Philosophy Essay

1. Settings: I scheduled my AA meeting for Tuesday September the 18th at 10 p.m. at the Sobe Room in Miami Beach (1718 Bay Rd. Miami Beach, Fl. 33139). When I arrived I noticed that the parking was far away from the actual meeting point. The meeting point was a church type structure with no sing or any other identification. The door was open so I just went in; I waited about 5 minutes for the meeting to start. The meeting took place in a large room, and the chairs were organized in a semicircle and at the front there was a kind of podium. In the Sobe Room all meetings are open, so I didn’t have to set an appointment. In the meeting were about 50 people, I guess because it was in south beach the majority were young people under 40. There were mostly white males, followed by white females some Latin and some African Americans. There were about 15 people who were there for the first time. I didn’t have to say why I was there but I did have to say my name when everyone else did. 2. Philosophy Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The primary purpose of AA is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. Although AA was founded on Christian principles and by white men, the organization has evolved to be multicultural. AA doesn’t keep a list of members’ names, but estimates that it has 2 million members who come from all backgrounds. The philosophy behind Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a disease. Even if someone stops drinking, they are not â€Å"cured.† The individual is a recovering alcoholic. The organization follows a 12-step structure designed to help the recovering alcoholic have a healthy mind and spirit. By following the 12 steps in sequence, the recovering alcoholic can improve their thought processes and work on healing their emotions. 3. Therapeutic content Even though AA is an independent organization and is not based on psychological or therapeutic research or interventions, they have adopted some techniques of different theoretical models to help the group members deal with their illness. AA uses techniques from diverse psychological theoretical models such as existentialism, gestalt, and narrative therapy. The existentialism theory invites clients to explore their being and ask themselves philosophical questions such as what is the meaning of live, how do actions define individuals and to continually revise their set of values. AA uses this approach in its program when they talk about the greater power, the purpose of their lives, etc. Gestalt theory sees each client as a unique individual and states that any change made by the client has to be his or her own decision, gestalt therapy is also very confrontational, and in both characteristics are included in the AA program. AA states that the client will get better if and only they really want it and commit to it. Also AA uses an approach similar to the narrative therapy by treating the addiction as an illness and as a problem independent of the client, it externalizes it to try to confront it. 4. Impressions and significance: When I arrived to the meeting the first thing that called my attention was the fact that we had to park really far away from the actual site (about two blocks) I later found out that it was purposely made this way so the members wouldn’t feel self conscious about having their cars outside of something that could be affiliated with alcoholism. I entered the location, it wasn’t an actual church, but it had a church like structure. The doors were opened and most people seemed to know each other, before the meeting started some people said hi to me but no one asked any questions. The meeting began with a shot prayer called the serenity prayer, which had me thinking about some contradictions found in the AA philosophy since they claim not to have any religious affiliation but it certainly felt a little inclined towards the Christian side. After the prayer everyone introduced themselves (most people said their names and I’m an alcoholic, but some didn’t) I said my name but gave no further information. Then someone proceed to talk a little about the AA program and the 12-step structure. After the greeting process a guy (27) stood up and went to the podium. He started by repeating his name and saying he was an alcoholic. He said that since this time he saw a lot of new faces he wanted to share his story again. The man shared a very powerful story about his involvement with alcohol, he stated he started drinking around the age of 14, he said that at the moment he thought he was just having fun and doing the same that everyone else did, but that now that he thinks about it he realizes he was using alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with the confusion he was facing about his sexuality. He stated that he came out of the closet at the age of 16, that it was a very difficult time and that he was dating older men who encouraged him to drink. He continued talking about what coming out had done to the relationship with his family members; he described the time as very painful and he cried while telling the story (some of the people in the meeting cried as well). He said that his mother was very supportive since the beginning, that his younger brother had a hard time understanding; he said that he was a jog in school, so no one expected him to come out since he wasn’t â€Å"the gay type†. But that the real issue was with his father, as soon as he gave him the news the father became very angry and he kicked him out of the house. He said that he sort of expected the reaction but thought that he would eventually get over it, but that that hadn’t happened yet, and that it’s been 10 years and 7 months since the last time he spoke with his father. He said that he joined AA when he was 23, he decide to attend a meeting because he and his partner were having terrible fights while he was under the influence of alcohol and he even tried to hit him once. At that point the partner threatened with leaving him if he didn’t get treatment. He stated that it was the best decision he made in his live. He has now been sober for 3 years and 4 months. Before going to the meeting I had many opinions about what I would find there, I was sure that most people would be people of low socioeconomic status probably many homeless and very angry people. I was afraid of being forced to speak and that they wouldn’t understand the reason that I was participating in the meeting. I expected to see a lot of people praying, singing, and hugging at the end. But the truth is that the reality was very different to what I had in my imagination, I think my perception was heavily influenced by movies I’ve see about it. One thing that caught my attention was the first to realize that most people in the group were people with jobs and life situations fairly normal. But mostly I was surprised that people were a bit cold and distant. I was hoping that dodos were united and friendly to each other but not the case. For me the story of gay guy was very powerful and I felt good to see people around me responding positively and nodding. One thing I did not like was the strong Christian influence of the program; I feel that excludes many people who do not feel identified with this dogma. I think AA is a very powerful tool and can help many clients, but I also think is not for everyone. I would recommend it to clients with maladaptive behaviors that do not have the skills to deal with day-to-day problems. I think that a person has to be religious to some point to really identify with the program. I would not recommend this program to teenagers because I think that there are other programs more suitable for this population.

