A Midsummer Nights Dream: Battle of the Sexes

Option #1 Battle of the Sexes In Shakespeare’s play titled A Midsummer Nights Dream, there are a few underlying themes throughout the play. The one I will be focusing on is the battle of the sexes that occurs in the play between the couples in the fairy world, and in the â€Å"real world. † We see unusual styles of courting women, and paradoxical qualities of love dramatized with the battle of the sexes that occurs throughout the play. Shakespeare is able to portray a battle of the sexes through Oberon’s jealousy of Titiana’s new love, and through Helena’s desperate determination to have Demetrius love her as much as she loves him.We are fist confronted with this battle for love when Titiana and Oberon meet and begin to dicuss who will have â€Å"custody† of the changeling child. We see Titania show extreme affection for the boy, and I believe that is out of jealousy and anger toward Oberon who has been sleeping with other women like Phillida and Hippolyta â€Å" Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love, to amorous Phillida† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 261 lines 67-68). The boy is a child to one of Titania's worshippers that has passed away and seems to be of interest to Oberon.Shakespeare ties this battle between the two fairies to the change of the weather and the winter coming. Oberon mentions that this bad weather that is created and the entire fight could be stopped if he could have the changeling boy as his henchmen â€Å" Do you amend it then; it lies in you. Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little changeling boy, to be my henchmen† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 262 line 118-121). Titania responds by saying, â€Å"The fairy land buys not the child of me† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 262 line 123). This infuriates Oberon and causes him to act drastically.Oberon knows he has to win Titania's love back to get what her wants and Shakespeare makes it very intere sting the way he approaches Oberon’s courtship. Instead of winning back her love with flowers and attention, Oberon intends on drugging his Queen and has her fall drastically in love with the next object or creature she lays her eyes on. The battle of the sexes that Shakespeare has started is just starting to heat up. Oberon cannot stand that he is not getting his way with this changeling that Titania is obsessing over and that she does not obey her King.This situation amy be compared to a husband and wife fighting over the possession of a child when going through a rough point in his or her relationship. Although currently, I do not believe that a magical flower exists that can drastically change a person’s affection level toward you. In Shakespeare’s world, this item does exist and causes more bad then good in this play. Titania is ready to brawl over the possession of the boy and Oberon does not like it â€Å" Titania: We shall chide downright, if I longer s tay. Obe: Well; go thy way. Thall shalt not from this grove. Till I torment thee for this injury† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg.   262 lines 145-147).It is obvious that the two are at each other’s throat and need some fairy marriage counseling. We can see a superiority complex form here in Oberon where is willing to try drastically to get what he wants even if he has to drug his own queen. This is an aggressive way to court your lady if you ask me and would not fly by today’s standards of courting a woman. The next couple we see participating in the battle of the sexes is Helena and Demetrius. Demetrius has been given Hermia’s hand in marriage from her father and becomes enraged when she runs away with her true love Lysander.Helena, who loves Demetrius, tells him Hermia is running away with Lysander in hopes he will pay more attention to her and love her for telling him of the event that is taking place. This does not turn out the way Helena plans and Demetrius runs after Hermia cursing at Helena the whole time â€Å"I love thee not; therefore pursue me not† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 262 line 189). Helena shows desperation here and chases after Demetrius love while saying, â€Å" I am your spaniel; and Demetrius, the more you beat me, I will fawn on you† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 263 lines 203-204).Through this line, it is obvious that Helena will stop at nothing to have Demetrius’s love. This battle of the sexes in both couples’s situations was stemmed from jealousy in my opinion. Helena seems to blame Hermia’s beauty as the reason behind all this trouble with Demetrius and we can see a comparison between Helena and Hermia happen in Act. 2 scene 2 â€Å" Happy is Hermia, wheresoe’er she lies, for she hath blessed and attractive eye. How come her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears; If so, my eyes are oft’ner wash’d than hers. No, no; I am as ugly as a bear ;† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 264 line 90-95).The jealousy displayed by the fairy couple is slightly different from that of Helena and Demetrius. Oberon displays jealousy toward Titania because she is in control of the changeling and will not allow Oberon to make him his henchmen. Oberon displays this jealousy through frustration and anger that he cannot get what he wants. â€Å" Well; go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove. Till I torment thee for this injury† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 261 lines 67-70). Oberon is not the only one either; Titania displays jealousy and anger toward Oberon for not being faithful to her â€Å"Why art thou here?Come from the farthest steep in India but that, forsooth, the bouncing amazon, Your buskin’d mistress, and your warrior love† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 261 line 67-70). Titania is jealous at the other women in Oberon's life and angry with Oberon for not being faithful and disregards any of his requests as a way of getting back at him. Shakespeare can work these themes into his play through the main characters ever so beautifully and touch on many areas of love. Shakespeare does in fact bring in a few paradoxical qualities of love into his plays and seems to add moral value to this play by doing so.Through the characters in the play, Shakespeare can instill these moral values and touch on them throughout the play. Shakespeare discusses how love is blind to some, and mainly men in this situation by using the characters in his play. We have Helena speaking of how one should not look for love not with your eyes but with your mind â€Å" Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 259 lines 233-234). Later in the paragraph, we also see Helena say that Demetrius made an oath to her to only be faithful to Helena but when he saw Hermia, those oaths seemed to melt away.Almost as if love is a game to him which Helena hopes to win. What seems to be a constant theme in this play is that men are asses and are attracted only to physical beauty not true love even when true love comes chasing after them in the woods. We see bottom back this up with his recollection of his â€Å"dream† â€Å"I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about expound this dream† (Riverside Shakespeare, 1997, pg. 275 lines 205-206). Shakespeare seems to be playing with the idea that true love always prevails by making the end of the play end where Helena is paired with Demetrius finally.Oberon gets what he wants but realizes the issues he has created because of his ignorance and fixes the mess he created. The moral values that are instilled in this play such as true love is not in the eyes but in the mind and that true love will always prevail are instilled and displayed through the characters of the play. Shakespeare can portray the battl e of the sexes in this play through the themes of jealousy, true love, and desperation that the couples in the battle of the sexes display.

Educational ideas of Aurobindo Essay

Sri Aurobindo developed an education system which is popularly known as integral education. Integral Education aims at bringing about change not merely in the society but primarily in the human behaviour or nature itself. According to him, the essence of education is the recognition of a child as a soul and developing its other faculties. He is of the view that the education must begin with as well as build on sound theoretical understanding of the child. Aurobindo’s idea of education is holistic in that all the five aspects of child’s activities namely the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual are included in his proposed curriculum of a child. Spiritual values are also emphasized by him through integration of mind and body through practice of yoga and physical exercises.. Sri Aurobindo has enunciated three principles of teaching in his book â€Å"A system of National Education†. His principles of teaching are: 1. Nothing can be taught, 2. Self-pace learning, and 3. Teaching from near to far or known to unknown. According to Sri Aurobindo, the child should be led from near to far. That is all education should be built upon the day-to-day experience of the learners. On the role of a teacher he is of the view that a teacher is a true Yogi who acts as a philosopher and guide to the students. He nourishes the students as plants. According to Sri Aurobindo the duty of the teacher, â€Å"is to suggest and not to impose†. He does not actually train the pupil’s mind; he only shows how to perfect his instrument of knowledge and helps & encourages him in the process. He does not call for knowledge that is written. He only shows the student where it lies and how it can be habituated to rise to the surface. He therefore essentially subscribes to the idea of teachers as facilitators. There is no doubt on the relevance of Aurobindo’s ideas of education to the present scenario of education in our country. The principles of education reform articulated by Sri Aurobindo 100 years ago in his essays on A System of National Education have culminated in the methodology formulated by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, adopted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and now being implemented nationally, known as the National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005). The NCF document provides the framework for making syllabi, textbooks and teaching practices within the school education programs in India. This document and the principles of education that it expounds embody the most progressive, child-centered  educational ideas and strategies practiced today in many schools of the world, and illustrate the pervasive nature of the insights expressed by Sri Aurobindo a century ago. Their seminal ideas have become the norms of progressive education reform. For instance, Aurobindo’s ideas of child-centered pedagogy and teacher’s role of a facilitator are being advocated by the current educational reforms like NCF.

Financial Support Letter Example

The following is provided on behalf of (name) to support his petition to be considered an independent student. In January of 2012 1 became aware of (name) intention to attend school at The College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California. I also became aware of an unfortunate diminishing relationship between him and his parents and the impending affects that that relationship has and will continue to have on his efforts to pursue a college degree.As a former teacher at Meade High School, where (name) graduated, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this very poised young man. I believe he has turned his ife around and is determined to succeed both as a father and as a student. Our relationship grew to where he trusted me. I have received many calls where he talked about the struggles of being abandoned by his parents and left to survive on his own. I have continued to provide counsel and guidance on the importance and value of staying the course.I applaud his courage attend a college, p articularly one that is located across country from his hometown. While I know that he has been quite resourceful in obtaining the necessary financial support to meet his needs, this does not negate the fact that this s truly a young man who is struggling – and one with no assurance that money will be available to support his educational needs. (name) is an excellent athlete and quite capable of achieving excellence in the classroom.Like everyone else, he deserves an opportunity to get a decent education. I believe we live in a society where â€Å"no child should be left behind,† particularly when it comes to education. Accordingly, I strongly believe that this child should no longer be left to fend for himself. Therefore, I strongly recommend that he be supported financially, to the greatest extent possible, in the furtherance of his education.

