Analyse the Hamidian era from the perspective of economic change, and Essay

Analyse the Hamidian era from the perspective of economic change, and explain the ways in which the agenda of the Hamidian state - Essay Example However, there always was a distinction between different dynasties and Sultan’s in the way of political agendas over the different historical eras. Thesis statement: When we talk about Hamidian Era, this makes specific reference to Sultan Abdul amid II's period of rule during the 2nd half of the 19th century and early 20th century; specifically 1876-1909. Nevertheless, the era was characterized with various aspects in terms of economic performance and political leadership. How was economic performance related to the political governance of the era? How did the economic challenges that were experienced in the era influence Sultan Abdul amid II's political agenda? Discussion This paper intends to present an analysis of the Hamidian state during the Hamidian era in economic change perspective. Despite the commendable organization of the state during the reign of Sultan Abdul amid II, economic forces shook the state greatly. Economic forces such as foreign creditor’s debts and losing some regions to other imperial powers characterized the state’s governance. It is these forces and effects that this paper intends to analyze in the perspective of altering the Sultan’s political agenda. The paper will outline in details the economic pressures faced. An analysis of the political agenda of the empire will follow. The influence of these economic forces to the political agenda of the Sultan will then follow. In the efforts to destroy or abolish past legitimating crises that had engulfed the empire, on ascension to power, Sultan Abdul amid II adopted centralization system of governance. As the sole way to reform and save the entire empire from the sub sequential topple by the imperial colonies, Abdul amid II chose to ignore the reform calls by the westerners to implement their proposal. He established and imposed pan Islam policy whose main aim was to safeguard the interests of the Muslim culture in the empire against the invasion and corruptio n by other cultures. He advanced the segregation of other people on the basis of religion through supporting the Muslim religion against the ‘others’. The otto9man identity was a creation of modernization. Through this creation, the sovereigns appeared superior to their counterpart non-sovereigns. Religion identity was a critical aspect of association in the era of Hamidian. His policies were thus seen to be far from modernity; well interpreted to represent nationalism which instead of acknowledging individual identity, it concentrates with group. This was evident in his advocacy for Muslim protection and support. The Kurd people became beneficially of the same as unlike the case with other tribes who were easily overlooked on the grounds of religion, the Kurds were well integrated in the empire by the virtue of Muslim brotherhood (Yokmac, 2012, para 1-15). Economic challenges: The nineteenth century marked a historic time to the Ottoman Empire through which so much of the future shaping of the empire would rely. Despite the strength that the empire exhibited in the previous era, the empire started by slowly weakening in terms of political power, her territorial region in North Africa and in Europe. The political influence of the empire had been shaken by the dependency that had resulted by the poor economic performance that the empire had sailed through. Many of the policies that the previous governments had adopted proved unworkable. This necessitated engaging

The Kite Runner and its theme on Psychological Healing and Redemption Essay Example for Free

The Kite Runner and its theme on Psychological Healing and Redemption Essay Introduction It has been much known to many that wars and social differences among people in a certain society bring so many problems to many people in the world. Certainly, one may agree that because of the undoubted situation of the people who are directly affected by wars, there come to be several psychological issues that must be dealt with by people as individuals. Regarding wars, an article entitled â€Å"Why is there war?† comments this way: â€Å"Nationalism, prejudices, injustices and communication difficulties have been at the root of other conflicts. In all too many cases, armies have carried out the orders of leaders, such as Hitler, Napoleon and Alexander the Great, who have shown an excessive desire for personal glory and honor.† (Awake! 2000, 32) These comments notably support the idea that man, in many ways are the very elements that contribute to the worsening situation of the society regarding social inequality resulting to conflicts and worse, wars. In reaction to these social problems of inequality and conflicts, author Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan American novelist has come up with a fictionary story that shows the elemental sources as well as effects of social inequalities to people as individuals. The plot of the story was based upon two friends in Afghanistan who were merely separated by the social-class that they both belong to. One being the slave and one being the master, these two friends who turn out to be brothers as the story progresses, depict the differences of the people living in the society today. What are the themes that the story portrays and how do these themes reflect the ability and the ways by which an individual tries to regain himself from an emotional and psychological downfall? These and many more shall be discussed in the paragraphs that follow. An Overview of the Story The whole theme of the story of â€Å"The Kite Runner† revolved around the lives of two young children who were from different classes of the