Law of nature Essay

There are several books that deal with philosophical questions of liberty, social restrictions, pursuit of property and freedom versus enslavement. I have selected six related to these themes to be reviewed and closely analyzed to understand those themes better. The second treatise of Government by John Locke has been ever since its first publication in 1689 an influential source of political and social interpretation. The USA constitution is based on the principles and themes John Locke deals with in this master piece of philosophical reasoning. His main argument in the book is that the sovereignty is in the hands of the people and that the government is in their service. Locke underscored the importance of being aware as people of our natural and fundamental rights but that we have had to relinquish certain aspects of this human freedom to be able to coexist peacefully within a society regulated by laws established to maintain the order. People are thus originally endowed with certain inalienable rights in a state of nature where freedom exists in absence of laws or rules to abide to. This law of nature does thus not require people to obey each other but instead people are free to be themselves. The state of nature is defined by Locke himself as: â€Å"To properly understand political power and trace its origins, we must consider the state that all people are in naturally. That is a state of perfect freedom of acting and disposing of their own possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature. People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. † Locke deals thus with the topic of civil society in this book and how we can politically coexist together as people. To understand the true and best form of a civil society we need to comprehend the fundamental right we are born with as humans which is simply freedom in its complete sense. Taking this into consideration we have also to acknowledge the full meanings this brings along with it for everybody despite color, ethnicity, religion or race. Since all people are born with this right then it follows that all people are equal and deserve to live in a system that secures this equality and freedom of pursuit of one’s dreams. Locke’s second main argument is how governments should only rule with the consent of the people and that any government that does not becomes as a result illegitimate and deserves to be overthrown by the people through their right to revolution. He also deals with the themes of conquest and slavery, property and representative government. Property for instance lead to the creation of the civil society as men sought to protect his property through the law. People exchanged some of their natural rights in order to achieve this form of civil society where they could coexist peacefully with other people in a safe and secure atmosphere. The representative government on the other hand is only legitimate if it is acknowledged by the people and serves the needs of the people. It is this way that Locke established the rule that governments should be there for the service of the people rather than vice versa. Locke’s ideas about slavery on the other hand are that it is essentially a form of involuntary servitude and the only way slavery could be justified as a system that goes against the order of the natural state is through the absence of the state of nature and the presence of the opposite which is the state of war during which exceptions were allowed. The discussion of slavery leads us to another major work concerned with the subject: The Life of Olaudah Equiano which is an autobiographical work that was first published in the 18th century and recounts the story of slavery and its horrors. The story of his enslavement, acquired freedom and pursuit of work as a seaman and merchant is a very fascinating tale of forward movement and determination at achieving success, despite the hardships encountered along the way, in order to earn the natural right of freedom back. Olaudah, like Locke, was a fighter for a cause. Locke’s book helped revolutionize the ideas about government and shaped the USA constitution the way we know it now. His defense of the rights of the human continues to influence the discourse on democracy, human rights and politics. Olaudah’s journey and struggle for freedom has also left tremendous impact in the literature of slavery and he also helped in the process of abolishing slavery later on. Those two prominent men had a social vision of what a society was supposed to be like and fought to achieve it. The book starts with the recount of Olaudah’s personal life before enslavement when he used to live in an African region called Assaka. He was kidnapped and forced into slavery(something that enforces Locke’s opinion about the forced status of slavery as an institution) at the age of ten and transported to the New World or to be more specific the plantations of Virginia. He was purchased by a lieutenant in the Navy called Michael Pascal who named him Gustavus Vassa, a name he also came to be known by. His life as a slave was a continues struggle and suffering. He could not tolerate the idea of deprivation of his right of freedom and chose to rebel through denying the new name his owner gave him which lead to his punishment as if he was a mere dog whose job was to obey without reluctance. Being deprived of his freedom reduces the human being into an animal. The life of the slave was really hard according to the journals of Olaudah. He was later sold in the Caribbean and acquired by a Philadelphian Quaker who taught him how to read and write better and educated him in the Christian faith. He allowed him to trade to earn the money required to buy his freedom as young man in his twenties and traveled to England where he fought for the cause of slavery abolition. Olaudah observed in his book how slaves were treated as inhuman subjects with no feelings. It was almost as if the masters considered them to be a different specie or an alien creature. Our third book or novel is concerned with a creature that displays those characteristic: Frankenstein. Frankenstein by the author Mary Shelley refers to the scientists within the book Victor Frankenstein who knows how to create life and decides to create a creature that is like man but with more powerful characteristics. The novel is made up of the correspondence between the Captain Robert Walton and his sister. Walton happens to know about Frankenstein’s creature and recounts the story to his sister in his letters. The story starts with Walton traveling to the North Pole where he will be trapped by a sea of massive ice rocks. This is how Walton meets Victor Frankenstein and this is also how he comes to know about the monster Victor had created. Victor is himself terrified by what he has created and runs away thereby allowing the monster to be released. The troubled scientist feels sick with guilt and his depressed state only worsens when he hears about the murder of his brother. It appears that the monster was who murdered his brother and this was explained by the monster himself as an attempt at taking revenge of Victor who had treated him with horror and disgust. He begs Victor for a companion since he cannot stand the loneliness. Victor does decide to oblige but later on regrets it and destroys his second creation to which the monster vows revenge that he soon fulfills through killing one of his friends. The monster manages to also kill his bride and Victor decides to follow the monster which led him to meet Walton and dies a few days later on. Walton concludes his letters by recounting how surprised he was to find the monster weeping on his body in agony and loneliness. It turns out that the monster had feelings like any other human being and could be good or evil like any other normal person. But Victor’s fear and prejudice blinded him from seeing that. The same thing happened with the white owners of slaves in the era of Olaudah. They stopped seeing the slaves as human beings and regarded them as mere properties to be feared and doubted if they acted differently the way Olaudah did through educating himself. The fear of the unknown is a characteristic of the human psyche but what is also a common aspect between the white and black man and the monster of Frankenstein is the need of freedom. Our fourth book is the Communist manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The first publication of the book took place in 1848. Just like John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government the Communist Manifesto is a very influential political manuscript. The main theme of the book is the class struggle and the weaknesses of the capitalist system. The Communist Manifesto is what the communist party strengthened the ideology of the Communist party. The Manifesto’s main aim was to make communism more understood by a larger number of people since the party was feared and doubted by many. Karl Marx continues then to mark the differences between the bourgeois and proletariat class since his main focus will be throughout the paper on how the proletariat has been victimized by the capitalist system and bourgeois class. He states in the first section that: â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. † Marx arguments of class struggle resemble those of Locke to a certain extent. He also echoed the claim that the human need for property is what leads to the creation of civil society as we know it today. Marx acknowledges this human need for the acquisition of property but seeks to regulate it more through establishing laws that do not allow for a minority of rich people to subject and benefit from a larger group that is the real driving force of any society: the proletariat class. The proletarians will, according to Marx, rise to power through class struggle. The bourgeois continues exploiting the proletarians but the latter will use their right to revolution (Locke again) to throw this form of social establishment and create a new reality more fit for the general and larger public. This vision was eventually realized by the Bolsheviks in the former Soviet Union. Our human need for freedom equality and development is according to Locke, Olaudah, Marx and Shelly a fundamental aspect of our psychological nature. This leads us to the fifth book to focus on: On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin who explains in this work how humans have developed from their natural state to their current one and how they have been able to survive. The natural state described by Darwin in his book is different from that of Locke in that he focuses on how we developed physically as people from the shape of monkeys to that of humans. It is needless to say that his book has caused the necessary controversy in the religious circles. Darwin presents a very interesting evolutionary idea in this particular book to explain the process of human evolution: the survival of the fittest. The idea of the transmutation of the species was however not welcomed by the Church establishment of that time and is still not looked at with favor by several even nowadays and despite the many scientific data that has been supplied to enhance his theory. Natural selection or to use the other phrase, the survival of the fittest, has been described by Mr. Herbert Spencer as: â€Å"Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an individual of any species, in its infinitely complex relations to other organic beings and to external nature, will tend to the preservation of that individual, and will generally be inherited by its offspring. † Charles Darwin’s book has also helped in reshaping the human thought regarding its origin and nature and developed the notion of the necessity of strength and relentlessness to succeed and earn the right to exist since only the fittest survive. Our last book is also closely related to the themes we have seen so far in relation to human rights and natural states and the preservation of an efficient civil society. Civilization and its discontents was first published in 1929 and became one of Sigmund Freud’s most renowned works. Freud’s main theme in this book is the state of conflict between the individual and his society. Just like with Locke’s book we come to wonder how much the relinquishment of our fundamental right of total freedom affects our psyche and therefore our performance within the civil society we created. The primary source of conflict, according to Freud, is the individual’s desire of freedom and the clash that creates with society’s expectation of the individual to conform to the general rules. The majority kills with this the individuality and our natural states are denied for the sake of preserving the general picture agreed upon by the majority of the citizens. Humans have certain desires and characteristics that are hard to control. The desire for sex is the most prominent one which has lead to the creation of many laws to regulate sex conduct in public and punish the acts of rape and sexual aggression. The natural instincts come to be subjected to laws and regulations to allow for the peaceful existence within a society. The six books that we have seen so far all deal with several issues related to humanity’s primal needs that can clash at times with society’s expectations of the individual. Our quest for freedom and property creates conflict all along but we never are able to let go of one of the two. Humans have always wanted the two together and the need for more property led to the enslavement of millions to satisfy the need for cheap labor thereby violating the natural human state of being free by birth. But humans are creatures who seek pleasure and understanding and bonding with the other. That is also another reason why we co-exist within a society and try to abide to the rules to sustain the civil form. Works Cited Darwin, Charles (2002). The Origin of Species. W. W Norton & Company. Equiano, Olaudah (1999). The life of Olaudah Equiano. Dover Publications. Freud, Sigmund (1989). Civilization and its discontents. W. W Norton & Company. Locke, John (2002). The Second Treatise of Government. Dover Publications. Marx, Karl (1998). The Communist Manifesto. USA: Oxford University Press. Shelley, Mary (2004). Frankenstein. Pocket.

Case Of Alyeska Pipeline Services Company V. Wilderness Society

When it comes to the Case Of Alyeska Pipeline Services Company V. Wilderness Society, Justia states that, â€Å"Under the American Rule that attorneys fees are not ordinarily recoverable by the prevailing litigant in federal litigation in the absence of statutory authorization, respondents, which had instituted litigation to prevent issuance of Government permits required for construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Justia, n.d.). The court’s analysis that the legislature needs to address is the lawyer’s fees because the legislature has a lot of power when it comes to enacting, amending, and repeal the public policy and can have more authority than any other aspect of the government. The legislature can have more authority on what laws to be passed that includes lawyer fees and the legislature can attempt to change the lawyer fees. There is some resistance when it comes to liberalizing lawyers’ fees awards because some individuals feel that i t should not be liberalized and that it is not the legislatures place to handle this issue and shouldn’t be concerned with the issue. Another approach to this would be the approach of proportionate responsibility. This proportionate responsibility will be best for everyone involved so that everyone involved does have some responsibility and that the responsibility does not just land on one persons shoulder but instead, everyone has a responsibility. The benefits in the long run of following the judges’ rules is that the individuals understands and knows what can and cannot be done according to the judges orders. The disadvantages of following the judges rules is that in most cases people have knowingly disobeyed a judges orders and has ended up paying for that by getting put in jail or being fined. Yes, on a personal level I feel litigation will not influence me in any way when dealing with cases despite the fact that the other side may have also began using the tactic. According to attorney-client privilege.org, attorney-client privilege is, â€Å"is a kind of ‘right to confidentiality’. This means that all the communications between a lawyer and his clients would remain confidential and would not be released to a third party, during or after the conversation is over.† (attorney-client privilege.org, 2014). The extent that the public records or open meeting laws should override the privilege is if there is a life or death situation involved then the public records and open meeting should be disclosed then and only then. I do feel that the need for lawyers to act zealously to win cases does explain why the lawyers can sometimes act in immoral ways when in a court and dealing with cases that they are a defense attorney for. These attorneys feel there is a certain reputation that he or she needs to uphold to the public, judge, and those who he is defending. However, some lawyers can get too far into their job that they may feel they have to act in an immoral way in order to get the results he or she feels needs to be accomplished or feels is desired by to those who he or she is defending. The lawyers’ fees should be handled by the legislation because the legislation has more power than any other aspect of the government as they can enact, repeal, or amend a law. This being said that is why the legislature should be involved with lawyers’ fees. Proportionate responsibility should also be taken care of as responsibility should not just fall on one persons’ shoulders. Attorney-client privilege should be available to the public only if there is a life or death situation at hand. Lawyer’s also sometimes act immorally as they may feel they have a reputation to uphold to the individual they are defending, the judge, and the rest of the public.