Distribution Of Oil In The United States Scholarship Essay

Distribution Of Oil In The United States - Scholarship Essay Example The business organization in consideration is advised to consider partnering with a Canadian firm which will help it and will shoulder some of the risks involved. Partnering with an established business organization in the foreign market will support the ease of entry. Also, since it is already knowledgeable about consumer behavior and preferences, the American oil distributor is more able to come up with a strategy which will suit the unique needs of customers. In terms of marketing, the US firm together with its partner will focus on stressing the overall organizational image of the parent company. However, product prices and customer service will be tailored according to market conditions. Business organizations are irrefutably recognizing the importance of operating in a socially responsible way with the rapid rise of more discriminating buyers who are willing to pay a premium in order to purchase a product which is certified to be produced by an "ethical" firm. The company's clamor for being socially responsible is often seen in their campaigns and programs to give back to the community through various means. This strategy is often to build a consistent image of operating environmentally, socially, and ethically. However, this can only be built through a consistent effort in operating in the same manner from country to country. It is becoming more apparent that huge business organizations often become lax in pushing for more responsible operations in countries where customers are less discriminating and have less purchasing power. It has been taken for granted that these developing markets are hungry for foreign direct investments while government officials do not even care if operations are done sustainably. On the other hand, consumers choice are not dependent on ethical operations but on pricing strategies.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 52

Assignment Example He cites several reasons towards this. The most prominent cause of the high levels of arrest amount individuals in this bracket is the weeding out of wealthy individuals. This means that police tend not to put a critical focus on crimes that are committed by individuals who have some form of financial ability (Reiman & Leighton, 2010). This has led to the profiling of such individuals as individuals with potential of committing crime. The police profiling is based on the theory of comparing the magnitude of the crime and the levels of income earned. Therefore, when an individual in the middle-income brackets commits a petty crime may walk away with just but a mere warning without arrest. In addition to profiling of the individuals, the author puts out an argument in the road toward prison. He acknowledges that the police regularly investigate individuals who have the least levels of political and economic clout (Reiman & Leighton, 2010). Therefore, a case on a petty crime such as non-aggravated assault and shoplifting may quickly go cold if the key suspect of a crime if the person has any potential or significant political or economic influence. Therefore leaving the individuals in the lower end if the income bracket most vulnerable to arrest Notable is the high conviction rates of individuals in the lower income bracket than in the higher bracket. According to Reidman, the topic of guilt or not guilty is highly affected by the individual’s ability to secure funds that are necessary for acquiring legal counsel or even be freed on bail. As both of them require access to a significant amount of money, it is not a shock that individuals who are likely to be convicted of a crime. Studies have indicated that unemployed individuals and individual who do not have the ability to make bail are three times more likely to be

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Infomedia also considers itself as an interest publishing organization. Their strategic alliance’s formation occurred in April, 2008. The two companies sought to provide the Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with quality solutions directed towards the advancement of both domestic and global trade (Das 34). Introduction Managers in most organizations are adopting strategic alliance as a way of realizing their strategies instead of retaining the old strategic make and sell strategy initially used. By definition, a strategic alliance is a relationship formed because of the availability of mutual interests between groups of interdependent organizations. These relationships last for as long as they prove to be economically viable (Das 67). In the case of Alibaba and Infomedia, both companies realized the potential benefits of supplying the SMEs with quality solutions, which pave the way for further advancement in both the domestic and global trade sectors (Yoshino and Rangan 76). .. . Alibaba, a company, which has an established presence in e-commerce, stood to benefit from the alliance by realizing some of its expansion strategies. Alibaba’s choice to form an alliance with Infomedia, a respectable Indian based company guaranteed Alibaba a successful entry into the Indian market. On the other hand, Infomedia stood to benefit from the access into the global mainframe, a niche successfully occupied by Alibaba. Targeting the small and medium enterprises proved to be a successful strategy. This is because both Indian and Chinese business sectors comprise these businesses in large numbers. Therefore, both management teams were able to come up with strategic goals that would ensure an efficient and effective way of dealing with their competitive surroundings. The different areas analyzed in order to determine whether both companies fit included strategic, cultural, resource, and structural aspects. The realization that these companies proved to be compatible on a strategic, cultural, resources and structural level showed that two were a match and that they formed a perfect fit (Das 116). b) Type of strategic alliance Determining the strategic alliance suitable for both the organizations also proved to be an integral part for both organizations. Companies choose between horizontal and vertical types of strategic alliance. The horizontal type allows competing businesses to form an alliance that will allow each partner to gain access to various segments in the industry. Horizontal strategic alliances allow partners to learn from each other, reduce the risks, and improve efficiency. On the other hand, vertical strategic alliances involve the partnering of one or more suppliers or customers. They create extra value for the

Tourism In Greece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Tourism In Greece - Essay Example In the spirit of this ancient tradition of hospitality, contemporary Greece has instituted a tourist industry of considerable magnitude and the country has been continuously classified among the world’s most popular tourist destinations. The spectacular range and enormity of Greece’s tourist attractions encompass natural beauty, rich history and culture. A plethora of mainland destinations along with fifteen thousand kilometres of coastline and over two thousand five hundred islands which are spread out into the Ionian and Aegean Archipelagos add to the country’s unique attributes. These have also been responsible for transforming the country into a vacation spot of international calibre (Apostolopoulos: 72). However, Buhalis (p.441) states that Greece is one of the most remote, peripheral, insular and poor economic regions of the European Union. Its tourism requires urgent strategic management action in order to compete with alternative destinations and maximise the prosperity of the host population. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and critically analyse the process of tourism in Greece. It also proposes to identify areas that require changes, and methods to improve tourism in Greece, which is a popular destination for international tourists. The phenomenal expansion of tourism development since the 1960s has transformed the basis of socioeconomic structure, altering the country’s life chances and welfare, accompanied by adverse sociocultural and ecological ramifications (Apostolopoulos: 72). Tourism continues to be the foremost economic sector of Greece, though it constitutes a statistically invisible industry in the midst of international geopolitical and economic reshuffling. Within this international framework and without overlooking the crisis phase of traditional, mass charter Greek tourism model, the multifaceted dimensions of Greek tourism needs to be critically reviewed. The focus will be on production and consumption

Employer of Choice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employer of Choice - Assignment Example ng the five most important elements or criteria that I look for in a prospective employer are those factors which fit my lifestyle, accommodate my need for a personal life outside of work, and are also flexible. Health Benefits- Health insurance is becoming increasingly more important as the cost of health care continues to rise. Health insurance, though not something we use every day, can be considered a form of personal risk management, spreading risk out among a number of individuals, thereby preventing the possibility of personal catastrophe should something happen. This is a high priority when I am choosing potential employers. Opportunity for promotion and growth. With goals of moving up the corporate ladder it is important that the company that employee’s me allows me the opportunity to expand and increase my skills and abilities, preventing any position from becoming stale as I strive to take advantage of promotion opportunities and positions offering more responsibility. A wage or salary comparable to the median to upper range for the type of position that I am seeking. Because I know that I am well trained and educated in my field I expect to be compensated on a level between the median and upper level as reported by various consulting companies. A company that is financially secure and solid. A company that is well established and strong will ensure that there is less risk of layoffs, closure’s and staff reductions, while also providing more opportunity for professional growth. Edward Jones is currently seeking financial advisers and branch operators and provides extensive training in order for their employees to be successful. They also offer generous benefit packages, employees have schedules that promote a healthy family lifestyle, offer extremely competitive wages and as a company are financially solid and secure. Edward Jones is also rated number five by Fortune Magazine in 2012’s best companies to work for (Jiminez). Though Boston

Law enforcement management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law enforcement management - Essay Example But in reality it is the law enforcement officer who concentrates on those areas that pose the most immediate danger or threat is the most effective. Since ages ago man has always been governed by regulations within the community in order to believe that he fits in or and also cater to socially desirable patterns of conduct. Even earlier than that crime has been thought of as a local problem and to counter that enforcement has to be community oriented too. Enforcement of the law hence should be strengthened more and more where crime is spawned, i.e. in local communities. Faced with such considerations, much of the burden of crime prevention and crime control must be borne at the community level. But to achieve this objective we need farsighted police administrators and enlightened citizenry to work for the common good. But the surprising fact of life is that, " The police do not prevent crime" Experts know it, the police know it but the common public doesn't. But if the fear of the police in the common man's mind often lets him pause and think at least for a second before he can commit the crime then that is what we credit to the police. The major jobs of the police officer would include patrolling, criminal investigation, and regulating traffic. Administration is an additional function that involves recruitment, training, public relations and all the housekeeping functions of purchasing, paying and supervising and so forth. Traditional police management included an elaborate hierarchy of command. Police are a uniformed service where the authority is solely based on rank. Compliance is insisted upon and detailed rules cover anything and everything a police officer might do and high level of micromanagement occurs. Decisions were generally made at " the top chain of command" by a select few and passed down. The generally accepted theory was "Higher ranks give commands and lower ranks obey". This causes some frustrations. The police personnel at the lower end of the pyramid are often confused because they are forced into real life situations where they are not able to follow the rules to the book and often turn a blind eye to it because they want to avoid confrontations. This officer also feels unprotected and exposed and this also adds to their inefficiencies. It also puts his immediate commanding officer in quandary about exercising his control or watching from the sidelines. This

In our own Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

In our own Interest - Essay Example During the case of Somalia, 19 Americans died while attempting to restore peace (Thompson et al 4). Following the Mogadishu case, President Clinton’s intervention was restricted by the administration, despite the fact that the recommendations offered went against their humanistic conscience. The recommendation entailed the evacuation of all the American people at Rwanda, but not rescuing any Rwandan’s despite the fact that they perfectly understood the crisis at Rwanda. This paper reviews the response of President Clinton and his staff during the Rwanda Genocide, towards demonstrating the evils that emanate from obedience and the influence of authority on human behavior. Discussion Following the orders from the American administration, during and after the start of the Rwandan crisis, the administration’s advisors and the planning teams of the US – through president Clinton and his staffs communicated a number of excuses – for failing to act in resp onse to the genocide (Thompson, et al. 2; Carroll). The reasons given by President Clinton and his staffs included that the true magnitude and the scale of the killings taking place at Rwanda was not known. They also claimed that the rate of killings did not warrant the response of the US government (Thompson, et al. 3). However, considering that the massacre continued for a period of three months, it was clear that the inaction of President Clinton and his administration was not caused by the lack of proper information. Further, it became clear that the US was aware that the plans of the attack were known, because it was reported to the US, but nothing was done about the situation. The inaction of the US was also, not because it did not have enough resources, using which to respond to the situation. The reasons behind the failure of the inaction were primarily policy issues (DIA). The President and his staffs’ inaction are evident from the fact that they were well aware of t he case, eve before it happened. This was evident from the fact that, on 11th of January 1994 General Dellaire informed the UN of planned assassinations of Tutsi officials (Carroll). His subsequent appeals for reinforcement were not served. Further, after the start of the killings, memoranda about killings were sent to the Secretary of Defense’s office, and leading news papers like the Washington post and the New York Times reported the killings taking place (DIA). The policy recommendations that went against the conscience of President Clinton and his staffs included those from the administration that military force was not to be employed, following the experience that the US government had gained from the 3rd of October 1993 raid at Mogadishu, which ended with the killing of 19 Americans (Samantha 378). Other policy recommendations advanced by the US administration included that the interests of the US had to be protected, the administration did not have any allocation to a ddress the situation and that it lacked allied and public support (Samantha 378). These administrative policy recommendations tied the president and his staff’s ability to decide in favor of the crisis at Rwanda. This case shows the effects of their obedience; because the case culminated in the killing of more than 500,000 people (O'Toole; Stanley). The president and h