society. Social prejudice of the economic status of people has been the main reason why the problem of diversity in Afghanistan has risen as portrayed in the story. This factor indeed contributed so much to the story’s complication, which resulted to the guilt driven emotions of the main character Amir, when he was not able to come to the rescue of his friend Hassan. In this story, a clear display of the society’s major problem on prejudice and equality has been shown. Concentrating on the more personally based assessment of the situation as portrayed by Amir, the social problems depicted in the story makes it easier to understand why people take lesser courage in making a change in the present social situation, be guilty later on and then set goals in making a change in a less complex and fearful way. Yes, in a concise display of events, the author tried to help the reader’s picture out the most important events of the situation that would likely connect the story with the intense effect of social diversity to individuals in the society. The consequences are shown to be much dreadful enough to keep a person from moving on with his own life, because of the fact that the lack of courage that drives a person to ignore the things that are supposed to be done by him in the first place. Certainly, an inner healing is necessary for certain situations such as this. It is normal for a person to feel down from not being able to complete or live up to a certain self-expectation. However, inner healing is not that easy to find. As for the main character of the story, it could be noted that the healing of his conscience mainly came form the fact that he had to come back to Afghanistan to find his find with a plan of making it up to him in any way he could. Although he was not able to do the said task as he has expected things to come along, he was still able to help himself regain his clear conscience through helping the son of his friend Hassan to have a change of life under his care. An Analysis of the Story As it could be noted, the story was plotted to show the deeper individual effects of the social differences among men as well as the effects of war on relationships between people. The existence of such issues has made the characters reflect the actual situation of individuals in the society especially focusing on the Afghanistan society. (Howard, 2003, Internet) One more them of the story, which should be given attention, is the picture of reality portrayed by Amir. His lack of courage in doing things that they know should be done is a problem by many people today. Although they know that something within their power could change several situations in the society, their fear of several elements in the society keeps them from doing any courageous change. This was shown when Amir failed to save his friend Hassan from the hands of the bully, Assef. As a result, his conscience has not made him completely relieved from moving away from Afghanistan ever since. Instead, he was continuously haunted by the past and the things that he was supposed to do for his friend (Kirszner, 2001, 90). At the same picture, several people today find it difficult to forget the past especially the situations that involves them with the things that they were supposed to do and yet they did not have much of the courage that it takes for them to do it. As a way of relieving the pain brought about by the past, people tend to find ways in which they could still change what happened. As for the situation of Amir, he tried to return to Afghanistan to supposedly make it up with Hassan. As it could be noted from the overview of the story, although Amir was not able to make it up to his half brother Hassan, he was able to clear his conscience by taking care of the son of Hassan instead. In the same way, people today find a way to heal their aching hearts through returning back to what has happened in the past and later on try to change things for the people that they were supposed o help before. This way, their conscience is then cleared off from the shortcomings that they incurred against others before. From Getting Hurt to Getting Healed and Redeemed As mentioned earlier, people tend to get hurt from many things. Usually, their experiences of several different situations they have been involved with, brings them the discouragement that they ought to feel after not being able to do what they were supposed to. This then brings them several psychological disturbances that keep them from moving on freely with their lives. The fear of doing what they should have done before might have been governed by several factors in the society that kept them from being able to complete their supposed tasks before (Hill, 2000, Internet). Certainly, because of the said elements, doing what is right might not have been that easy. Aside from this, it is quite easier to understand that the situation is harder to deal with when it is happening at the actual time. The lack of time to think things over makes it harder for a person to realize what should be immediately done to solve some things (Coon, 2001, 54,55). This is naturally what happened to Amir upon seeing the bully beat his friend. Along with fear and panic, he was not able to come up with the possible solution that he was supposed to apply during the said situation. People tend to lack courage when they are faced with the actual crisis. However, after some time of thinking things over, they begin to realize that there could have been better results if they did have the courage to do their ethical responsibilities regarding the situation. What is meant by redemption and healing? Naturally, this means recovery from any possible scourge that has been experienced by one in the past. Being healed, means being able to cure what has been causing one the