Foreign operations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Foreign operations - Assignment Example This would enable the firm to retain control over its foreign operations and proprietary rights over its technology. In this case, wholly owned subsidiaries may be the ideal mode of entry because it reduces the risks of losing control over the foreign operations. Alternatively, a firm may prefer licensing as a mode of entry in case the technological competence is only transitory. On the other hand, firms enjoying competitive advantage based on managerial knowhow may rely on international trademark regulations to protect trademarked products and services (Nande & Shaila, 2007). Further, these firms experience a lower risk of losing control of management skills, thus making franchising and joint ventures attractive modes of entry. The strategies adopted by a company also determine its mode of entry in foreign markets. For instance, Tesco has assumed a rather unique strategic approach in its global expansion within the grocery industry. Tesco’s strategy entails ignoring highly competitive markets and pursuing markets with high growth potential and low levels of competition (Tesco, 2014). As such, Tesco is able to use its competence in management knowhow to expand within the international markets, without incurring the unnecessary costs of competing in mature and highly competitive markets. Tesco’s global expansion strategy entails identifying underserved markets with strong growth potential, identifying local companies with effective understanding of their markets and with strong distribution systems, entering into joint venture agreements with them, transferring management expertise to these ventures and later acquiring these ventures (Tesco, 2014). The joint venture strategy has proven to be a very effective entry strategy for Tesco within the international market. The company has been able to improve its financial performance and competitive advantage by leveraging its expertise and tapping into the knowledge of the local

'It is impossible to discern from the approach of the judiciary to Essay

'It is impossible to discern from the approach of the judiciary to either the question of the incidence of the burden of proof - Essay Example CJS is accountable for apprehending the criminals, penalising them for their offences, executing the orders of the court like custodial punishment, collecting fines imposed by courts, supervising the community and to rehabilitate them for stopping future crimes2. CJS evaluates its operation by employing the following five indicators namely a) bringing crimes to justice b) enhancing the awareness and confidence of the public c) satisfying the victims by sentencing the criminals d) to redress the disproportionality among various races and e) recovery of stolen assets or properties3. As per recent research study carried over by academics at Birmingham University reveals that crime rates will tend to decline when there are tougher prison sentences and further there is a direct link between levels of policing activity and crime reduction . Hence, the study strongly suggests that UK government should desist from downsizing its police personnel, mainly on the grounds of cost cutting. The ab ove study found that prison imprisonment was especially successful in minimising the property crime by repeat and serious offenders in UK. It also found that if sentence is increased to 16.4 months from that of 15.4 months, it is likely to minimise the burglaries in the succeeding year by 4800 out of annual aggregate of 962,700. The report finds that there is unambiguous evidence that more effective and sustained policing will definitely minimise the crime rates in UK4. Burden of proof in criminal cases Under English criminal law , the most renowned cannon is that the accused will be treated as innocent until the prosecution proves the guilty of offence of an accused by beyond realistic doubt. Though the English law assumes an accused as an innocent, but it yet requires upon the prosecution to produce adequate evidence so that the court can declare the accused as an offender. The famous maxim as held in Hobson5 that one innocent man should not be punished even if ten guilty men coul d escape from the punishment. Earlier, in Woolmington v DPP, where defendant W claimed that he killed her wife accidentally. In that case, the court was of the view that defendant had the onus of proving any defence it which wanted to forward. However, the same was turned down by the House of Lords, and it held that, the prosecution had the onus of establishing all the components of crime except in some extraordinary cases, and it did not acknowledge any defences forwarded by the accused6. Thus, the â€Å"golden thread â€Å" rule which inflicts the whole legal onus on the prosecution, and the maxim that the Crown must establish its case beyond any satisfactory doubt was held in very old case namely 7White8. Thus, in Woolmington case9, the House of Lord set precedent by pronouncing that the prosecution assumes the whole onus in criminal cases. It is claimed that by placing the whole burden of proof on prosecution, it helps to minimise the wrongful convictions by police. It also de notes the severity of criminal convictions and thereby increases the moral convictions among the police. Thus, under English law, the prosecution is responsible for any of defences put forth by an accused like alibi, provocation, self-defence or duress. In Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex Police,10 in criminal proceedings, the onus of negativing self-defence lies upon the prosec

C.S Lewis The Screwtape Letters Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

C.S Lewis The Screwtape Letters - Research Paper Example The character of Screwtape in the book is one from the lower rungs of the bureaucracy of Hell, as he acts as a sort of mentor and tries to guide Wormwood towards adopting the path of temptation and sin which would eventually lead him to Hell. The book is made up of thrity one letters in which Screwtape delivers his expert advice to Wormwood, on how to engage in the most sinful of conducts, while trampling on his personal Christian faith and beliefs about humanity. (Green, Jordan) The book also takes place within the confines of a parallel universe in which both Wormwood and Screwtape survive because of the devil’s existence; in their world, doing wrong is seen is doing right – emotions like jealousy and greed are given importance over any kind of good anyone would do, and both the inner demons of Wormwood and Screwtapes’ minds do not conform to any kind of good done for the benefit of humanity. They are not even able to comprehend what doing such good pertains or consists of. According to C S Lewis, â€Å"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.† (Lewis, C.S) Thus with the help of the Screwtape Letters, he is able to grasp the attention and minds of almost all kinds of believers of human faith and religion out there. With the help of this quote, Lewis tries to explain how man should not shut his mind to the kind of wrong that is being done in the world, or the kind of devils that exist in the form of sin, that eventually puts a person into trouble. However, at the same time, a man should also not believe in the existence of these devils to the extent of formulating a lifelong bond or relationship with them, in a manner that would eventually lead to the degradation of the person. This powerful satire written by the author is a take on the devils that persist in society, and how

Social divisions are now much less significant than they were fifty Essay

Social divisions are now much less significant than they were fifty years ago. Discuss - Essay Example It shall compare divisions in gender and family roles both 50 years ago and today. And it shall also discuss the current continuation of class divisions and the exploitation of women in the home and in the workplace. Social divisions are less significant now than they were fifty years ago. With the advent of women’s liberation and anti-discrimination laws, men and women can now share the same opportunities and privileges in their work. Society has also largely discarded its outdated ideas about ethnic and cultural disparities in society and in the workplace. Women in the 1950s and 1960s were indeed being allowed to join the workforce, however, â€Å"women continued to earn considerably less than men for doing the same job, regardless of whether they worked in a factory of office, or in a profession such as teaching or nursing† (Cliffsnotes, 2009). Even when women were exerting the same effort or even more effort than men in the same job, women were still being paid the same wages or even less than the men. Such was the life of the working women 50 years ago. The 1950s also typified women as housewives. They were expected to stay at home and take care of the home and the children while their husbands were off to work. Any hint of independence they showed was not encouraged nor was it supported by their families and by society in general. And â€Å"the fact that so many women worked outside home ran counter to the myth in popular culture that emphasized the importance of traditional gender roles† (Cliffsnotes, 2009). The media, television, magazines, and advertisements in general all catered to the traditional idea of the women’s role in society and in the home. And when women started to break out of this traditional mould, they were discriminated against and not given the same chances and opportunities as the men. â€Å"Domestic ideology encouraged the post-war housewife to pursue his wifely duties, and post-war developments

Recording labels & Music Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Recording labels & Music Marketing - Essay Example It has a significant presence in the region. Besides, the record label has a number of artists signed to it. It accords a platform for marketing and promoting all these artists irrespective of their status. For instance, in their website, they have a portal which allows the artists to have their music promoted via a digital store. The digital store, as it is in most cases, is always connected to the iTunes stores. With the advent of information age together with the opportunities presented by it, digital platforms for promoting music is a necessary part of the promotion (Brae, 2012). Brief Background on the All Around the World The music label was formed in 1990. It should be noted that demographically, the record label is located in England but it has signed artists from various parts of the globe. The artists signed to the label are mainly determined by the genre of music in which it specializes in. Largely, the genre of music for the group was dance. However, it is apparent that i t had to conform to modern trends in music. Consequently, the music group also incorporated Rnb as a genre in its production. The record label does the promotion of its music products through the universal music group which is an established music marketing and producing company. The transformations that have been at the company have seen it sign even hip-hop artists. Hip-hop is a genre of music that has been incorporated into the recording label’s staple. Some of the artists who have been signed to the group in the recent past whose music has been of hip-hop genre include Skepta. The following discourse partly focuses on Skepta in terms of his music. Skepta Skepta is a rapper who is English. His real names are recorded to be Joseph Adenuga. The rapper is of African descent. The rapper has had different compilation albums as well as mixtapes. His first album was the one released in 2007. The name of the album was called the Greatest hits. This gave the artists a platform whic h saw to his rise and popularity especially when he released the single titled Bad Boy. Mixtapes as Part of Music Culture Mixtapes are a ways through which artists promote themselves. They are unlike compilation or studio albums. The copyright rules do not actually apply to them. In reference to the artist in focus, he has had three mixtapes. The first one was titled Been there done that. The date of release of that compilation was in 2010. The second mixtape was titled community payback. This was released in 2011 and was hosted by the renowned DJ Whoo Kid. In hip hop music, this has been used by various artists to launch and even propel their careers. A notable beneficiary of this was 50cent. It is arguably true that Curtis Jackson is one of the biggest names in hip hop in recent times. While trying to gain an entry into the music industry, he made a name through a mixtape titled How to rob the industry. In the music, he made comical inferences to already established music icons li ke Jay Z. by doing what he did, he attracted attention on him. Consequently, it acted as a platform for promoting his talent. Urban Radio Industry The urban industry for radio in the UK has progressively grown in leaps too. Over the years, the radio stations have played a vital role in the music culture. They promote artists and contribute fairly in the marketing of their music. A few years back, there were few registered FM stations. Most of the stations then were pirates. These stations included Rinse FM which