Great Expectations Paper Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Paper Essay When an individual loves someone else, it is difficult to let the person go or accept his/her return, because of the poor decision that one person made to leave his/her loved one. However, since the person already left, is it worth the pain and agony in the end to accept that person into the hurt individual’s life once again? In his Victorian Literature novel, Charles Dickens satirizes the Victorian Era multiple times within Great Expectations. For example, in the 1800’s the masculine class were the regulators of the family and weren’t aggravated by women, but in this novel the females obtain the upper position, like how Mrs. Joe overpowers Orlick. Charles Dickens named the novel Great Expectations, because its means that an individual is positive that something significant will occur with no warning if the individual wants it bad enough, but in English Victorian society, achieving expectations meant that someone was destined to collect vast sums of riches and success. Throughout Pips three stages in the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens utilizes the character of Joe, who out of compassion and sympathy demonstrates that suffering is a sacrifice one is willing to endure for the love of another individual, and how this idea changes what Pip’s views, personality, and values are at the end of his high expectations. During Pip’s first stage of expectations, Joe explicates that he suffers greatly because of Orlick, Mrs. Joe and Pip, but only wishes to steer Pip in the right direction and to have given enough ‘love’ to change Pip’s views and expectations. First, Orlick takes Joe by surprise when he starts to get angry and jealous of Pip and tells him â€Å"No favoring in this shop. Be a man!(15.65), but because Joe wants no trouble he lets him have the day off which makes Mrs. Joe terribly angry. Additionally, when Orlick offends Mrs. Joe, Joe defends her even though she was mad at him, because he loves her and is willing to suffer through Orlicks harsh words. Pip’s troublesome behavior at the table is brought to attention when Joe states, â€Å"You and me is always friends, and Id be the last to tell upon you, any timeBut such as a most uncommon bolt as that!†(2.8) Pip’s actions got Joe in trouble while he was trying to help Pip, because the helpfu l advice made Joe ignore Mrs. Joe and which made him have to face consequences such as being â€Å"pounced on† and â€Å"knocked [in] his head for a little while against the wall behind him† (2.8). Also, it expresses how Joe dealt with Mrs. Joe’s and Pip’s spiteful behavior all because he cared for them and was compassionate to all people. Pip’s behavior shows readers that as a child he didn’t have any expectations but eventually set the bar higher which was not what Joe truly wanted to happen. This helps readers understand how having sympathy and a good heart doesn’t always payoff at first, but latter lets people become the best of friends in the long run, like Pip and Joe. While sitting by the warm fire at night Joe explains to Pip that â€Å"When [he] got acquainted with his sister, it were the talk how she was bringing him up by hand†¦. [And] how small and flabby and mean he was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and how he â€Å"†¦would have formed the most contemptible opinion of himself self!† (7.38) which makes Pip start to cry because he felt ashamed by how he acted, but grateful that Mrs. Joe and Joe stayed with him. At that time Pip, a commoner, didn’t care about anyone and just wanted to do what he wanted, although it made him look bad and unkind. In the long run Pip’s disobedient attitude and Joe’s loving heart was worth it because he and Joe became best friends which was held together by a strong bond of love. Lastly, Joe was affectionate and loving towards Pip even when Pip was cruel to him which shows readers the sacrifice Joe endured with Pip. The forfeit Pip watched Joe go through changed him because it made him want to do something more and become someone higher who wont have to deal with pain and sacrifice. In conclusion, Pip starts to change into the gentleman he wants to become while Joe is still remaining at is side, longing for his ‘old chap’. During Pip’s second stage of his expectations Joe sacrificed his dignity and friendship for Pip, because he felt sympathy towards him which makes readers wonder if Joe gave Pip enough ‘love’ to not make him leave his dear friend, Joe, and change his personality. To, begin, Joes love is tested and questionable when he tells Pip, â€Å"But if you think as Money can make compensation to me for the loss of the little child†¦and ever the best of friends!(18.116). Pip is shocked by how much he means to Joe, but still but doesn’t see how much Joe really loves him. Pip deserts Joe â€Å"whom he was so ready to leave and so unthankful to†(18.115), and thinks to himself â€Å"I’ll see you again†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and â€Å"I’ll feel the loving tremble of your hand upon my arm, as solemnly this day as if it had been the rustle of an angels wing! †¦ â€Å"(18.115), which proves that Pip has not realized that this decision makes Joe sacrific e and suffer all the more. Furthermore, Joe had to scornfully respect his decision to leave and become a gentleman and bear the loneliness while he was away, but still loved him and waited for when Pip realized he should go back to Joe. Moreover, Pip changes his view on his future when Joe explains that â€Å"Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come†¦ You and me is not two figures to be together in London; nor anywhere else but where is private, and beknown, and understood among friends.†(27.246) Likewise, when Joe is in London with Mr. Wopsle he wants to put pity on Pip and explain to him that they are different people in separate worlds and he wants to show Pip how it hurts when people leave their loved ones. Joe thinks he has sacrificed enough and wants Pip to come back, but now Joe realizes that they are separate people with different expectations. Additionally, Pip and Joe are still great friends; however their breaking relationship hurts Pip and makes him want to restart his life and be with Joe, but he still stays a gentleman. All in all, Joe leaving Pip just as Pip did to him, once again creates Pip to think differently and regret some of his decisions in the past. Throughout Pip’s final stage of expectations, Joe’s compassionate attitude is expected to make Pip change his values and stop Joe from suffering, but makes Joe ponder if he gave Pip enough sympathy to make him come back to him. Firstly, after Pip’s benefactor, Magwitch, dies Pip starts to become ill and also gets arrested because of his debt. While sitting back at his house Pip starts to realize that he always has someone there for him, Joe, and expresses his regret by saying â€Å"O Joe, you break my heart! Look angry at me, Joe. Strike me, Joe. Tell me of my ingratitude. Dont be so good to me!†(57.388). This statement said by Pip when Joe is by his side, expresses the point that even though Pip did wrong, Joe will always be there to comfort him and make him feel better, and that Pip thinks he should not be treated good by Joe at this point. Furthermore, Pip now understands, â€Å"There was no change whatever in Joe. Exactly what he had been in my eyes then, he was in my eyes still; just as simply faithful, and as simply right†(57.389), which proves that the compassion from other individuals do change peoples values and outlooks on all things in life and expectations. Likewise, Pip appreciates that Joe was faithful to him even though endures suffering because of his high expectations and dire choice to be a gentleman. Moreover, since Pip â€Å"†¦soon began to understand that the cause of it was in [him], and that the fault of it was all [his].†(58.395), he started to feel for his dear friend Joe, again as he once did and wanted to have never of met his benefactor that lead him to leave Joe. This connects to the main point because it finalizes how love is stronger then the pain someone causes another person and how it can shape an individual in different ways. Additionally, when the shameful Pip says, â€Å"Dont tell him, Joe, that I was thankless; dont tell him, Biddy, that I was ungenerous and unjust; only tell him that I honored you both, because you were both so good and true, and that†¦ I said it would be natural to him to grow up a much better man than I did.(59.404), it shows Joe and Biddy how much Pip is truly sorry for the choice he made and, reluctantly, they responded with, God knows as I forgive you, if I have anythink to forgive!(59.404). All in all, Joe’s compassionate and sympathetic heart pays of and lets him forfeit no more, which proves the point that suffering is a sacrifice one is willing to endure for the love of another individual even if the other person doesn’t see the good you are doing until the end. In conclusion, all of the suffering and sacrifice Joe endures, because of much love and compassion he has for others in Great Expectations did prove to make his ‘dear old chap’ Pip reconsider his views, personality and values towards life and his own expectations. The significance in this novel is that sacrificing yourself out of sympathy is a step anyone should be willing to take to have an even stronger bond within the relationship. The idea of sacrifice and suffering for another individual is in the real word, like how a mama bear feeds her cubs before herself, because she cares for them, and just like how Joe suffers and hates being away from ‘his cub’ Pip. All in all, without sacrifice and suffering people won’t have as much compassion for each other and would not endure the pain if they didn’t truly care for them.