pain that is felt in an emotional state as for this matter (Coon, 20001, 56). Hence, healing does not only involve mere mind works. It has to involve actions that would help the individual free himself from the guilt that he is feeling from within his conscience. Basing from how the main character tried to resolve his personal issues regarding his past shortcomings against his friend, coming back to the origin of his guilt feelings has helped him realize the possibility for him to clear his conscience from the guilt that has mainly plagued his thoughts for a long time. As for the present situation of the society, to redeem themselves from the psychological and emotional disturbances brought about by the past, people opt to find ways by which they can still change things even though the change may not be done directly to the people they have once failed to help (Coon, 2001, 58). The changes that this certain courageous act by an individual that naturally results to betterment of many or even of a few would then help that individual to regain his clean conscience thus clearing him from all the guilt that has been keeping him from moving on with his life before. A Social Connection of the Story Several issues that divide it to several classes govern the society today. Aside from the race, economic status makes it harder for an individual to deal with the society in a fair way. Yes, today, the main reason why people tend to separate themselves from others is the existence of social prejudice. What is prejudice? According to the article entitled, â€Å"They found the solution to the problem of race†: â€Å"Education is the key to ending present condition of prejudice. When this key is missing, prejudice often results. Prejudice is a prejudgment, a judgment arrived at before persons have really examined the evidence regarding the matter involved. Then, because of their prejudice, they are inclined to discriminate against others. (Awake! 1999, 14) Certainly, the social division makes it harder for people to deal with each other in a fair way. In the same way, the governments and the non-government organizations, which are supposed to give answers to the said social issues, have a hard time finding ways by which they would be able solve the disturbances. As a result, they have to deal with the guilt that they gain from not being able to give answers to the most important issues in the human society. To be able to clear their guilt, they tend to solve the issues after several years when the pressure on the issue is already lessened and the attention of the society towards the issue has already been shifted to other problems (Coon, 2001, 60). Prejudice however remains to be the main reason why people are having a hard time dealing with a divided society. Facing the Roots of the Problem Basing from actual accounts in the society, prejudice is a major problem that makes it harder for people to find peace and security in their own communities. As it has been portrayed in the story of the â€Å"Kite Runner†, the divisive culture of people cannot be easily dealt with. As a result, more roots of social issues arise from the very said social illness.   It is a responsibility of everyone else in the society to face the challenge of acting against the effects of prejudice. By being completely free from the thoughts of being superior from others should help everyone realize that they have to stand for their fellowmen when they are faced with the oppression of prejudice like that of the situation between Hassan and Amir in the story. For this reason, it would be more possible for people to avoid the guilt of not being able to complete their responsibilities to their fellowmen. Conclusion The creation of the authored story of â€Å"The Kite Runner† gives a clear vision of the actual social situation of the people at present. The division that exists in the society makes it harder for the authorities to do what is supposed to be taken as an action to address the social injustices. As a result, guilt has to be dealt with by the authorities who are supposed to face the challenge. Rather than finding ways to heal one’s conscience from not being able to commit to the challenges of the society, one might as well find ways to face the issues even before they happen, in result, this process of facing the social issues would be easier to manage than to actually find ways to clear one’s conscience from being guilty. Healing and redemption is an essential part of the society’s recovery from the effects of social prejudice. Individuals who have been naturally involved in the deeper effects of the said social issues are the ones who are supposed to find ways by which they could be able to handle their inner distress brought about by social inequalities. Changing how the world views not everyone with differences in an unequal manner may be that easy to deal with, but a single person’s courage of taking the lead to make a change on how people deal with prejudice is a great step towards a fairer society that does not divide society based on several classes of differences. Work Cited Magazines and Journals Why is there war. (2000). Awake! Brooklyn New York. They found the solution to the problem of race. (1999). Awake! Brooklyn New York. Internet Sources: Hill, Amelia. The Observer. (Sunday September 7, 2003). An Afghan hounded by his past. http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,1036891,00.html. (March 13, 2007). Howard, Edward. The Servant. (August 3, 2003). The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E0DF123FF930A3575BC0A9659C8B63. (March 13, 2007). Books: Coon, Dennis. (2001).Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior. Thompson Learning Incorporated. Kirszner, Laurie G. (2001) Litterature: reading, reacting and writing. Harcourt College Publishers.