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Doctrine of Judicial Binding Precedent - Essay Example In London Tramcars Co Ltd v London County Council2, Lord Halisbury ruled that when the House made a ruling on a 'point of law', it becomes 'conclusive upon the House afterwards, and it is impossible to raise that question again as if it was res integra and could be re-argued'. In short, the House of Lords cannot later undermine their own rulings on points of law. The issue can be debated again, but not res integra. In practice, this means that anyone coming before the House of Lords can argue prior precedent, and if that precedent applies, the House of Lords is powerless not to rule in their favor on that issue. â€Å"This coercive character of the doctrine of precedent is a feature peculiar to the English legal tradition†3. Even in the United States legal system, precedent is not absolutely binding, in two ways. 1. It is possible in the United States tradition to overturn precedent. Dred Scott, Plessy v. Ferguson...famous cases that changed the course of American law and juri sprudence involved overturning prior cases. 2. There is more leeway for precedent to be ruled non-binding or to be reinterpreted more carefully Judges in the British tradition are supposed to interpret law, not make law, even more so than in the United States system. The House of Lords only has the leeway to interpret law when there is no law already in place. Further, not only is precedent binding, but the English system is further peculiar because individual precedents are powerfully binding4. Even in the French and American traditions, lines of cases are interpreted and their varying precedents debated, but in the UK tradition, an individual case is understood and can â€Å"create a binding precedent, similar to a statute†. Beamish v. Beamish was a key case in establishing this doctrine, ironically itself an example of a single case creating binding precedent. Combined with the London Tramway case, it is only possible for precedent to be overturned by an act of Parliament, whose sovereignty cannot be undermined. One of the consequences of the increasing importance of precedent was that legal reporting and the documentation and maintenance of case law became far more important4 . It seems that the doctrine emerged as a reaction to parliamentary sovereignty4 . Prior to the emergence of the doctrine, only Parliament could make clear, consolidated law that was held within â€Å"four corners†, complete like a room. When the House of Lords makes a judicial opinion, it takes on the force of law and has statutory implications. People must abide by the regulation. If the House of Lords interprets that a particular environmental law applies to an industry, it has the effect of changing the enforcement as powerfully as an act of Parliament. One could in fact argue that the law of binding judicial precedent essentially elevates the court to the level of law, which is an important addition to Browne-Wilkinson's comment. How, then, can Browne-Wilkinson's co mment be interpreted? It points to several truths about the Commonwealth law that the doctrine of judicial binding precedent can obscure. First, previous Lords made those precedents and made those rulings. This means that, while from the modern perspective, law may be interpreted rather than created, it was created at one point, and will be created again whenever there are gaps. Second, in practice Lords do make law, the doctrine be damned. This is because it is up to the Lords themselves to determine if

COMPARISON of The great Gatsby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COMPARISON of The great Gatsby - Essay Example Examples of movies that can guide one to make comparisons are old Great Gatsby (1974) versus new Great Gatsby (2013) and Double Indemnity (1944) and Body Heat (1981). To start with, the theme of the movie Great Gatsby is an adaptation of the novel entitled Great Gatsby written by Fitzgerald. In the novel, the writer focused on the lives of the materials excess that rich people from Long Island in New York enjoyed in 1922. Carraway is a young man in the novel who narrates his story about his life in New York amidst rich people from Long Island. The 1974 Great Gatsby movie adaptation takes very many scenes that caraway describes in the novel and allows the scenes to unfold directly to the viewers. However, it has expanded on some scenes such as love affairs and the director have shot them with adequate backlighting and starburst effects. The witness storyteller in the novel could not have seen these events and hence making them more than just stylistic issues in the movie. On the other hand, the 2013 Lurhmann’s Great Gatsby movie has completely fabricated the story in the novel. ... The old Great Gatsby film is deliberately slow with a bordering soundtrack similar to that in horror movies, but it tries to confine into that time accurately using music and clothing fashions popular during that period. The new Great Gatsby film is an eye candy montage that has better quality that the old version with a blend of music and the theme of the twenty first century. The parties that Gatsby threw to lure daisy in the narrative could be likely to be similar of 1974 parties than 2013 parties hence the older movies depicts a clearer picture of the narrative than the new film. Additionally, the 1974 Great Gatsby film has a more mature tone than the 2013 Great Gatsby film as the characters representing Gatsby and Daisy in the movie seem to be older than the same characters in the novel. According to Lindsay (Para. 1-4), the new film has a much younger faces of Daisy and Gatsby, which gives a closer look of the similar characters as described in the narrative in terms of age. Ca rraway in the movie of 1974 has a fresher feel of the character in the novel than the person taking the same role in the 2013 production. Dern effectively demonstrated the character of Tom in the narrative but Joel has a better description of Tom’s physicality in the novel than Dern in the old production. Despite the differences, there some visible similarities between the two films with the new version of production viewed as an adaptation of the old production more than an independent adaptation of the novel. Sheppard (Para. 8-9) states that, one of the chief similarities is the picture of the society living between Manhattan and Long Island illustrate in the two films. Moreover, the two film productions have inserted

Pollution Prevention Essay Example for Free

Pollution Prevention Essay In the article written by Chris Wiant entitled â€Å"What is the P2 trend all about, and how are environmental health professionals involved? ,† discussed the history, objectives and significance of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s pollution prevention (P2) program to the environment and public health. In the early 70s, there was already a conscious effort in protecting the nation’s vital natural resources which was pioneered by Congress. But EPA wanted to expand their strategy in environmental protection which resulted to the birth of the P2 program. The main thrust of the pollution prevention program is to encourage companies to get involve in the community level by taking the initiative in becoming leaders in protecting the environment. In addition, the application of the program has facilitated the identification of its â€Å"potential for significant economic benefits by avoiding the need for treatment at the end-of-the-pipe. † Since P2 has been well received by businesses and its positive benefits are eminent, the next challenge is â€Å"how to institutionalize P2 as a standard business practice, and 2) how to get businesses and communities to see that P2 can be a pathway to a new partnership between them† (Wiant, 1997, p. 24). Moreover, the pollution prevention program is not only a directive that is focused on conservation and preservation of the natural resources. It is more directed on the sustainable maintenance of the activities that were already started by companies and the EPA but in a bigger scale. The certainty of the success of the program can only be guaranteed if all sectors of the society will work hand in hand in order to achieve a single goal which is to reduce the damage inflicted to the environment. Another aspect of the P2 program that is very appealing is its emphasis on preventive measures. Its design of â€Å"reducing the emission of toxic substances into the environment, focusing on the manufacturing process as the point in which to control toxin emissions,† is an innovative idea that will dramatically trim down the production of harmful substances. Through this approach, a potential problem can be addressed at its initial stage. Instead of using the end-of the-pipe strategy, businesses can already start with prevention during the manufacturing process. As a result, massive damages to the environment can be avoided and it can also eliminate the risk of inflicting impairment to the public’s health. Also, it can significantly reduce the cost for businesses in decreasing their toxic emissions. It is like shooting 2 birds in 1 stone because companies can save a lot of money and time by just implementing the P2 program in their business procedures. By mandating business to utilize the P2 program, changes in common business practices will occur. But this alteration would be for the overall improvement of the policies and procedures of a company. Moreover, in a community that practices such programs, the quality of life of the people will greatly improve and the relationship of coexistence between man and nature will continue to flourish for the better (Wiant, 1997, p. 24). However, the only concern for the P2 program is its standardization and the assurance of having a productive relationship between the community and businesses. It is essential that companies follow a set of standard procedures in order for the end results to be predictable. Institutionalizing P2 as a standard business practice will eliminate different interpretations and implementations which will boost the focus in protecting the environment and public health. On the other hand, this can only be put into reality if environmental health professionals as well as business leaders who utilize the P2 program will get involve in an intensified information campaign to promote the concept, benefits and practicality of the program. Overall the P2 program is a notable undertaking that is very much necessary in the modern society. Through this, the environment and the public’s health will be safeguarded from the destructive products brought by development or progress. Works Cited Wiant, C. J. (1997). What is the P2 trend all about, and how are environmental health professionals involved?. Journal of Environmental Health, 59, 24.