Human Resources Information Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Information Essay Introduction This report on data management; has been compiled to explain to you the reasons why HR data is important to an organisation, the types of data that should be recorded, the methods for collecting HR data and some of the UK legislation surrounding the recording, storing and accessibility of HR Data. Types of Data That Should Be Recorded and the Reasons Why â€Å"HR records include a wide range of data relating to individuals working in an organisation, for example, pay or absence levels, hours worked and trade union agreements. This information may be stored in a variety of media, such as computer databases or paper files.† (http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/retention-hr-records.aspx#link_0, accessed 3/3/2015) There are some statutory records that need to be recorded and stored; these statutory records must be kept because the law requires them. Statutory records will include things like the job title, address and emergency contact. Records such as pay and working hours will  be stored to help management adhere to the Working Time Directive and the Minimum Wage Act 1998. Non-statutory records are kept for the internal purposes of the organisation. These records such as attendance, punctuality, skills, strengths and weaknesses can all be used to recognise trends within the company and aggregate management or big data so that managers can act on any trends that may need sorting. For example at P.P. Plasma Ltd there is only one person in the sales department who is trained to read and understand technical drawings. This person is currently in line for a promotion within the group of companies and will no longer be part of the sales team in the next eighteen months. After aggregating the records it has been identified that the manager of the drawing office has the skills to teach the other sales team members enough to fill this skills gap. Other reasons for storing records could be to review capability issues; induction records, training records and health and safety documentation should all allow the organisation to challenge staff on the reasons that they are not following procedures when they have had training and have signed to show understanding. These will also show any other training that may be necessary. As evidence in case of any tribunal or discrimination challenges; recruitment and selection data and termination of employment data will show the organisation has been fair and unbiased in its selection process or how they have dealt with a termination without discrimination. Methods of Storing HR Data Paper Method The paper method of storing records has many more disadvantages than advantages; but for small organisations would still be a viable solution to storing HR records. â€Å"Data relating to employees is of a highly contentious and potentially litigious nature and has to be managed in accordance with compliance regulations. To do this manually is a daunting task and often liable to malpractice.† (http://www.ipcgroup.co.uk, accessed 7/3/2015) There are time limits on the information that can be kept and if you are storing this information manually then this also means that you must remove or redact information every so often. This means that data could be stored for too long. Aggregating all of the data collected into big data can also be a challenge; most of this data will need to be entered into spreadsheets  manually in order to create the management data needed. Other issues with paper records are the cost of floor space needed to store the information, the difficulty of backing up such a system; this would require the same amount of floor space on an alternate site and the security of the records; some filing cabinets may be locked with a key but if somebody were to forget to lock the cabinet then these files are open to anybody with access to the room. Digital Method The digital method could be a cheaper, much more secure, simple and timesaving solution to all organisations but especially the larger ones. â€Å"Given the low cost and the easy accessibility of electronic records storage, many employers are making the digital leap to â€Å"paperless† HR. These days, most records are created and maintained electronically, and some never even make their way to paper.† (http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com, accessed 7/3/2015) Security on a digital system whether it be local or cloud based would be much easier to manage, an electronic record of anybody that as accessed data can be kept automatically and permissions can be set to allow some people to see records that others do not have permission to see; for example at P.P. Plasma Ltd the Managing Director will have access to the HR of everybody in the organisation whereas a departmental manager will only have access to the records on their own staff. Space is only an issue of how much cloud space you can afford or how big a hard drive you can have in your server if you are doing it locally. When using a cloud based service you need to ensure that the cloud service that you are using has a backup system in case of a failure or natural disaster and what the time constraints on these being implemented if needed. Whereas if you are using a local system you will need to speak with your IT department and ensure that the system is backed and removed from the site, this solution will also need a time constraint on how long the system will need to be put back into place. Other reasons to use a digital HR system would be that the data could be aggregated into management and big data easily, whether the HR system has this built in or the data needs to be copied into a spreadsheet or database in order to create graphs, charts , tables and reports. Searching digital records could be done with a few clicks of the mouse and as long as the permissions are set up correctly this could also tell you who you need to  speak to in order to gain access to the information that you are searching for. UK Legislation regarding HR Data There are many pieces of legislation surrounding the recording, accessing and storing of HR data but the two that I am going to explain are the Date Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Data Protection Act 1998 controls how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Anybody responsible for storing and accessing HR data has to follow the data protection principles. They must make sure the information is: used fairly and lawfully used for limited or specifically stated purposes used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive accurate kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary handled according to people’s data protection rights kept safe and secure not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection Anybody who feels that there data has not been used in accordance to these principles can make a complaint to the organisation themselves and if they are still unhappy with the response can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general public right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities and those providing services for them. It also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings. In order to adhere to the Freedom of Information Act; any person making a request to a public authority for information will be entitled to be informed whether that information is held. The Freedom of Information Act does not give people access to their own personal data such as their health records or credit reference file. If a member of the public wants to see information that a public authority holds about them, they should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998

