinking of morality as just a social behavior which evolved to help our survival. I also discuss why I think that it is not possible to successfully base the foundation of a society on self interest or a social contract. I also mention why morality is much more than simply attempting to maximize a certain quantity such as happiness. Nowhere in my presentation do I discuss whether any particular religion is correct or incorrect. I limit my presentation to discussing the development of a belief in an objective morality without appealing to religious teachings. I do, though, show how my position can be reconciled with various religious beliefs. I also show how the definition of morality which I am about to give can be reconciled with the theory of evolution and natural selection. In addition, I discuss if moral beliefs improve in the long run with the passage of time. My definition of the word â€Å"morality† does not correspond to the way in which the word is usually used, but I believe that this definition closely approximates what â€Å"morality† is. In order to better explain my definition, I would first like to give an example of what â€Å"morality† is not. Suppose that a man comes home after shopping for food at a supermarket. When his son sees him, he comments on what good and moral people the owners of the supermarket must be. He remarks that the store owners must have been very kind and generous to give all this food to his family. How do you think that his father will answer? Clearly, the father will answer that the supermarket owners did not give him the food because they were kind or generous people, but because it was in their self interest to do so. Although the store owners might indeed be good and moral people, this action is in no way any indication of this. They did what they did because they believed that the action would profit them, and for no other reason. This action, the father would conclude, says nothing about the morality of the store owners. I will now give my definition. All actions can be placed into one of two categories. Some actions can belong to both of these groups simultaneously. However, all actions must belong to at least one of these categories. The first group consists of all actions which we do out of self interest while not harming others. Simple examples of this are riding a bicycle or watching television. These are activities which we engage in because we believe that these activities will benefit us. If an action belongs exclusively to this category, then it is of the same type as that of the supermarket owners in the previous example, and has nothing to do with morality. The second group consists of two types of behavior. The first type is behavior which either harms or intends to harm others. The second type is behavior which we engage in, not because we believe that it will somehow benefit us in the long run, but because we believe that it will benefit others. This includes any action we do, and any action which we refrain from doing, not for ourselves, but for others. It is with this second group of behaviors with which morality is concerned. Morality, then, is engaging in behavior, not out of self interest, but because it is in the interest of others. This is how I define morality. Many people would argue that altruistic actions belonging to the second group which I described do not exist. That is, they would argue that every action every person does is done out of self interest. If a man gives money to charity, they say, he does so only because he gets a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. If a woman donates blood, it is only because doing so makes her feel good about herself. This line of reasoning claims that all these seemingly benevolent actions are really done out of self interest. That is, people engage in such activities only to get these good internal feelings which they want. I disagree with such thinking. Although it is correct that a woman who gives to charity will probably obtain a warm and fuzzy feeling from doing so, it is incorrect to assume that this is the only reason why she engages in this activity. This is an example of an action which can simultaneously fit both of the groups which I described. That is, this woman may be giving to charity both because she feels good after doing so and because she wants to help others. In this case, so long as it is not done entirely out of self interest, it is still related to morality. Some actions which people engage in fall exclusively into my second category, and could never be explained in terms of self interest. An extreme example of this is when a person, who does not believe in an afterlife, makes a split second decision to give up his life for others, as in a case of a soldier throwing his body on a live hand grenade in order to save his comrades. There is no way to argue that the soldier is doing this because he seeks a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, since he is not going to live long enough to enjoy it. Human beings often attempt to persuade others into behaving a certain way by pointing out that it is in their self interest to do so. A police officer may say, for example, that you shouldn’t steal because there is a good chance that you will go to jail if you do. Similarly, a mother may tell her son that he will be punished if he his found misbehaving. None of this, though, in any way influences anyone to become a moral person. It just tells people how to behave in their own self interest. The only lesson this would impart on the child is that if he wants to avoid punishment, he should not misbehave. This will not prevent him from misbehaving the moment he knows that his parents aren’t watching, or after he grows up and moves out of his parents’ house. Similarly, this type of reasoning will not convince a person not to steal if he finds himself in a situation where the chances of being caught are small or non-existent. Nor is there, based on self interest alone, much reason for police officers, judges, and law makers to not abuse the power of their positions. What religions often do with regards to morality is to argue that it is always in a person’s self interest to behave â€Å"morally†. Some religions teach, for example, that if you engage in murder, rape, or torture, you will go to Hell. Others teach that if you engage in such activities you are going to have a very unfortunate next reincarnation. Others may believe that there is no life after death, but that you will be punished in this life for engaging in improper acts. However, this does not really tell anyone to be a moral person. This, again, just tells people how to behave in their self interest. If a woman refrains from killing other people only because she does not want to go to Hell, or if a man gives to charity only because he does not want to be reincarnated as an insect, then these activities have nothing to do with morality. As in the case of the supermarket owner, these people are just acting in their self interest. A religious person can, of course, be acting morally if he engages in activities for the purpose of benefiting others as well as seeking a reward. It is just that, as with the supermarket owner, although an action may have the side effect of benefiting other people, it is not related to morality if seeking a reward or avoiding a punishment is the only motivation. But then the questions before us are the following. Without making an appeal to religion, why is it that we â€Å"should† behave â€Å"morally†? Why is it that we â€Å"should† engage in activities which benefit others and refrain from activities which harm others? In a situation where which course of action is moral is itself a matter of debate, how is it possible, without using religious concepts, to persuasively argue that a particular answer is in fact the correct one. It is these types of questions which I will attempt to answer.