Strengths of Hitler That Allowed Him Into Power Essay Example for Free

Strengths of Hitler That Allowed Him Into Power Essay The weakness of the Weimar Republic played a huge part in Hitler’s rise to power. this essay will explore the weimars weaknesses, including the impact of the first world war, the constitutional weakness of the Republic, the implications of the treaty of versaille and the Munich Putsch. Aswell as other factors that led to Hitler’s success not so related to the Weimer republic. This includes the anger of the German people at Germany’s surrender. This is commonly known as the stab in the back by the politicians who became known as criminals, due to the armistice being signed in November 1918. Reasons for this public feeling were because the Germans thought that they were winning the war. The policians, in reality, had no choice. A significant problem with the Weimar republic was the fact that it was constitutionally weak. The use of the proportional representation system proves this, due to the failure to form a majority government. Parties only needed 2% of votes in order to gain seats. There were also a lot of elections, for example in 1932 there were 5, which is a huge amount in politics. This wasn’t the only problem however, each party was extremely self interested. Article 48 was an issue. It was created as a means of protecting the republic when it was threatened, for example by the Kapp putsch. As time went on however, especially during Hindenburg’s reign, it was misused, with new laws going from 5 being used in 1930, to 44 in 1931 and 60 in 1932, while sittings of the Reichstag declined from 94 in 1930 to 13 in 1932. Even more to Hitler’s success was the Versailles treaty. Winning public approval for the republic was made even more difficult because of this. The terms of the treaty included  £6.6 billion reparation payments, a war guilt clause, great loss of land and colonies and an army of a mere 100,000 with a navy of 10,000 and no aircraft. Besides these brutal terms, the war guilt clause proved to be extremely damaging. It was a constant reminder to the German nation of the ‘stab in the back’ by the ‘criminals’ which did nothing to help Weimar and just helped Hitler as it made people look for more extreme political ideas. It worsened their economic problems during the economic slumps of 1923-1924 with inflation reaching new heights. This worked in Hitlers favour as once again the German public were looking for much more extreme ideas to help their country get out of this mess. This resulted in Hitlers rise to power. Another foolish episode in Weimar’s time were the years from 1924-28. These were the ‘golden years’ for Germany. It is argued that there was political stability and growth, and political violence was left behind. Even Germany’s economy had stabilised, which was an achievement after the 1922/23 inflation problems. But it ended awfully for the republic. In order for Germany to be as stable as it was, the government had taken short term loans from America, and in 1929, with the Wall Street Crash, the loans were called in and Germany was left in a worse state than before, with unemployment reaching 5.6 million. Hitler seized on this mistake by offering jobs to be created if he were in power and for the stabilisation of the economy in Germany. Hitler and the Nazis used the Wall Street Crash in there propaganda and they blamed it on Weimar. From 1928 there were strains economically with investment dropping and unemployment rising. Due to the catastrophe in Germany due to the US calling their loans back in, Bruning was using article 48 increasingly in his attempt to help. Due to the Nazis propaganda this was the reason why right wing support increased for the Nazi party and Hitler. Another factor in Hitler’s rise was the Munich Putsch. He tried to take the government by force. Parts of the SA along with Hitler, and other attendees were stopped and sixteen Nazis were killed. Hitler was arrested, and in prison wrote Mein Kampf. Another part of Hitler’s success is the collapse of the government 1930-33. In 1930 Muller resigned as chancellor due to pressure, with Bruning taking over. His election of 1930 wasn’t good as the Nazis jumped from 12 to 107 seats. It was only through the SPD and Hindenburg’s support that he made it through to May 1932, when Fritz von Papen took over. Papen had no scruples about governing by presidential rule. He then decided on an election in July 1932 which saw the Nazis jump to a staggering 230 seats in the Reichstag. They both had public support for the Nazis. People would expect Hitler to at least play some part in the government after this result, but he was adamant that he would not accept anything but the chancellor position, and Hindenburg was not up for this decision. This shows that the republic was weak as many resignations resulted in Hitler getting closer to his wanted position, which in the end results in him getting it. The final factor that helped Hitler was his personal attributes. He was a great public speaker and could win over many people with his speeches. In a source a man said ‘each one of his words was like an arrow and everyone reached it’s target’. This helps Hitler as he can get his points across well and persuade the audience in an instant. In conclusion Hitler’s sheer determination and will power allowed he to get into the position of chancellor but this couldn’t have been done without the Weimars failures. If the stab in the back myth hadn’t have been announced the public wouldn’t have lost confidence in the republic. The economic strains on Germany also allowed Hitler to open up a gap to pursue. If the strains and the stab in the back wouldn’t have been their then no problems would have arose and their would be no need for change. However with these problems it meant that a gap opened and with Hitlers sheer determination he took full advantage.

Structural Components Of Suspension Bridge Engineering Essay

Structural Components Of Suspension Bridge Engineering Essay INTRODUCTION Suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the road way or the deck is suspended below the suspension cables. It is a simplest form of bridge which was made of rope and wood in olden days. The modern Suspension bridge developed was in 19th century. In those bridges the cables are carried by using vertical suspender. The two ends of the cables are suspended on towers. The weight of the bridge is transferred to the anchorage system by cables. The anchorage is fixed firmly on concrete blocks or solid rocks .In order to distribute the load evenly and also to protect the cables from breaking, the cables are spread over a large area inside the anchorage. Historical Background In early times human beings found it very difficult to cross the stream and a deep gorge to survive. A successful solution found out by early people was to drop a tree between the two banks of the deep flowing stream. This results in the idea of simple beam bridge in early times. Early bridges were made of post and lintel structures, stones or timber or the combination of the both. Later on the use of bamboo or simple rope gave rise to the development of rope suspension bridge. Central and South America and are the first to use rope suspension bridge. stock-photo-rope-bridge-suspension-bridge-35093119.jpg Figure:1 ROPE SUSPENSION BRIDGE Later on the chain cables were developed when the wrought iron bars became locally available. The first bridge constructed using chain cables were James Finleyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s in Westmoreland country, Pennsylvania in 1801.In early British chain bridges the notable one was Menai bridge with 176m span. One of the longest parbolic arc chain was Clifton Suspension bridge. menai-bridge.jpg Figure :2 MENAI BRIDGE clifton-suspension-bridge-bristol-gben440.jpg Figure:3 CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE After the chain cable the wire-cable was developed. Foot à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬bridge at falls of Schuylkill was the first wire-cable suspension cable developed in 1861.The first major bridge constructed using modern methods was Joseph Chaley Grand Pont Suspendu across in Fribourg across the Sarine valley .Its construction was completed in 1834.The first major wire-cable in USA was the Wire à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬bridge at Fairmount in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, span of 109m and the construction was completed during 1842. A notable bridge was Niagara bridge with250m span in 1855.Later on the American Engineers was constructing Suspension Bridge with higher span length. The notable one among them was are Ambassadar bridge in Detroit with 564m span in 1927, George Washington Bridge in New York with 1006m span in 1931 and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 1937.Among the parallel wire cables the Otto Beit bridge outside USA was the first Suspension bridge constructed with modern techniqu es. golden_gate.jpg Figure :4 GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE Figure 5 Structural Components of Suspension bridge The above figure shows the structural components of a three span Suspension bridge. The different parts of a suspension bridge are Main Cables which support the deck and transfer the loadings to the supporting tower and anchorages. Deck suspended from the main cables. Towers to support the main cables. Hangers which is used to connect main cables and deck Anchorages to which the ends of the main cables are connected to protect it against any movements. 1. CABLES The main function of cables is to support the deck which carries the traffic loadings and to transfer these traffic loadings to the towers and anchorages by direct tension forces. Cables are made of high strength steel wires. The tensile strength of the wire is 1550N/mm2. The cables of the Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan is made of wires having high strength with minimum tensile strength of 1800 N/mm2.The steel rods from which the wires are manufactured are having higher carbon content. The wire with high tensile strength is obtained by cold drawing the wire. After the final drawing the wire is galvanized for corrosion protection. 301678.jpg Figure 6 AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE Different types of cables a.Spiral Bridge Strands Spiral bridge strands are manufactured by winding several layer of round steel wires in a helical shape onto a straight centre core wire. When layers of wire are laid it should be made sure that an opposite helix to the preceding layer should be laid. Due to twisting of wires spiral strands gets self-compacted under axial loading. As a result of this when the strand is first loaded, non elastic stretch occurs. So in order that the strand should behave elastically, the twisting of wire should be avoided during manufacture. Examples of bridges that have used spiral bridge strand are Tancarville bridge (france) with span length 608m, Cable size is 56no, Diameter of strand is 72mm.Constuction was completed during 1959 Lillebaelt bridge (Denmark) with span length 600m, Cable size 55no, Diameter of strand is 68.7mm and 6no 41.4mm diameter strands. Construction was completed during 1969. Figure 7 Spiral bridge Strand b.Locked Coil Strand Locked coil strands is manufactured in the same way as the spiral strands is manufactured. The only difference between the two is that in locked coil strand the final layer of wires are made up of interlocking Z-shaped wires. As a result of this proportion of the cross sectional area of strand to wire area increases, also a smooth exterior surface is obtained .Examples of bridges that have used Locked coil strands are Tamar bridge (UK) with span length 335m cable size 31no, Diameter of strand is 60mm.Construction was completed during 1961. Rodenkirchan bridge (Germany) with span length 378m, Cable size 37no, Diameter of strand is 69mm.Construction was completed during 1954. Askay bridge (Norway) with span length 850m, Cables size 21no, Diameter of strand is 99mm.Construction is completed during 1993. There are two types of arrangements that can be provided for spiral strands and locked coil strands. One of them is close packed hexagonal formation which has the advantage that the cross-section can be circularized when aluminium or plastic spacer are added and then wrapped properly against corrosion. The other one is an open rectangular array which is rarely used and doesnot have any wrapping operation as in closed packed hexagonal formation. The cable bands are simple fabricated structure. The disadvantage of open rectangular array is that on increasing wind load on the cable it is difficult to conduct inspection and maintenance on the inner strands. c. Parallel wire cable In parallel wire cables, several individual wire over the whole cable length is laid straight and parallel. It is constructed in two ways, by aerial insitu spinning of the wires or by prefabricated parallel wire strands. Insitu span cables : The aerial spinning method was developed during the 19th century and it was mostly used in long span suspension bridge. In this method using the spinning wheel two or four loops of wire are pulled from one anchorage to the other. During each movement of the wheel, required sag is provided to the wire and the cables are assembled. Prefabricated parallel wire bands: In prefabricated parallel wire strands bundles of wires are bound together by keeping plastic tapes at intervals and are prefabricated into hexagonal shaped strands. At each end sockets are fitted. The Akashi kaikyo bridge was the first bridge to use the longest prefabricated parallel wire strands with 127 wire strands, with average strand length of 4073m. 2. DECK The main function of deck is to support the load. The deck is suspended on the main cables by using vertical hangers. The most important load that the deck has to carry is the traffic loadings. The self weight of deck should be low because the deck is carried by the cables. Stiffening girders should be provided in the deck to transfer the loads from the deck to hanger. 3.TOWERS The main function of tower is to support the main cable. The ends of the main cable is connected to the tower which at a sufficient height to provide cable sag. Tower also support the stiffening girder and side span. The initial loadings on the tower will be the vertical load acting at the top of the tower, applied by the main cables, together with the loads acting on cable and bridge deck due to wind load and load acting on stiffening girder. Flexible fixed base are provided for the tower and cable saddles are fixed on the top of the tower. Due to this type of arrangement any movement in the cable saddle due to varying load will result in the longitudinal bending of the tower legs 4.HANGERS The main function of hangers is to connect the bridge deck and stiffening girder to the main cables .Vertical hangers are used with equal intervals along the span. Based on using one or two parts of rope, there are two types of hangers. Two part hangers Two part hanger was used in long span suspension bridges. In this type of hanger the arrangement is in such way that over the main cables the hanger is drapped which is located in the groove of corresponding cable band. Using sockets the bottom ends of the two rope of the hanger are connected to the deck. Hangers are usually made of steel wire rope Single part hangers Single part hangers ends on the underneath of the cable and it is connected to the lower part of the corresponding cable band by a socket and pin connections. The lower end of the hanger is connected to the deck using simple bearing socket. This type of hanger is made up of spiral strand or parallel wires 5.ANCHORAGES The main function of anchorage is to support the ends of the main cable and to prevents any movements in the main cable by transferring the force from the main cable to the ground. Since the anchorage has to resist a large force the design of anchorages is very tough unless the ground on which the anchorage is to be positioned is good and also if sound rock is available in the ground. Avantages and Disadvantages of Suspension bridges Avantages 1.When compared to other bridges, higher spans can be provided for the main span in suspension bridge. 2. Construction cost can be reduced in Suspension bridge due to less material used when compared to other bridges 3. No access is required below during construction of suspension bridge when compared to other bridges. Only for the installation of initial temporary cables the access is required. 4.Suspension bridge can prevent earthquake movements than other bridges. 5. Suspension bridge can be constructed at heights above the waterways to allow the passage of tall ships. Disadvantage Bridge deck vibrating due to heavy wind is prevented using aerodynamic profiling. The deck stiffness of suspension bridge when compared to other bridges is very low. Due to this it makes the bridge very difficult to carry heavy rail traffic. The foundation work is costly and requires more area to combat the effect of heavy load on foundation towers ,when Suspension bridge is constructed on soft ground. NON LINEAR ANALYSIS OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE Suspension bridges was considered as the most efficient and remarkable in architectural appearance when compared to other structural systems. But suspension bridge has more tendency to get deformed due to the asymmetrical loadings. This kind of displacement is called as kinematical diaplacements. There are many ways to reduce the kinematical displacements in suspension bridges. One of the method is, if flexible cables are used in suspension bridges the local bending stiffness is taken into account while analyzing the stress-strain state. Other method to reduce kinematical displacement is to use rigid cables instead of flexible cables. Standard hot rolled or welded sections are used to make the structural elements. Also by using rigid cables it provides the required stiffness for the suspension bridge. The technique is not accurate but can be used or rough calculation. For analysing the suspension bridge made of flexible cables or rigid cables there are some numerical methods. The analysis of suspension bridge made of flexible cable is very difficult when the non-linear behavior is concerned. So it is analyzed based on the assumption that the main cables are made of flexible cables ,when only dead load is acting on the bridge its shape is parabola, all other structural elements are made of ideally elastic material, through out the span of the bridge the bending stiffness of the girder is assumed to be constant, the displacements in the hanger is neglected and the load acting on the cable is considered to be uniform. The loading is in such a way that dead load acts on the cable, the stiffening girder and cable supports the live load. By using these assumption the non-linear analysis is done using certain equations.But while analysisng suspension cables with rigid cables these assumptions are not applicable. In rigid cables there is always some bendi ng stiffness.Also the cables are made up of standard welded or steel sections for the suspension bridge to be initially a stabilized. Grigorjevaet al. (2006) proposed a technique for the analysis of suspension bridge with rigid cables. CASE STUDY Dynamic Response of the Suspension Span of the SAN FRANSICO-OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE The dynamic seismic analysis of the suspension span of San Fransico-Oakland bay bridge was modelled to make astudy on the effects on suspension bridge due to ground motions. Due to the combined effect of motions due to tectonic displacements and seismic waves ,ground motions are developed near-fault regions for along period. In olden days the seismic design codes for the structures were used based on the past experiences and the historical ground motion instrument and signal processing methods were not accurate.So it was very difficult to measure the ground motions. But the development of Modern broad-band, digital instruments helped in measuring the near-fault motions.The effect of long period motion is different for flexible and rigid structures. Rigid bodies will have a natural frequency higher than 0.2Hz and for longer wavelength seismic waves it behaves as a rigid body. But for flexible bodies the natural frequency will be low. Using a finite-element modeling software the structure is modeled.The deck model is a combination of truss,membrane and sway stiffness elements.The steel braced tower is represented by fibre bending elements and the bridge cable is represented by tension-only cable element.The advantage of modelling the structure in this way helps to reduce the degree of freedom which is an essential aspect in the repose of suspension bridge. After the gravity initialization is completed as described in detil by McCallen and Astaneh,2000 ,the explicit integration scheme for non-linear analysis of earthquake motion is done. The ground motions in the near by areas will be affected by various reasons like the superposition of seismic waves, site geological response etc. The effect of these parameters may vary for different ruptures happening in future and these rupture may cause changes displacement in ground, velocities and accelarations. In this study the effect of rupture and wave propagation were studied by providing a parallel and finite difference in computational simulation of the rupture,a three dimensional finite difference calculation, empirical Green function and at seven points in San Fransico-Oakland Bay Bridge the ground motion is computed. By doing the above said it was found out that the far field in the near source can result in fault with periods of 0.2 to 0.5s due to directivity effects and the near field arrivals can result in fault with periods of 0.2 to 0.1 s due to tectonic movements. There are chances for these long period arrivals to accur along with the future earthquakes along the Hayward or San Andreas faults which is nearby San Franciso-Oakland bay Bridge and it will affect the long span bridges in San Fransico bridge. Along the Hayward fault ,five locations along the suspension span of western San Fransico two rupture model were synthesized for a ground motion of Mw =7.25.These were consid ered as mean and other one as standard deviation models.They were represented as HAY06 and HAY31.The ground displacements at the bridge generated was greater for the mean fault than the standard deviation but the standard deviation produced more acceleration and long durations.Analysis of the model has shown that the mean model produced more stress than the standard deviation. The response of Bay bridge is computed against the ground motion from the rupture model HAY06.Due to this displacements occur which indicates that the flexible deck cannot respond as fast as the towers when large displacement occurs. The tower motion lags and then the deck starts to respond when the tower returns with the ground.