Comparative Study On Compulsory Voting Politics Essay

Comparative Study On Compulsory Voting Politics Essay Compulsory voting can help people to meet their obligation for the democratic society and reduce the inequality of turnouts in election in USA. Introduction This study explores various aspects of democracy and compulsory voting in the present political scenario with particular focus on the USA. The Thesis Statement is: Compulsory voting can help people to meet their obligation for the democratic society and reduce the inequality of turnouts in election in USA. This paper is a comparative analysis of the works of different scholars on the democracy and voting. The topic chosen for the study is A Comparative Study on Compulsory Voting. The first part of the paper covers different aspects of the voting. The paper covers thoughts of Plato, Aristotle, Bellamy, Tocqueville, Kilborn, Zakaria, Daltono and others. Democracy and idea of compulsory voting do not go along as per the basic concept is concerned. However, unless the voting percent is high, the objectives of democracy can not be achieved. This opens avenues for discussion over the required and right approach for the compulsory voting and democracy. The countries compared and covered in this paper are Australia, America, some European countries like UK, France, Canada, Belgium and Thailand. Compulsory Voting Definition Compulsory voting has been defined in the following way: Birch (2009) defines compulsory voting as, Compulsory voting can be defined very simply as the legal obligation to attend the polls at election time and perform whatever duties are required there of electors. Concepts of Compulsory Voting Why to focus on compulsory voting? There are 29 countries in the world that have laws to fully force their citizens to take part in elections, and this constitutes a quarter of whole democratic countries (Birch, 2009). But in the compulsory voting states, the general perception about compulsory voting is that it is a relic of the past which has lost its utility in the present time and that it will ultimately vanish from the surface of the world as voters flex their muscles, states fight for their liberal powers and struggle to free themselves from all types of compulsion. In fact the states stand is definitely different from much modern political thought, which is more and more coming to see duties and rights as going hand to hand. Moreover participation in elections remains voluntary in many states. In the year 2006, there were three major reports issued on the topic of UK by the Electoral Commission, the Society of Hansard and Public Policy Research Institution (Ballinger, 2006; El ectoral Commission, 2006; Keaney and Rogers, 2006). The same problem is faced by France and Canada where prominent members have recently called for the electoral participation to be mandatory. The big fact that compulsory voting has currently received too much attention from practicing politicians whose suggestion that it is ripe time for a reviewing of the old institution of voluntary voting is alarming. Widespread, high voter turnout legitimizes government and helps correct for lower levels of political participation and influence among socio-economically disadvantaged groups. However, state efforts to increase turnouts are unlikely to succeed if they merely chip away at the already low cost of voting. To reach consistently high turnout, state actors must look to richer understandings of voter behavior. (Marisam, 2009) Oddly enough, there has not been even a single monograph available on compulsory voting in English language for 50 years. We dont claim that any studies have not been done on the topic. As a matter of fact it has been the subject of a range of academic journal articles, and its scope has been so much widened that it also touched on literatures as varied as on wealth inequality, etc. Yet compulsory voting tends to be studied mainly for context analyses which have principal objects for investigation. This aims to fill up the gap between scholarly literature by providing a fully detailed overview of the practice, history, cause and effect of the legal obligation for vote. If ever compulsory voting is to be introduced in polities, it is very important to have clear understanding of the different arguments for and against compulsory voting. One of the main functions of this study is to assess and evaluate the entire issue. Compulsory voting has been introduced in a number of contexts deal ing with a range of problems, from Belgium in 1893 to electoral corruption in Thailand over a century later in 1997. This research seeks to widen the study of compulsory voting by elaborating and systematically examining each of the effects against comparative proof from all over the world. Compulsory electoral contribution considerably alters the enticement structures which are faced by all the actors in the electoral field, from voters to parties and candidates and to electoral administrators. Compulsory voting is mainly investigated to understand and elucidate the impact of the institution on phenomena such as party strategies, electoral integrity, political engagement, electoral outcomes and policy outcomes. Drawing from a range of scholarly fields, this Article introduces a comprehensive framework for how state actors can conceive of and contemplate efforts to increase turnout. An understanding of how to engage core voter motivations, such as self-interest, social identity, altruistic cooperation, and community norms, must inform these efforts.   (Marisam, 2009) Conceptualizing Compulsory Voting It has been largely recognized by electoral behavioral lists that there are a number of factors that bring people to the polls. We can here conceptualize the incentives to vote which generally fall into two wide categories; push and pull factors. Pull factor in which pull includes the range of vote motive and it also includes wish to influence electoral outcome, it has expressive aim, goal, objective, identification with political contestants and perceptions of civil duties (e.g. Campbell et al., 1960; Riker and Ordeshook, 1968; Verba et al., 1978; Powell, 1980; 1982; 1986; Crewe, 1981; Rosenstone and Hansen, 1993; Dalton, 1996; Franklin, 1996; 2002; 2004; Gray and Caul, 2000; Blais, 2000; Norris 2002; 2004). The lawful compulsion to vote is a main push factor; voters are urged to the polling booths by the law and they are threatened by the sanctions. But still there are other kinds of pressures also that can be exerted to make people come to vote. It includes political and social in fluences and generally operates outside the ambit of formal political institution and it never can be marked effectively. Such types of pressures are known for bringing forth highest rates of turnout and have been achieved in different parts of the world- the USSRs frequently reported 99.99% levels of electoral participation (Bruner, 1990). Australian System of Compulsory voting as discussed by Young Hill, (2009) has the high turnout rates and high informal voting. Although Australias compulsory voting system (4) has led to a very high rate of turnout in Australiaon average around 93 per cent of registered voters (5)there is also a high informal voting rate and this has led to the political exclusion of significant numbers of citizens. At each national election in Australia, hundreds of thousands of votes are not counted because the ballots are improperly filled out. The informal vote rate is an indicator of social and political exclusion, with particular groups of Australians being inordinately disadvantaged. The fact that this indicator has increased in four out of the past five federal elections is of significant concern.  (Young Hill, 2009) A Typology of compulsory voting Form of obligation Sanctioned Unsanctioned Formal Sanctioned electoral compulsion ( e.g. Australia ) Unsanctioned electoral compulsion (e.g. Venezuela ) Informal Sanctions, benefits in the absence of formal compulsion (USSR) No Compulsion, little pressure to vote (USA) Table: 1 Full Participation Sarah Birch Political parties may also play an important role in influencing Coercive mobilization  (see Cox and Kousser, 1981; Hasen, 2000; Lehoucq 2003). At least, sometimes even ordinary social pressure proves to be a powerful force in encouraging and boosting people to vote. Campbell et al., 1960;  Rosenstone and Hansen, 1993; Blais, 2000; Franklin, 2004) It should be considered that while discussing compulsory electoral participation, we mainly focus on the cases where electors have legal obligation for polls. But usually, legal and informal socio-political forces play very complex role.   Participation of voters in the voting process due to legal obligation congruent with social and political norms must be considered a variation within state machineries along with sub-cultural, geographical or the other lines- in the forms of congruence. Ian McAllister and Toni Makkai have linked high levels of informal voting in Australia to the interaction between compulsory voting, the presence of large numbers of immigrants within the electorate and the complexity of the electoral system. (38) The frequency of elections, the disparity between voting methods at three distinct levels of government and the presence of compulsory preferential voting, all combine to create a complex voting system that makes it difficult for those with low English and literacy and numeracy competence to record a formal vote. (39) It is telling that, of late, informal voting in New South Wales has been higher than the national average  (Young Hill, 2009) In simple way we should understand that there are two ways of obligation to vote: informal (social and political) and the formal (legal). It should also be clearly noted that enforcement of formal compulsory electoral participation needs to be related to cultural environment and politics which help in the reinforcement of voting (i.e. congruence between legal and socio-political forces). Malouf puts it, compulsory voting `is a great leveler which forces us `to remember that however grand we may think ourselves, we have just one say like everyone else (cited in Jones 1996: 23). Zachary Elkins (1996:iv), wrote that from the idea Brazilian case, and suggested that compulsory voting laws are very important and it holds means civic habits and structuring a culture participatory in nations where democracy is not yet consolidated. Senator Nick Minchin has made the debatable argument that `compulsory voting has in fact a donor to the low level of political knowledge in modern Australia (1996b: 18), and according to Morgan Poll conducted in 1997 show that 67 per cent of Australians was in favor of compulsory voting. According to the Newspoll market research of Australian electoral commission 1996, 3rd march and 74 % was at the side of compulsory voting at the federal election. Compulsory voting presents very significant connection between vertically (between governed and gove rnors) and horizontally (between members of the electorate). It is silly and strange to suggest that voting is solution for many problems such like problems of power asymmetries which is linked with democracies, so it clearly seen that voting can work to restructure some of the effective marginality. Rydon (1997: 177) also stressed that genuine democracy needs that people should be completely free to vote. In the case, an individual does not want to vote than freedom should be in his hands no one can force him. Majority report of current parliamentary question on compulsory voting and stated: `if Australia is to consider itself a mature democracy, compulsory voting should now be abolished (Wright 1997). Stevens (1984: 84-91) noted that in this case voting became state election rule in Australia. It became compulsory in 1980. An education program was brought by Australian Electoral Office to explain election effectiveness, and voting propose was to prevent and effective disenfranchisement which is caused by informal votes (Jaensch et al. 1981). State and Government Ideal state and justice by Plato and Aristotle According to Plato only through society (state) good life can be possible. He also mentions that society is a natural institution and all human beings are political and social animals. State exists only for the sake of good life. Now according to Plato, freedom and economic well-being can not define good life. And justice should be the aim if we intend to have a good society and lead a good life. Justice is therefore must conformed by a true state (the Ideal of which exists in the World of Forms). And so state must not define what is just. Justice is an entity of knowledge, and it is one of the forms. This is the reason that every statesman should be a philosopher. And supposing he is not the same, he will only lead the state towards self-destruction. Justice for the state is equivalent to justice for any individual, and state must be regarded as a pattern of justice for every individual. According to Plato souls have three parts: Fig: 1 The City-State According to Plato justice always exists in individual when the lower appetites are subject to government of reason. The state should be in peace and harmony and this peace of the state is analogous to the peace of the individual. Recall Socrates self-rule. Freedom actually means what we have to do with wisdom and have ability to do what we ought. In other words, it is only when our appetites are subject to reason that every individual can do whatever they ought to do. This is clear that unjust person cant control his anger, and he can only moderate his passion towards money, etc. So for Plato justice is a form of order, a harmony between the appetites and reason. Plato also means that just person will never allow his anger to move towards something irrational in any way. So only in this way just person is truly free, so the same thing applies to state also that only that state which is just is truly free. Thus, the just state looks like the following Fig: 2 the City-State Justice in Aristotles View: (The Nicomachean Ethics, pp. 741-748.) The Greek words for justice and injustice are more unclear than the recent English vocabulary. For Aristotle Justice is a virtue-a sort of character feature. For him justice is a part of ones motives and behavior. He accepts clearly a line between all those who participate in a society/state but do nothing. According to him only few are true citizens of the state who take part in state. People who stay in state and work for it but do not meet any of the criteria of being true citizen and should not receive any benefit of political enterprise. Aristotle searches virtue in terms of the Golden Mean, if justice is a virtue as we think then it must be some kind of mean. Thus it must be some kind of intermediate act, between some sort of extreme circumstances. Sometimes, states character can be recognized by its effects and by the effects of its opposites. So roughly one can find out that a person is unhealthy because he holds certain types of characteristics which are opposite to healthy characteristics. Though Aristotle thinks that the characteristics of justice are vague and he feels to identify the characteristics for injustice and work. A person who does not follow law is unjust and greedy. The just person necessarily follows the law and seeks for his fair share in state. Greed: A person who is greedy only wants to grab everything. Every thing is not absolutely good or is not good for everyone but a greedy person can not understand it. Law:  The law is loyal to the benefit for all, or to the benefit for the best, or to the benefit for all those in power. Thus it serves the creation or the safeguarding of cheerfulness within politics. The law orders us to perform according to the mean. A well-written law follows the mean well and the poorly written law does not. So it is clear that Justice is a virtue that can be applied to all neighbors and fellow citizens. Justice is not a particular intermediate but it is a way of looking intermediates. It is justice for all fellow citizens, but when it gets considered, it becomes abstract. Education of the guardian by Plato and Aristotle Platos Republic is most excellent and is known all over the world for its ultimate defense of justice. It also includes an equally powerful protection of philosophical education. Platos ideas of education, however, are hard to distinguish because of the unnecessary details of conversation. Socrates (Platos representative of dialogue) posits two contradictory visions of education (the first is the education of the warrior guardians and the second is the philosopher-kings education), but he also provides a slight description of education between the educational methods he uses with Glaucon and Adeimantus. While the spectacular framework of the conversation makes facets of the  Republic  tricky to clutch, in the case of education, it also provides the key to locating and understanding Socrates factual idea of education. Socrates educational approach interlocutors directly correspond with his vision of the education of the philosopher-kings. And partly suggest that the allegory of the yielding is representative of factual Socratic education. The first explanation of education, however, is not an incorporated dialogue lacking reason. In accordance with the playful, progressive and philosophical education, recommended by the yield equivalence and the philosopher-kings education, Socrates uses many unreliable and frequently contradictory thoughts and images (among which is the first account of education) regularly directs his pupils in the direction of a personal understanding of knowledge and philosophy. The aim of education is to create a good man. By nature every man is good. He has to study to manage his animal behavior through the exercise of reason. Man behaves according to customs and reason as a rational being and he is able to have pleasure. Education aims at the development of the potentialities every man has. It must seek for mans intellectual capacities for development and personal growth and highest level of physical and mental strength and health. Form of government by Aristotle Aristotle discussed three more different kinds of constitution namely oligarchy, democracy, and polity in his works (Ackrill, 1997, Aristotle, translated by Ostwald, 1999). There are numerous kinds of democracy and numerous kinds of oligarchy. The words few and many envelop a range of social categories, reversing from one city to other, and the term rule covers a range of actions which are carried out with the help of various organs. This is a good matter to deal and activities are allocated to social category. It is clear which organ of administration is managed and controlled by which groups but all this is enclosed by the umbrella terms few and many. Depending on how closely power is scattered, there are numerous unusual kinds and forms of government in Platos table. In his book The Politics he distinguishes between good and bad forms of ruling, whether it is rule by many (democracy), by a few (oligarchy, aristocracy) or by one (monarchy). Aristotle in his book clearly stated that he was never in favor of democracy and democracy is not the best form of government. As it is also right for oligarchy and monarchy, rule in democracy is mainly for and by the people named in the government type. But according to him in democratic form of system, rule is by and for the needy only. In disparity, rule of law or aristocracy (literally, power [rule] of the best) or even monarchy, where the ruler has the attention of his country by his whole heart, are improved types of government. Influence of democracy on the feeling of the Americans Government, Aristotle says, must be by those people who have sufficient time in their hands to follow virtue. In present U.S. drive towards movement of financing laws planned to build the political life existing even without well- endowed fathers. It is very unusual from the contemporary generation politicians who only move by wealth at the cost of the citizenry. Aristotle believes that rulers should be propertied and leisured, so, without any fear they can give their time to produce virtue. Aristotle actually does not favor any one form of Government. There are possibly three types of government, oligarchy, polity and monarchy. Aristotle perhaps favors the last type. Polity is made up of the major groups of individuals who have slightest chance to do any real damage to the state. Oligarchy is made up of the aristocracy. And monarchy is made up of only one ruler. All these have the greater chance of damage because action can be taken by few individuals. For all time Aristotle approximately prefers a middle (mean) position to one of the extremes. Influence of democracy on the feeling of the Americans The book Democracy in America by Tocqueville translated by Henry Reeve says that United States paid very less attention towards philosophy in this civilized world. Americans dont have even a philosophical school of their own. They do care but very less for all the schools and in that sense Europe is divided, and the name of such a school is scarcely known to them. Democracy and Oligarchy Definition Democracy has been defined differently by different authors. A simple definition of democracy by Joseph Schumpeter is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the peoples vote (as cited by Cheema and Maguire, 2004) The democracy has been divided into different categories and countries are placed within different regimes. The Economist Intelligence Units democracy index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Countries are placed within one of four types of regimes: full democracies; flawed democracies; hybrid regimes; and authoritarian regimes. (The Economist, 2008) Table: Democracies across the world Influence of democracy on the feeling of the Americans( Tocqueville) According to the Tocqueville there is only one county on this earth where whole citizens enjoy maximum freedom of association for political purposes. America is the only country where continual exercise of right to association has been introduced into civil life. In other countries where political associations are illegal, civil associations are rare but connection between these two kinds of associations is necessary. In many states participation in elections remains voluntary and growing number of voices which call for making it legal obligation never gets successful. In the year 2006 UK issued major report on it which is clearly given in the introduction part. Here the main things to focus is that compulsory voting is very much appreciated by the political leaders who all are practicing and giving advice that time is ripe for a reviewing of institution scholar. Civil association facilitates political association while on the other side political association strengthens and develops the association for civil purposes. In civil life, every human may speak harshly so that he can be provided for his own want. When people have any idea of public life, they enjoy it very much. Politics gives birth to all associations in civil life but is rarely interested in drawing numbers of men to act concretely. It needs high quality of skills but in politics opportunities are present every day. In politics men come together for clear and great understanding and through this they make principles of association to teach them how to co-operate each other. A political association brings a number of people at the same time out of their own circle. Civil association never gets any contribution from political association. People look upon public association as a lucrative world because here people are free to do anything in a democratic manner. According to the aut hor art of association is like mother of action which can be applied to all. Liberal and global focus on democratic participation in election is democracy. George said that he even heard about America that voting is most important right as being an American citizen and him also mentioned that democracy is very precious system for people and for country. Relation of civil to political association by Tocqueville Reeve further elaborates American democracy by the condition of equality that leads men to entertain instinctive of the supernatural and exaggerated opinion of the human understanding. Men who live in social equality are not easily led to place that intellectual authority in which they blow beyond and above humanity. Every ordinary person commonly seeks for sources of truth in themselves, and this is enough to prove that no new religions and schemes can be established for such purposes as they are not immoral. This is again clear that democratic people will not give credence to marvelous mission; people will seek to discover the chief arbiter and go beyond their limits of human kind. An individual is compared with others for equality in democratic country as he is equal to others in civil society. In United States every individual adopts great numbers of theories on morals, politics, and philosophy without any inquiry upon public trust. This is a fact that political laws of the Unite d States are majority rules and the political community has sovereignty and this increases their power. Effects of compulsory voting on Australia According to Mackerras and McAllister (1996: 2) in compulsory voting Australia has an efficient system and it is probably oldest of any advanced democracies. In year 1997 Parliament recommended that compulsory voting necessity for referenda and federal elections be repealed and this was reported by Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters table. Few year back when Chris Ellison was Senator of Australia (the minister responsible for federal electoral arrangements presented a bill to Australian Parliament which was against prisoners of Australia and in that bill, it was about to deny prisoners rights for federal rights for voting. According to Senator Nick Minchin ( 1996a: 245,248) said that compulsory voting is a fundamental breach of civil liberties and that it is `inconsistent with the essence of a free and democratic society to force people to vote There was the claim that liberal- democratic principles of choice and freedom which violated by compulsion voting, on the other-s ide there are some fundamental democratic ideals and principles and that is: legitimacy, representativeness, minimization of elite power and political equality (Stevens 1984: 61; Johns 1998: 368-9). Since voluntary voting low down and give incomplete information regarding the electorate, one could easily argue on it that democratic principle of popular sovereignty enhances by compulsory voting. Those who all are free over the liberal principles in this philosophical war stated that compulsory voting post minor restriction on freedom of personal in comparison to the other collective action or problems which is resolved in democracies by mandatory such like: jury duty, paying taxes and compulsory school attendances (Lijphart 1997: 1). The fact that compulsory voting annoyance on the state to sure insertion on individuals voting, and also suggested that voting obligation is actually reciprocal one. So it is clear compulsory voting is a misnomer, it is only a kind of attendance at a polling place (entailing having ones name marked off the roll, collecting the ballot papers and putting them in the ballot box) that is compulsory. The AEC never search to force people to note their ballot paper, so therefore great chance and opportunity to participate in state activities. Compulsory voting is a nosy and odd incident but apparently neither it bothered to Australians, nor have they make compulsion for voting, very few asked questions against paradoxical status and liberal democratic relation principles. Many of the Australian felt that voting is not a compulsion in-fact it is a fair to understand that voting is undemanding civic obligation and it is seen in Australia mainly in political culture which deeply supported Aust ralian electorate. Compulsory voting functions as an agent of social cohesion which mainly focus on public etymologically: till what extent voluntary voting can shape of republic and this give understanding regarding the relationship between community and voting. Compulsory voting provides a rare occasion for solitary participation. Liberal democracy and global focus on democracy by Fareed Zakaria The US government is stuck on democracy that it has been keenly promoting it all over the globe. US State Department officials and politicians have connected eligibility for help to democratic improvements within the nations. Zakaria (2003) seems to have no objection to the aid. He just wishes that the United States would stop demanding that countries make democratic reforms as a condition for receiving the assistance. Therefore, many nations in Africa, South America, and Asia who have turned more democratic in recent years, but at the same time have become less free. What you end up with, the author writes, is little unlike from autocracy; albeit one that has greater legitimacy. Struggling nations require the rule of law and right and respect for individual constitutional liberalism very much. US government has been unconsciously approaching democracy on individual level. To take a step toward greater democracy is also obvious in America, however Zakaria (2003) does not like what he sees. He argues that people believe in the balance between the right of the majority and the will of the minority. America is at the same time pursuing a simple-minded theory that all people should value the legitimacy of democracy. This philosophy has destructed all old institutions and undermined all traditional authorities. Congress in America for example, is more democratic, but Zakaria (2003) adds that it is therefore more open to special-interest group pressures. The author too supports Zakaria (2003) and also states that spread of direct democracy that is, referenda and vote initiative is prevalent in the US. On these processes, Leef (2003) says; give us a jumble of laws, often contradictory, without any of the debate, deliberation, and compromise that characterize legislation. Zakarias (2003) solution moves towards decision making and that is not democratic, therefore sightedness and special interest pressure remains. Zakaria (2003) really admires Federal Reserve because it is insulated by democracy. However this book is not well thought about the problems which Americans face and there people are making many different political decisions democratically. According to the author constitutional liberalism must return but deemphasizing democracy makes difference in political institution. Here author says that earlier democratic system in America was very less and was totally authoritarian government mandates but still it passed a lot of legislation as Zakaria (2003) wanted, thats why the author says that Zakaria (2003) has lost sight of the goal and he never focuses much on the goal namely a restoration of constitutional liberalism. Conclusion In the last, the long arguments rem