Intercepting Keyboard Input With Delphi

Intercepting Keyboard Input With Delphi Consider for a moment creation of some fast arcade game. All the graphics are displayed, lets say, in a TPainBox. TPaintBox is unable to receive the input focus - no events are fired when the user presses a key; we cannot intercept cursor keys to move our battleship. Delphi help! Intercept Keyboard Input Most Delphi applications typically handle user input through specific event handlers, those that enable us to capture user keystrokes and process mouse movement. We know that focus is the ability to receive user input through the mouse or keyboard. Only the object that has the focus can receive a keyboard event. Some controls, such as TImage, TPaintBox, TPanel, and TLabel cannot receive focus. The primary purpose of most graphic controls is to display text or graphics. If we want to intercept keyboard input for controls that cannot receive the input focus well have to deal with Windows API, hooks, callbacks and messages. Windows Hooks Technically, a hook function is a callback function that can be inserted in the Windows message system so an application can access the message stream before other processing of the message takes place. Among many types of windows hooks, a keyboard hook is called whenever the application calls the GetMessage() or PeekMessage() function and there is a WM_KEYUP or WM_KEYDOWN keyboard message to process. To create a keyboard hook that intercepts all keyboard input directed to a given thread, we need to call SetWindowsHookEx API function. The routines that receive the keyboard events are application-defined callback functions called hook functions (KeyboardHookProc). Windows calls your hook function for each keystroke message (key up and key down) before the message is placed in the applications message queue. The hook function can process, change or discard keystrokes. Hooks can be local or global. The return value of SetWindowsHookEx is a handle to the hook just installed. Before terminating, an application must call the UnhookWindowsHookEx function to free system resources associated with the hook. Keyboard Hook Example As a demonstration of keyboard hooks, well create a project with graphical control that can receive key presses. TImage is derived from TGraphicControl, it can be used as a drawing surface for our hypothetical battle game. Since TImage is unable to receive keyboard presses through standard keyboard events well create a hook function that intercepts all keyboard input directed to our drawing surface. TImage Processing Keyboard Events Start new Delphi Project and place one Image component on a form. Set Image1.Align property to alClient. Thats it for the visual part, now we have to do some coding. First, well need some global variables: var   Ã‚  Form1: TForm1;   Ã‚  KBHook: HHook; {this intercepts keyboard input}   Ã‚  cx, cy : integer; {track battle ships position}   Ã‚  {callbacks declaration}   Ã‚  function KeyboardHookProc(Code: Integer; WordParam: Word; LongParam: LongInt): LongInt; stdcall; implementation ... To install a hook, we call SetWindowsHookEx in the OnCreate event of a form. procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject) ; begin   {Set the keyboard hook so we   can intercept keyboard input}   KBHook:SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {callback } KeyboardHookProc,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HInstance,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  GetCurrentThreadId()) ;   {place the battle ship in   the middle of the screen}   cx : Image1.ClientWidth div 2;   cy : Image1.ClientHeight div 2;   Image1.Canvas.PenPos : Point(cx,cy) ; end; To free system resources associated with the hook, we must call the UnhookWindowsHookEx function in the OnDestroy event: procedure TForm1.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject) ; begin   Ã‚  {unhook the keyboard interception}   Ã‚  UnHookWindowsHookEx(KBHook) ; end; The most important part of this project is the KeyboardHookProc callback procedure used to process keystrokes. function KeyboardHookProc(Code: Integer; WordParam: Word; LongParam: LongInt) : LongInt; begin   case WordParam of   Ã‚  vk_Space: {erase battle ships path}   Ã‚  Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  with Form1.Image1.Canvas do   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brush.Color : clWhite;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brush.Style : bsSolid;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fillrect(Form1.Image1.ClientRect) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  vk_Right: cx : cx1;   Ã‚  vk_Left: cx : cx-1;   Ã‚  vk_Up: cy : cy-1;   Ã‚  vk_Down: cy : cy1;   end; {case}   If cx 2 then cx : Form1.Image1.ClientWidth-2;   If cx Form1.Image1.ClientWidth -2 then cx : 2;   If cy 2 then cy : Form1.Image1.ClientHeight -2 ;   If cy Form1.Image1.ClientHeight-2 then cy : 2;   with Form1.Image1.Canvas do   begin   Ã‚  Pen.Color : clRed;   Ã‚  Brush.Color : clYellow;   Ã‚  TextOut(0,0,Format(%d, %d,[cx,cy])) ;   Ã‚  Rectangle(cx-2, cy-2, cx2,cy2) ;   end;   Result:0; {To prevent Windows from passing the keystrokes   to the target window, the Result value must   be a nonzero value.} end; Thats it. We now have the ultimate keyboard processing code. Note just one thing: this code is in no way restricted to be used only with TImage. The KeyboardHookProc function serves as a general KeyPreview KeyProcess mechanism.