Perfect Competition :: Brisbane Australia Restaurants

Brisbane, Australia, is the third largest city; where it serves up some of Australia’s best culinary finds. There is a marvellous collection of Brisbane restaurants with everything from stylish boutique eateries featuring top chefs from around the world to local diners than feature Australian specialities (ABC Integra, 2004). This essay will discuss the extent to which restaurants in Brisbane match the characteristic of a perfectly competitive industry both in the short and long run. Following that, this essay will elaborates on the pros and cons from an economic perspective, the characteristics of a perfectly competitive industry. Comparison between perfect competition and monopolistic along with examples will also be given to further illustrate the best market structures that fit restaurants in Brisbane. It will then be concluded that restaurants in Brisbane does not fit the characteristics of a perfectly competitive industry but rather a monopolistic industry as the only si milarity between restaurants and a perfectly competitive industry is the large number of participants involved. Diagram 1.0 – Perfect Competition Perfect competition (as shown above) is a market structure characterised by a large number of small firms, a homogenous product, and very easy entry into, or exit from, the market (Layton, Robert & Tucker, 2002, p.173). The characteristic of a large number of small firms is fulfilled when each firm in a market has no significant share of total output and has no ability to affect the product’s market price. Each firms work autonomously, rather than coordinating decisions collectively (Layton, Robert & Tucker, 2002, p. 173). Restaurants in Brisbane do not fit this characteristic as restaurants are more fitted under monopolistic competition; exist under a large number of firms where no single firm can influence the market outcome. For example, Michael’s Riverside in Brisbane serves some of the area’s best seafood (ABC Integra, 2004). Even so, Michael’s unable to influence the market outcome, but is able to set the prices higher than rival restaurants without fear of losing its customers. This is due to product differentiation (Layton, Robert & Tucker, 2002, p.233). Consumer demand for differentiated products is described using two distinct approaches – the heterogenous demand and homogenous demand. The heterogenous demand assumes that each consumer has a demand for multiple varieties of a product over time and the homogenous demand assumes that each product consists of a collection of different characteristics such as in location, atmosphere, quality of food, style, services and price (Suranovic, 1997).

Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era Essay example -- essays pap

Water Transportation in the Jacksonian Era Water travel assisted heavily with transportation of goods and people from the American north-east to the west, which would eventually create a separation from the south. Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178). During the Jacksonian Era, in America, there were many changes happening, one of which was western expansion. During this time, Louis and Clark had already explored the west, but people were dying to be able to trade, and live there. With the grueling journey that would effect anyone trying to reach the west, came a new notion, of a canal that reached from Lake Erie on towards the east. This canal could transport people, as well as goods back and forth from the newly explored territory. Eventually this dream successfully became a reality. The chief builder of the Erie Canal was DeWitt Clinton, a powerful man who was to become the governor of New York. In 1816, Clinton petitioned New York legislature to let him build the canal, which was a success(Erie). The construction of the canal took about eight years, however many hardships such as floods, and malaria plagued construction. Many people also said that the canal was too short, as it originally only stretched from the Hudson to Lake Champlain. People wanted a canal that would take them all the way from Erie to Champlain. Although this created even more problems, the canal was completed successfully in 1825(Bourne 118). While all of this was going on, the ideas for another major canal were just coming together. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal, was just beginning near the time the Erie’s construction finished up. The C&O canal would mostly be used to transport coal to Cumberland, Maryland. The building of the canal ended on June 11, 1850, at Cumberland. Although not the economic giant that the Erie was, the C&O canal reached it’s peak in 1870, during which tolls often topped $1,000(Drago 71). After the construction of the canals was finished, there was a gre... ...d many slaves, so they thought slavery was justified. In conclusion, water travel benefited many northerners, but did not help those living in the south. Eventually, this difference resulted in the south become less economically strong, ending a long trade relationship with the north, which would soon evolve into the War Between the States, or the Civil War. Bibliography Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992 Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 76. Bourne, Russell. Floating West. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1992. page 83. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 48. Drago, Harry Sinclair. Canal Days in America: The History and Romance of Old Towpaths and Waterways. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1972. page 166. â€Å"Erie Canal.† Electric Library. 9 Jan. Hadfield, Charles. The Canal Age. New York: Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, 1968.