The History of Drugs :: essays research papers

The History of Drugs Drug use and abuse is as old as mankind itself. Human beings have always had a desire to eat or drink substances that make them feel relaxed, stimulated, or euphoric. Humans have used drugs of one sort or another for thousands of years. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Egyptians; narcotics from 4000 B.C.; and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 2737 BC in China. As time went by, "home remedies" were discovered and used to alleviate aches, pains and other ailments. Most of these preparations were herbs, roots, mushrooms or fungi. They had to be eaten, drunk, rubbed on the skin, or inhaled to achieve the desired effect. One of the oldest records of such medicinal recommendations is found in the writings of the Chinese scholar-emperor Shen Nung, who lived in 2735 BC He compiled a book about herbs, a forerunner of the medieval pharmacopoeias that listed all the then-known medications. He was able to judge the value of some Chinese herbs. For example, he found that Ch'ang Shan was helpful in treating fevers. Such fevers were, and still are, caused by malaria parasites. South and Central American Indians made many prehistoric discoveries of drug-bearing plants. Mexican Aztecs even recorded their properties in hieroglyphics on rocks, but our knowledge of their studies comes mainly from manuscripts of Spanish monks and medical men attached to the forces of the conquistador Hernan Cortes (1485-1547). Pre-Columbian Mexicans used many substances, from tobacco to mind-expanding (hallucinogenic) plants, in their medicinal collections. The most fascinating of these substances are sacred mushrooms, used in religious ceremonies to induce altered states of mind, not just drunkenness. These were all naturally occurring substances. No refinement had occurred, and isolation of specific compounds (drugs) had not taken place. As the centuries unrolled and new civilizations appeared, cultural, artistic, and medical developments shifted toward the new centers of power. A reversal of the traditional search for botanical drugs occurred in Greece in the fourth century BC, when Hippocrates (estimated dates, 460-377 BC), the "Father of Medicine," became interested in inorganic salts as medications. Hippocrates' authority lasted throughout the Middle Ages and reminded alchemists and medical experimenters of the potential of inorganic drugs. In fact, a distant descendant of Hippocrates' prescriptions was the use of antimony salts in elixirs (alcoholic solutions) advocated by Basilius Valentius in the middle of the 15th century and by the medical alchemist Phillippus Aureolus Paracelsus (born Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, in Switzerland, 1493-1541).

A Comparison of Jacques-Lois David and Joseph Goebbels Essay -- essays

â€Å"The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never again escape from it† (Goebbels). Both Jacques-Lois David and Joseph Goebbels were aspiring men who rose above the standards that were set for them and utilized their own individual talent in order to sway people’s opinions to match their own. They both possessed extraordinary talent and ideas for their time, where Jacques-Lois David was an artist who mastered in the neoclassical style of painting and used his art work as a form of propaganda to represent a biased view from a revolutionary on occurring events; where as Joseph Goebbels had superb journaling abilities and dominated the media in Russia. Jacques-Lois David was an exquisite artist of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century who had a well educated background in the field of painting. After the tragic death of his father, Jacques-Lois David went to live with his uncle Francois Buron. From here David went to study at Academie Royales, in Italy, and was taught by J.M Vein who was a master of the Rococo style. After four years of attending Academie Royales David won the internationally recognized Prix de Rome with his work of Antiochus and Stratonice. David returned to Paris, after spending five years in Italy drawing antique models, to open his own studio where he taught and took on commissioned portraits. Jacques-Lois David was already beginning to set a fashio...