5 Things To Look For In A Promising Web Host

5 Things To Look For In A Promising Web Host Finding a promising web hosting company for your internet based business is an essential piece to the puzzle. This is the company that has control of your server space, web services and file maintenance, so you want to make sure you are protected. Here are 5 things to look for in a promising web host. Here are 5 things to look for in a promising web host. Reliability There is nothing more important than reliability when it comes to selecting a web hosting company. There are a number of things that can go wrong within an internet based business and it is assuring to know that your web host is there for you. Prior to selecting a company, take the time to look at the percentage of time their server is working properly. If the server tends to be down 15% of the time or more, this kills valuable time that you could be working. Contact info Part of a web hosting company being reliable is also them being available. If your server goes down, you want to know that you can get a hold of the company as soon as possible. The best way to check on the support personnel is to call them up prior to agreeing to anything to test them out. Domain name With thousands of internet based businesses on the web and millions of web addresses already taken, it can be difficult coming up with an original domain name. However, every web host should be able to provide you with one for a reasonable price. Check into the support they give you for finding a quality domain name and the prices each company charges for a domain name. CGI access Depending on the type of internet based business you have, you may want to or need to run your own programs. In order to do this, you must have CGI access. Not every web host offers this, and not every company offers the same capabilities for their CGI access. When researching into a web hosting company, check to make sure they offer CGI access that allows you to read, write, and execute on your server. POP account Having a POP account is vital for your business because of the protection that it offers. A POP account gives you password-protected access to mail that is sent through your website email address. There are several things you want to look into prior to selecting a web hosting company. The more questions you can come up with to ask the company and the more research you put into your decision, the better off you will be.`=

Response to class members Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Response to class members - Assignment Example They have customers, in other words, that they have to please. When this happens, they sometimes lose their autonomy. They lose their â€Å"backbone,† which is also important to them as artists. I agree with you that Oprah is a good example of an artist with a backbone. She has a large role in changing perceptions about African Americans and women. She showed the world that her race and gender are not impediments to her success. In her case, her backbone has helped strengthen the backbones of others. Right now, Oprah is using her power to improve the lives of marginalized groups. I think that her work indicates a very significant role of artists. Artists contribute to their society, too. They contribute their art to the world, as well as their ideas and vision of a good society. In other words, art can also be life changing. I agree with what you said that artists have a role to express their individuality and to use art as a way of empowering themselves. Art is a subjective process and product. Artists use art to express their emotions and ideas. It helps them understand their identities and develop their skills. Like what you said, your brother uses his art to emphasize his individuality. You also mentioned that artists also have a role to inspire others. They have unique talents that let them make wonderful products that inspire their audience. Inspiring them causes them to think and to act. When you said, â€Å"Artists are the doormen of change,† this immensely struck me. Artwork, such as paintings, literature, and dances, can be powerful means of expressing new ideas and practices that can challenge and change old ones. The main goal is to change people, so that they can also change the world. Artists either create or feed sparks of changes that impact social conditions. I understand why you used Reba McEntire as an example. She makes country music that inspires others. It is a music that has a culture of its own, and