I Will Write Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow :: Personal Narrative Writing

I Will Write Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde Life, I think, if we could map it out on some sort of cosmic parchment, would be a tapestry of paths taken, woven in on each other in a tangle resembling nothing if not a spider web. Somewhere in the midst of these interlocking and twisting trails of all the ways I've gone, the ways I've planned to go and the roads I have abandoned I managed to find two trends that form a frame for all the other twists and turns that may come. These two trends, two paths that I'm currently in the midst of walking, are the practical-and-mired-in- reality realm of economics and the freer, more creative area of writing. When it came to this paper, to actually taking both and projecting them into the future, I found myself coming up against one specific question. How on earth can I wrap the two of them together, meld them into something that stands as a unit? The answer that I found, for now at least, is that they cannot be melded; each is too firmly intent on standing on its own. But this doesn't mean t hat they do not coincide again and again from time to time. Each has its future, separate from the other, but neither precludes the other. Neither stands completely isolated from the other. Even with the advances of technology and the changing trends that the world is bringing to bear with a vengeance, there's still a phenomenon that allows for the coexistence of such different and yet inextricable fields. 'E pluribus unum'--that's the slogan, right? I think it applies, and perhaps more importantly, that it will continue to apply. Economics, in the present is a hot topic for discussion. Everyone, from the attendant at the gas station to candidates for political office, has their opinions and theories about it all. Economics, in its simplest definition, is the study of human choices and decisions when unlimited wants meet limited or scarce resources. As far as I can tell, and as far as I've been told, we've yet to come up with a technology that eliminates this problem of scarcity, so it stands to reason that the field itself will exist in the coming decades. With that much established, little else is certain.

Abusive Relationships: Why Stay in the Relationship and What Determines Leaving Essay

It is often asked why a woman doesn’t leave an abusive relationship. Society tends to assume that the decision is as simple as a normal break-up, if not easier because there is an obvious reason to leave. But there are many factors involved into the relationship and many things to consider when making the decision to stay or to leave. In abusive relationships, what determines staying and what determines leave? It is estimated that annually 3 million occurrences of domestic violence occur and that one in four women will become a victim of such violence. Of those victims, more than four people are killed daily as a result of domestic violence (DVRC). With abuse possibly escalating to a point of death, why would a spouse stay in a relationship? Conclusions have been drawn as to why a woman might stay in the relationship, including internal and external resources. The external resources would include such things as an income, social support, housing etc. Internal resources would include a person’s self-esteem, mental health status, whether they suffer from depression or anxiety. Pamela Choice and Leanne Lamke stated that different theories needed to be taken into consideration when observing a women’s decision to stay or leave. The theories included learned helplessness, psychological entrapment, the investment model and reasoned action or planned behavior. Learned helpless is a situation where the victim feels she had no other options, that not matter what she does the situation will remain the same. Psychological entrapment is where a women tries to make the relationship a nonviolent one, but instead the violence continues causing her to feel that she should have tried harder. This situation often leaves the woman feeling that a nonviolent relationship is attainable and questioning if it is worth the investment, and if so, she then feels that there is too much invested thus far to leave, in turn causing the feelings of entrapment. The investment model determines whether maintaining the current relationship is worthwhile, is she better off to leave and is she satisfied in the relationship. Finally, the reasoned action model is where a women is able to determine if she is able to actually leave, is it within her control and is it more beneficial for her to leave than to stay in the relationship. External forces also contribute to a woman’s decision to leave. Establishing employment, housing and other essential tasks also become extremely difficult during the separation from an abusive partner (Bell 2007). With such struggles, within two months 60% of women end up returning to their partners (Bell 2007). In Carlson and McNutt’s study observing partner abuse and mental health, they looked at the women’s personal history of abuse. Whether or not she been exposed to violence as a child or as an adult. Also the effects the abuse has on a women’s mental health including depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. They found that many battered women had low levels of social support which in turn lead to higher levels of depression and more difficulty with problem solving. In a self-evaluation, many of the participants reported higher levels of symptoms for anxiety and depression (Carlson 2002). Women in an abused relationship tend to have a certain level of dependency upon their partner, causing them to feel trapped. Women who are more likely to be economically dependent and unemployed (especially with children) are at a higher risk of being in an abusive relationship (Bostock 2008). Bostock et. al studied what reasons were involved in a woman decision to stay in a harmful relationship. They investigated twelve women from rural Northern New England between the ages of 21 and 56, on various aspects of the relationship. Theses aspects included how the abuse began, the ways of abusing, the impact of the abuse, what factors contributed to recognizing the abuse as intolerable and what helped in gaining independence. They concluded that a women’s reason for stay was fear of the abuser, a feeling of commitment to the relationship and insufficient funds or resources. To help leave the relationship the women studied pulled upon their sense of hope, humor and spirituality and reclaiming their identity (Bostock 2008). In 1976 Richard Gelles studied abused wives and why they stay. In his article he stated that women do not break off a relationship for a number of reasons including negative self-esteem, the belief the husband will reform, economic hardship, difficulty of employment, surviving alone, the children’s wellbeing (economically) and the stigma with divorce. He also discovered that a woman would be more likely to stay in an abusive relationship if she had been exposed to abuse as a child, growing up with idea that it is allowed for a man to hit his wife. Another contributing factor to a women’s decision to stay is a lack of outside resources, not seeing many alternatives to the current situation. If the abuse is inconstant and not considered severe, then she will remain with the spouse (Gelles 1976). The decision to leave an abusive relationship was studied by Michael Strube in 1984, and his work was cited through many other journals. The population consisted of 251 women of low to middle income, varying in age from 17 to 69 to have been exposed to moderate of life threatening violence. Of the 251 women, 177 had decided to leave the abusive partner and those who stayed reported doing so because of love-the abuser promised changing behavior, economic hardship or lack of resources. Strube concluded that a woman was more likely to remain with the abuser if the violence was considered less frequent and less severe. Also, if the woman was exposed to violent models as a child she was more likely to remain as opposed to women who had not. But women who had previously been in an abusive relationship were less likely to remain in another relationship, because they had developed intolerance to the abuse. Strube also found that women with fewer resources, such as economic and social support were less likely to leave. Studies have found though that ending a relationship does not end the abuse, violence is often high is situations where the women is separate from the abuser as opposed to if she was involved in a relationship. Another factor involved is how the separation occurred rather than whether or not the separation occurred (Bell 2007). The decision to leave a relationship is difficult it becomes increasingly difficult when the partner is violent. The women, individual mentally have to â€Å"prepare† themselves as such to leave the relationship, and evaluate every aspect of their life and their future. Without sufficient support and resources leaving a dangerous and harmful situation is virtually impossible. To seek the support and resources a certain level of self worth and esteem is essential, providing the woman with an appreciation for her future.