Comparison of Mr. Collins Proposal to Elizabeth with Mr. Darcys Essay

Comparison of Mr. Collins' Proposal to Elizabeth with Mr. Darcy's Jane Austen does not use the word love very often in 'Pride and Prejudice', marriage is mentioned frequently throughout the novel, but love may have been considered too strong a word. During her lifetime Jane Austen was exposed to fashionable society and she learnt to gather inspiration, and then write it down in her witty, poignant way. She lived in a time when reputation was everything and women wanted no more than to settle down with a husband, whom preferably should exceed their own income. Austen received no such husband, but did fall in love, only to be heartbroken when he died before they were even engaged. Though love is a theme in 'Pride and Prejudice' Austen didn't use the word too recklessly but was sure to use it when a relationship was worthy of such a title. The Bennet family consists of Mr and Mrs Bennet and their five daughters Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Unlike most families of the time all five of the daughters were out in society at the same time. Mrs Bennet wanted no more than to see at least one of her daughters married within the year and strived greatly to do so. Jane, the eldest is admired wherever she goes so Mrs Bennet is quick to do her best to try and marry her off to Mr Bingly, the very eligible bachelor (whom, by the way has five thousand a year!) Once Mrs Bennet feels that Jane would soon be engaged she is happy to oblige Mr Collins, Mr Bennet's somewhat 'silly' cousin, in his quest to find a wife. As most men do, Mr Collins first sets his sights on Jane but is by no mean discouraged when he is told of her expected engagement. Of course the next obvious choice is Lizzie, the pretty, sensible g... ...'s happiness is not mentioned for who could doubt that Lizzie would be happy? Married to a clergyman whom is associated with Lady Catherine de Bourgh? Mr Collins couldn't imagine why she would not be happy so the subject does not arise. The third reason (which he adds should maybe have been mentioned to begin with), that it is 'the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling my patroness'. Clearly Mr Collins had listened attentively to Lady Catherine de Bourgh for she specifically asked 'chuse a gentlewoman for my sake; and for your own let her be an active, useful sort of person.' Whether or not it was Lizzie whom Mr Collins was proposing to, have it be Mary or even Kitty, they would suit this criteria from Mr Collins' point of view, he is not a perceptive type and sees people how he desires them to be. Comparison of Mr. Collins' Proposal to Elizabeth with Mr. Darcy's Essay Comparison of Mr. Collins' Proposal to Elizabeth with Mr. Darcy's Jane Austen does not use the word love very often in 'Pride and Prejudice', marriage is mentioned frequently throughout the novel, but love may have been considered too strong a word. During her lifetime Jane Austen was exposed to fashionable society and she learnt to gather inspiration, and then write it down in her witty, poignant way. She lived in a time when reputation was everything and women wanted no more than to settle down with a husband, whom preferably should exceed their own income. Austen received no such husband, but did fall in love, only to be heartbroken when he died before they were even engaged. Though love is a theme in 'Pride and Prejudice' Austen didn't use the word too recklessly but was sure to use it when a relationship was worthy of such a title. The Bennet family consists of Mr and Mrs Bennet and their five daughters Jane, Lizzie, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Unlike most families of the time all five of the daughters were out in society at the same time. Mrs Bennet wanted no more than to see at least one of her daughters married within the year and strived greatly to do so. Jane, the eldest is admired wherever she goes so Mrs Bennet is quick to do her best to try and marry her off to Mr Bingly, the very eligible bachelor (whom, by the way has five thousand a year!) Once Mrs Bennet feels that Jane would soon be engaged she is happy to oblige Mr Collins, Mr Bennet's somewhat 'silly' cousin, in his quest to find a wife. As most men do, Mr Collins first sets his sights on Jane but is by no mean discouraged when he is told of her expected engagement. Of course the next obvious choice is Lizzie, the pretty, sensible g... ...'s happiness is not mentioned for who could doubt that Lizzie would be happy? Married to a clergyman whom is associated with Lady Catherine de Bourgh? Mr Collins couldn't imagine why she would not be happy so the subject does not arise. The third reason (which he adds should maybe have been mentioned to begin with), that it is 'the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling my patroness'. Clearly Mr Collins had listened attentively to Lady Catherine de Bourgh for she specifically asked 'chuse a gentlewoman for my sake; and for your own let her be an active, useful sort of person.' Whether or not it was Lizzie whom Mr Collins was proposing to, have it be Mary or even Kitty, they would suit this criteria from Mr Collins' point of view, he is not a perceptive type and sees people how he desires them to be.

Conceptualization of Culture and Language in Post Colonial Literature Essay

Culture and Language are the major issues in the post colonial theory. My assignment will deal with these three factors in terms of colonial perspectives. The post colonialism mainly explores the ideas such as cultural diversity, geographical dimensions, Diasporas, race, ethnicity, marginality, hybridity, national identities, cultural transformation, changes and politics in language etc†¦ Considerations of hybridity run the range from existential to material, political to economic, yet this discussion will not be able to tease out the extensive implications of each consideration. Rather, this discussion aims to explore the notion of hybridity theoretically, synthesizing the vast body of literature to critique essentialist notions of identity as fixed and constant. According to my understanding of Hybridity, there are three ways in which hybridity might serve as a tool for deconstructing the rigid labels that maintain social inequities through exclusion in race, language and nation. By exploring how the hybrid rejects claims of bonds within race, language, and nation, I understood that cultural studies like these are imperative in considering the politics of representation. For the purposes of this discussion, the cultural hybridity refers to the integration of cultural bodies, signs, and practices from the colonizing and the colonized cultures. The contemporary cultural landscape is an amalgam of cross-cultural influences, blended, patch-worked, and layered upon one another. Unbound and fluid, culture is hybrid and interstitial, moving between spaces of meaning. The notion of cultural hybridity has existed far before it was popularized in postcolonial theory as culture arising out of interactions between â€Å"colonizers† and â€Å"the colonized†. However, in this time after imperialism, globalization has both expanded the reach of Western culture, as well as allowed a process by which the West constantly interacts with the East, appropriating cultures for its own means and continually shifting its own signifiers of dominant culture. This hybridity is woven into every corner of society, from trendy fusion cuisine to Caribbean rhythms in pop music to the hyphenated identities that signify ethnic Americans, illuminating the lived experience of ties to a dominant culture blending with the cultural codes of a Third World culture. Framing Cultural Hybridity in post colonial context; Among postcolonial theorists, there is a wide consensus that hybridity arose out of the culturally internalized interactions between â€Å"colonizers† and â€Å"the colonized† and the dichotomous formation of these identities. Considered by some the father of hybrid theory, Homi Bhabha argued that colonizers and the colonized are mutually dependent in constructing a shared culture. His text The Location of Culture (1994) suggested that there is a â€Å"Third Space of Enunciation† in which cultural systems are constructed. In this claim, he aimed to create a new language and mode of describing the identity of Selves and Others. Bhabha says: It becomes crucial to distinguish between the semblance and similitude of the symbols across diverse cultural experiences such as literature, art, music, Ritual, life, death and the social specificity of each of these productions of meaning as they circulate as signs within specific contextual locations and social systems of value. The transnational dimension of cultural transformation migration, diaspora, displacement, relocation makes the process of cultural translation a complex form of signification. The naturalized, unifying discourse of nation, peoples, or authentic folk tradition, those embedded myths of cultures particularity, cannot be readily referenced. The great, though unsettling, advantage of this position is that it makes you increasingly aware of the construction of culture and the invention of tradition. In using words like â€Å"diaspora, displacement, relocation,† Bhabha illustrates the dynamic nature of culture, and the flimsy consistency of the historical narratives that cultures rely upon to draw boundaries and define themselves. As a result, culture cannot be defined in and of it, but rather must be seen within the context of its construction. More significantly, Bhabha draws attention to the reliance of cultural narratives upon the other. In illuminating this mutual construction of culture, studies of hybridity can offer the opportunity for a counter-narrative, a means by which the dominated can reclaim shared ownership of a culture that relies upon them for meaning. This theoretical erspective will serve as the foundation for the considerations explored in this paper, employing hybridity as a powerful tool for liberation from the domination imposed by bounded definitions of race, language, and nation. RACE: Racial hybridity, or the integration of two races which are assumed to be distinct and separate entities, can be considered first in terms of the physical body. Historically, the corporeal hybrid was birthed from two symbolic poles, a bodily representation of colonizer and colonized. These mixed births, mestizo, mulatto, muwallad, were stigmatized as a physical representation of impure blood, and this racism long served as a tool of power that maintained that even in this blending of two bodies, just â€Å"one drop† of black blood would deem the body impure and alien, an abomination. Institutionalized racism created a perpetual state of ambiguity and placelessness for the hybrid body and prevented cultural inclusion via race. However, the expanse of immigration since colonialism and the spectrum of shades of visible difference point to an increasingly hybrid populace in which these classifications of black and white no longer carry the same power of representation, yet the old labels persist. This labeling is significant as it elucidates the continuing power of racial labels in a society set on fixing bodies in racial space by binding them to labels, which are understood to contain fixed truths. I argue that utilizing the conceptual tool of hybridity to deconstruct these labels allows a means by which hybrid individuals can come together in powerful solidarity, rather than allowing their ambiguous place in racial space to render them invisible. Harnessing racial hybridity to project the simultaneously unique but common experience of hybridity can be a means by which the individual subject can join to a marginal community through stories and partial memories. Furthermore, racial hybridity must harness the dualistic experience of passing, or being mistaken for a race other than one’s own. All identities involve passing to some extent, in that a subject’s self can never truly match its image, but racial passing implicitly deconstructs the boundaries of Black and White. In passing, hybridity might function not as a conflict or struggle between two racial identities, but instead as constant movement between spaces, passing through and between identity itself without origin or arrival. The freedom to move between identities carries its own power in defying the claims of essentialized racial identity. Furthermore, the bounded labels of race do not account for the historical and geographic narratives that lie behind each body and inform their identity. In â€Å"Black Africans and Native Americans†, Jack Forbes explores the disconnect between racial labels and the consciousness of the bodies behind them using Native Americans and Africans as examples by which â€Å"groups are forced into arbitrary categories render their ethnic heritage simple rather than complex†. As a result, hybridity calls into question the boundaries of racial consciousness as a hybrid consciousness defies the imposed limits of race. The management of these identities becomes its own sort of performance, as the body negotiates each consciousness in different spaces. Again, the ability to play multiple roles, to â€Å"pass† in different arenas, carries significant power. In embodying the inability to bind identities to race, racial hybridity both in the physical body and in consciousness offers a means of deconstructing the boundaries of dichotomous racial identities. In addition to race, language has long been bound in definitions as a symbol of nation and a mode of exclusion. As a means to connect with other social beings, communicating with language is a meaningful performance in that speaking requires two parties, one to perform language and an audience to observe and absorb language. During colonialism, as the colonizer’s language dominated national institutions, the sense of being outside and â€Å"othered† was instilled in the colonized as their language and means of communication was stripped away. Now in a time after colonialism, can the colonized ever reclaim a language long lost, or has the colonizer’s language become their own? Has ownership of the colonizer’s language expanded over time? Fanon’s theorizing addresses the power of language in the formation of identity as he says, â€Å"To speak . . . means above all to assume a culture, to support the weight of a civilization,†. He suggests that speaking the language of the colonizer stands in as acceptance or coercion into accepting a role in culture. Yet in accepting a role, whether by choice or force, the meaning of the culture shifts and evolves. No longer does it â€Å"belong† to the colonizer, as it relies upon the colonized to give it shape. Similarly, with the introduction of a new set of users performing a language, the language no longer exists as it was; it has shifted in meaning. Beyond the thematic implications of language, hybridity has inspired an immense movement in literary discourse and understandings of the very way language is managed and owned. Herskovits developed the notion of syncretism, a theory attempting to explain why certain cultural forms are carried and others lost. Similarly, Claude Levi-Strauss developed the term bricolage to describe mixed forms within narratives. Creolization describes the linguistic blending of dominant and subdominant cultures. These examples illustrate the broad realm of studies that have developed simply around the use of hybridized language. In an analysis of the rise of the â€Å"hybrid genre† in postmodern literature, Kapchan and Strong say, â€Å"Hybridization has become one such analytic allegory, defining lines of interest and affiliation among scholars of popular and literary culture, perhaps quite unintentionally. The extent to which these authors use the metaphor of hybridity consciously and concisely differs. That they use it, however, qualifies hybridity as one of several tropes, or forms of metaphoric predication, that most epitomize the scholarship of the last decade,† . Not only does this observation imply that the body of hybridized literature is growing, harkening to the rising voices and representations of the hybrid, but that hybridity is becoming normalized as an accepted form of literature and the purist notion of genre is diminishing. Furthermore, the use of a colonizer’s language by the colonized to speak of the crimes of colonialism is its own transgression and act of resistance. In taking ownership of the language, changing the way that it is used, the boundaries of language as belonging to a specific place or race are dissolved. Jahan Ramazani’s Hybrid Muse is an analytical review of the poetry that has arisen from the hybridization of the English muse with the long-resident muses of Africa, India, the Caribbean, and other decolonizing territories of the British Empire (2001). A hybrid himself, Ramazani suggests that the use of indigenous metaphors, rhythms, creoles, and genres has allowed a new form of poetry that not only speaks of the violence and displacement of colonialism, but embodies it in its very form. These hybrid poetries can be viewed as a gateway to understanding those once deemed unfamiliar, and hybridity of language becomes a way by which to deconstruct borders and relate to collectives across cultural boundaries. Further, hybridity must interrogate the notion that nationality is essential zed in a distinct culture that geographic borders somehow embody inherent knowledge or truth about the people they contain. Mamdani asks, â€Å"How do you tell who is indigenous to the country and who is not? Given a history of migration, what is the dividing line between the indigenous and the nonindigenous? . He addresses the nationalist concern over entitlement to nation, and the indigenous wish to lay claim to culture. I understood that theories of hybridity, in clarifying the shifting and indefinite nature of culture, can serve as a tool that complicate the nationalist exclusionary practice of determining who does and does not have claim to a nation. From health care to immigration, h is arguments resonate loudly with current events. Similarly, we must consider the ways in which the â€Å"things† that give culture meaning are unfixed and variable, negating essentialist arguments about inherent meanings of culture. In The Predicament of Culture, James Clifford (1988) analyzes sites including anthropology, museums, and travel writing to take a critical ethnography of the West and its shifting relationships with other societies. He demonstrates how â€Å"other† national cultures are in fact fictions and mythical narratives, and we must ask the question of representation and who has the authority to speak for a group’s identity. In his article â€Å"Diasporas†, he suggests that â€Å"The old localizing strategies by bounded community, by organic culture, by region, by center and periphery may obscure as much as they reveal†. Diaspora is defined as a history of dispersal, myths/memories of the homeland, alienation in the host country, desire for eventual return, ongoing support of the homeland, and a collective identity importantly defined by this relationship. In this consideration of culture, we understand the vast connotations of displacement, from asking which history the diasporic should identify with to asking if it is even possible to return to a homeland one never knew or left long ago. Second, in the representation of culture, be it by petrifying culture in a museum or nailing it to an anthropological account, the risk lies in taking these subjective moments as truths or knowledge. Furthermore, the far-reaching diasporic symbols and narratives that snowball into this thing we call national culture suggest that culture is itself a traveler collecting artifacts from various locations along the way, and its walls are too insubstantial to be used as a means of exclusion. Third and perhaps most significant, hybridity in a postcolonial world muddles the very definitions of culture by which nations define themselves. Given that nationalism is founded upon a collective consciousness from shared loyalty to a culture, one would assume this culture is well-defined. Yet the â€Å"solid† roots of historical and cultural narratives that nations rely upon are diasporic, with mottled points of entry at various points in time. An investigation of the roots of cultural symbols like folk stories, religion, and music would reveal sources varied and wide-ranging. Furthermore, culture is defined in relationship to other cultures. Edward Said’s Orientalism (1979) offers a strong description of the system by which nations appropriate from others to define themselves. He suggests Orientalism â€Å"has helped to define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience†. Using a theoretical framework influenced by Gramsci’s notion of hegemonic culture and Foucault’s notion of discourse, Said draws significant attention to the intricate and complex process by which the West must use the East to construct itself, its culture, its meaning. In an illuminating excerpt describing the process of Orientalism, he writes: To formulate the Orient, to give it shape, identity, definition with full recognition of its place in memory, its importance to imperial strategy, and its ‘natural’ role as an appendage to Europe; to dignify all the knowledge collected during colonial occupation with the title ‘contribution to modern learning; when the natives had neither been consulted nor treated as anything except as pretexts for a text whose usefulness was not to the natives; to feel oneself as a European in command, almost at will, of Oriental history, time, and geography to make out of every observable detail a generalization and out of every generalization an immutable law about the Oriental nature, temperament, mentality, custom, or type; and, above all, to transmute living reality into the stuff of texts, to possess actuality mainly because nothing in the Orient seems to resist one’s powers. † In a st ream of fragments, Said shows the diverse processes by which dominant cultures are formed at the service of Others. Using words like â€Å"shape,† â€Å"definition,† and â€Å"transmute,† he describes the act of defining nation and the artificial nature of these boundaries. Said offers a theoretical means by which to reject nationalist divisions between an us and Them, a West and Other. This conceptualization of the ways in which nations determine not only their own national identities, but the identities of Other is powerful in revealing the inherently hybrid roots of national culture. Studies of national identity are thus essential in deconstructing xenophobic nationalist claims to nation and the resulting miscegenation of immigrant Others. CONCLUSION This discussion draws from the body of postcolonial literature to suggest that studies of cultural hybridity are powerful in probing the bounded labels of race, language, and nation that maintain social inequalities. By examining how the hybrid can deconstruct boundaries within race, language, and nation, I understood that hybridity has the ability to empower marginalized collectives and deconstruct bounded labels, which are used in the service of subordination. In essence, hybridity has the potential to allow once subjugated collectivities to reclaim a part of the cultural space in which they move. Hybridity can be seen not as a means of division or sorting out the various histories and diverse narratives to individualize identities, but rather a means of reimagining an interconnected collective. Like the skin on a living body, the collective body has a surface that also feels and â€Å"Borders materialize as an effect on intensifications of feeling and individual and collective bodies surface through the very orientations we take to objects and others,† In the description that Formations our orientations can be shifted, our feelings towards Others transformed, there is a possibility of redefining our exclusionary systems of labeling. Furthermore, breaking down immaterial borders through explorations of hybridity offers the possibility of more effective public policy, one that refers to the broad expanse of its diverse population. Frenkel and Shenhav did an illuminating study on the ways in which studies of hybridity have allowed management and organization studies to manage their longstanding western hegemonic practices and to incorporate postcolonial insights into the organizational literature revolving around the relationships between Orientalism and organizations. The willingness of institutions to reform their long held ideologies in light of a changing world, as well as to consider their work through alternative lenses, is an essential practice in deconstructing the bindings of narratives-as-knowledge. In the boundary-shifting process, there is power in the notion of deconstruction in the service of reconstruction, breaking down boundaries in order to form a more inclusive sense of the collectivity. Furthermore, hybridity asserts the notion that representations of collective identity must be analyzed contextually. When we examine a representation of culture, be it in a film, poem, or speech, we should ask: Who is doing the representing? What are the implications of the representation? Why are they engaging in the process of representation? What is the historical moment that informs the representation? How are they being represented? In addition to the questions explored in this paper, I would recommend applying theories of hybridity to a realm beyond race and nation, in order to consider alternative boundaries such as gender and sexuality. The work of hybrid theorists from Bhabha to Said suggests that there is a vast intellectual landscape for cultural inquiries like these. Our mission must be to continue this work and to delve deeper. Cultural studies have great potential to liberate us from the socially-given boundaries that so stubbornly limit our capacity for thought and discussion, but we must take time to join in a collective critique of the knowledge we ingest and disperse. After all, the greatest power lies in the heart of the collective.