Significance of Black Madonna

Notwithstanding its sociological, historical, literary and religious significance to the life of many people in different parts of the world, the origin and essence of the Black Madonna which serves as the holy icon of the Virgin Mary and Poland's national symbol remains to be a debate to many people as far as the history, literature and religion are concerned. The presence of Black Madonna are widespread all across the country and they are mostly found insidethe churches and cathedrals and they all point towards the image of Mary and the Christ.This image may have been formed centuries ago but its historical significance and importance travelled and withstood the test of time. The word Madonna originated from Italy which means â€Å"our lady†. Thie term connotes a title of respect for the Virgin Mary and it is often applied to works of art, most especially to the mother andchildimagewhich is popularly known as Madonna and Child . Religion tells that Black Madonna is the repre sentation of the image of Virgin Mary which was tested by times that is why it was transformed into its today's black image.Also, church leaders claim that Black Madonna has noting to do with the Culture of the African-Americans. It is stated, nevertheless, that the Black Madonnas became black they were greatly influenced by the cultures and traditions of the Black Americans. The icon transformed into black because it was affected by the place where most of these images can be found. On the other hand, history and literature dictate that Black Madonna is the changed representation of the early statues of the African Goddess Isis and her son Horus which greatly influenced most of the religions of the world today.Society has associated the color black with something negative but in the past, this was not the case. For instance, black was connected with fertility and growth and it is good to think of it not as a color bt as an absence of color. From this perspective, the Black Madonna became an icon for inclusion. She became a guide and a comfort for people from all walks of life and race. In terms of psychology, darkness represents somethin unknown to consciousness and more often than not, thse gifts involve qualities of the females like intuition and emotion.It must be born in mind that the term feminine does not necessarily refer to the female specie because both sexes have masculine and feminine qualities. With this in mind, it can be said that the Black Madonnas symnolize transformation because this image helps people discover their inner gifts and assists them in bringing those gifts into the surface . Amid these numerous explanations from the different perspectives in the society, until today, there are no clear and definite position on the real origin of the Black Madonna which is believed to be the representation of Virgin Mary.Even though the different claims seem to contradict each other with regards to the origin of the icon or image, the Black Madonn a is considered to be one of the most influential religious icon to most of the people in the present generation. The origin of Black Madonna A Black Madonna may refer to an icon, painting, fresco or sculpture of Virgin Mary which is usually found in churches, sanctuaries and chapels. It is also called as Black Virgin since Mary is portrayed with dark or black skin.Some believe that this portrayal of Virgin Mary was originated from the culture of the Black Americans since many of these Black Madonnas were found in the areas with large black populations such as in the United States. Some claim that the color of these images have no significance or value since they were only repainted by black color after being restored to its original pale-skinned coloring brought by the age of time. Nevertheless, amidst its sociological, historical and religious significance to many parts of the world, the origin of the Black Madonna still remains a question left unanswered to many of its devotees.S ome of the famous Black Virgin shrines, which we usually see in the cathedrals and churches, are Loreto, Zaragoza, Chartes, Rocamadour, Guadalupe and Montserrat . Black Madonnas are found throughout the world including Belgium, Croatia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Sicily, Spain, Switzerland and the United States . The first â€Å"Black Madonna and Child† portraits and statues were believed to be from Isis and Horus . Isis was a black African goddess from Nile Valley civilizations whose worship diffused to most of ancient civilizations.Before the first Egyptian dynasty, Isis was worshiped by the Nubians for more than 300 years. It is believed that Isis religion had a lot of similarities to the to the world's religions which include Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. For instance, Horus, the son of Isis, was from a virgin mother's immaculate conception and said to walk on water like Jesus Ch rist. The husband of Isis named Osiris was also resurrected, like Jesus, after he was murdered. When other religions became popular, the â€Å"Black Madonna and Child† statues of Isis and Horus were not destroyed but their names were only changed.For example, Isis and Horus were changed to Devaki and Krishna in Hinduism or Maya and Buddha in Buddhism. The Japanese called Isis as Kwannon while Chinese changed the name to Kwa-yin. In the 1985 book of Ean Begg entitled The Cult of the Black Virgin, there were 450 identified images of the Black Virgin and Child in Europe with 190 statues in France only. Because of the dominating influence of the Isis religion, it is believed that the African goddess had significant contributions to the civilization of the continent.For instance, Paris is actually believed to be named after Isis since Para-Isis signifies â€Å"Place of Isis†. Likewise, Note Dame which means â€Å"Our Lady† is a manifestation that the cathedral of the Catholics is nothing but more than as enlargement of the temple of Isis in the ancient civilizations . Some also believe that Black Virgin, aside from its resemblance to the portrayal of Isis and Horus of the ancient Egyptians, has the strong connection to the medieval Knights Templar and Mary Magdalene .For instance, the famous Black Virgin – la Madone des Fenestres which means â€Å"The Madonna of the Windows† was believed to have folk traditional significance since the place where this statue was believed to be a place where many Templars were massacred. Some associate Black Madonnas with African-American cultures. Nevertheless, church literature strongly denies this claim since church officials insist that the Madonnas became black because of the smoke from candles and dirt and eventually because of the old age of the statues .Meanwhile, the Black Madonna in Southern Provencal tradition is associated with the patron of the Gypsies called St. Lara . The patron sain t is considered to be the black assistant who accompanied the three Marys to France when they escaped from the Holy Land after Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, during 1934, an icon of the Virgin Mother and Child was brought to the Pauline monastery of Jasna Gora or the â€Å"Bright Mountain† in Western Poland. The icon was said to be donated by the Prince of Opole in Silesia. Some told that the icon was painted by St. Luke on boards from table of the Holy Family in Nazareth.And the face of the said icon is black . There are other countless theories about the origin of the Black Madonnas or Black Virgins but until today, there is no concrete explanation about the history or origin of the now famous image in the religious sectors of the world. There are many who look at Black Madonna in relation to some of the goddesses know to men like Kali of India, Hecate and Medusa of Greece and Isis of Egypt. These grounds generates a spiritual as well as a psychological substance t hat raises the Black Madona to a level of great importance and significance in the modern world .Today, the statues of Isis and Horus are now called Mary and Jesus and there are millions of pilgrims who are visiting the Black Madonna shrines since they are believed to be miraculous to the devotees. Some claim that the statues can help heal towns of plague, make infertile women pregnant, bring back dead babies to life, save countries from war and the like. One of the obvious testimonies of the miracle from the Black Virgin in Poland was the experience of Pope John Paul II when he prayed to the statue for his recovery from his gun shot wound .After the miracle happened to Pope John Paul II, several miraculous events were credited after the Black Virgins including saving Poland from Russia in 1769. In fact, in 1968, the Black Madonna shrine in Poland received over 66, 000 thank you letters for healing and other miraculous events . The meaning of Black Madonna Theories about the definit ion of darkness of the figure and mystery behind the dark image have been established everywhere. What Black Madonna represents is not an easy question to answer.There is a tendency that one answer may lead to several more questions which demand plenty more explanations. One of the possible reasons for this dilemma lies in the difficulty of consciously incorporating the feminine aspect of life in a particular culture and most especially, a darker side of it. Another reason is the characteristic and nature of the dark feminine itself which clearly defies any attempt to generate limits as to what she really represents. However, no matter what many people may say and observe, the Black Madonna mirrors herself in the personal as well as collective lives of the people.This dark side generates intimations to the most essential of meanings through the use of images, literature, works of arts and even dreams . It is noteworthy to mention that the word black can be a misnomer for some of the Madonnas because not all of them are color black in its literal sense, some of them are painted with different shades of black. The original artists of many Black Madonnas are lost in time but most people know that the most powerful representations of the Black Madonna were made during the 11th and 12th centuries.The Shrines of the Black Madonnas are often located in the seat of great power and in the locations where the earth emits energies. From a religious perspective, the Black Madonna represents the honor and devotion of the female form. Christ, the center of Christianity is a male and it was from Mary that the church found a representative of the female specie towards divinity . Theories about the meaning of Black Madonna are often connected to the image of pre-Christian ideas and their religions.Because the Madonna and Child looks like the Egyptian images of Isis and Horus, there is a possibility that the dark skin of the Black Madonnas may be a referene to the Egyptian root s of the image. The Dark-Skinned madoonas may likewise be based on other pre-Christian figures. There are also other theories that the Black Madonnas were made as a representation of a mother or a feminine figure by using earthly tones. This theory suggests that the light-skinned Madonnas depict purity and chastity while another theory holds that the Black Madonnas were intended to bea historically accurate imageof a Semitic woman from the Middle East named Mary.There are some historians who said that the Black Madonnas were conceptualized after Middle Ages because during these times, the light-skinned images were the norm but regardless of what the case maybe, the Black Madonnas captured the attention of believers and non-believers for centuries . During the Victorian society, there was a time when the black female writers seemed to lean towards binding their female characters in an image of chastity because they want to overcomea heritage of concubinage.The women then were portray ed as either a martyr or a saint and in the attempt of the writers such as Harriet Jacobs and Frances Harper to remove the stereotype of a sinful woman, they robbed the personalities of their characters of their sexual identity thereby makingthem pure and holy much like the Virgin Mary. This situation combined with the gender dilemma becomes a double jeopardy. According to Faith Pullin, the black woman faces a painful situation of the double strain of being a woman in a dominant male society and being black amidst the racial discrimination.Novels about the early African American women talks abou the situation of double jeopardy for black women. These women are marginalized by race and gender. According to the notions of the period during that time, the true woman is a character of virtue like Madonna: pure, pious and submissive . Some theologians say that Black Madonna represents diversity. The femininity and the blackness of the Black Madonna calls men towards gender and racial div ersity. This figure calls for uniformity of the masculine and feminine sex, the combination of the white and the dark goddess in order for the wholeness and unity can arise amidst the diversity.The Black Madonna may be interpreted as a symbolism of man in the form of a metaphor as men moves towards the newreality of the modern wornd. The survival of men in this age will depend on their willingness to appreciate and understand the unity amidst the diversity . Conclusion There are plenty of images of Black Madonna that exist worldwide. Reports showthat at one time, there may have been more than 500 images that are mostly in Europe and France. In today's world, there are many people whose interest in the Black Madonna's have increased over the years.Some of her most popular incarnations are found in countries from all over the globe in the form of literature, art and paintings. The Black Madonna may mean many things to many people but everyone must bear in mind that this image serves a s a powerful reminder of the inspiration that it brought to the society. In her image, many people found their comforter, guide and power. She has been and always will be the feminine side of men that will never fail to shed light during trying times. Bibliography Davies, Norman. Europe: a history. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.Dickson, Elinor, Woodman, Marion. Dancing in the Flames: The Dark Goddess in the Transformation of Consciousness. Toronto: Canada Publishing, 1996. Faqs. org. â€Å"Madonna, Religious†. Faqs. org. http://www. faqs. org/childhood/Ke- Me/ Madonna-Religious. html (Accessed May 6, 2010). Foster, Nikki. â€Å"What is Black Madonna? †. WiseGeek. com. http://www. wisegeek. com/ what-is-a-black-madonna. htm (Accessed May 6, 2010). Gustafson, Fred. The Black Madonna. USA: Daion Verdag, 2008. Kaiser, Laurie. â€Å"The Black Madonna: Notions of True Womanhood from Jacobs to Hurston†. South Atlantic Review, 2008, 60 (), 97-09.