History Essays American Exceptionalism

History Essays American Exceptionalism Explain what is meant by American Exceptionalism and consider how valid and useful a concept this is to anunderstanding of the thirteen colonies at 1760. Its been theprevailing concept driving American foreign policy for the last century andprovided the impetus for the building of a nation over two centuries ago. As anideology, its survived and reinvented itself numerous times since itsintroduction to academia in the mid-20th century. As a termtypically tossed about cynics providing tongue-in-cheek commentary oncontemporary politics and Americas foreign affairs, its rarely used anymorein the spirit from which it evolved. To critics of American foreign policy overthe last half-decade and to those who oppose American intervention world-wide, theterm translates as American superiority-complex, but to those who study theconcept and can trace its beginning back to the very roots of American society,it means something else entirely. Any discussionof the concept of American Exceptionalism should include an analysis of wherewe as a country have been and where we are currently. The very definition ofthe term implies that America is different, or is an exception to the rest ofthe world. This difference means different things depending on what point onAmericas 229-year timeline one cares to apply it to. If the definition of theterm is described from its very beginning and applied to America not longafter (in the year 1760), we see an emerging nation struggling to find itselfas a people and as a nationality, but we also see the beginnings ofexceptionality and we come to understand America before it was the UnitedStates. The roots of this term are almost exclusively traced to its colonial originand to one colony in particular. A CITY ON A HILL Early English colonists whosettled the Eastern seaboard of North America were part of what RobertRosenbaum called a Great Migration of English Puritans who by their verybeliefs were already exceptional in that they saw themselves as differentfrom the Roman Catholicism which pervaded the Church of England. The heart of the Puritandoctrine was essentially that God had already pre-ordained individuals forsalvation, and it was simply up to the individual to know it through theauthenticity of their conversion experience and through lives of sober, piousand prosperous work.These Puritans settled the Massachusetts Bay colony led by John Winthrop whoadmonished his followers that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyesof all peoples are upon us. It was Winthrop and hisfollowers, who by their faith in God and faith in what He had called them to,already saw themselves as exceptional. Alan Brinkley points out that so greatwas their own sense of purity and of single-mindedness in this belief thatthese English colonies werent seeking to isolate themselves from the rest ofthe world, they sought to serve as a model for it hoping, by example, toinspire a transformation of English society into something resembling theirown.. While other regions of theEastern coast were settled by individuals with differing motives, whether religiousor commercial, it would be Massachusetts and the Puritans who would make thebiggest imprint on Colonial America during the 17th century: Although it was in Virginia thatEnglishmen had established their first permanent colony, it was in New Englandthat English settlement most rapidly spread and flourished in the first half ofthe 17th century. In this, the future of the region was shaped lessby the Pilgrim separatists, than by the Puritans Brinkleygoes on to further describe how the Puritan mindset was spread throughout NewEngland and to other parts of English America as a result of an eventualexodus out of Massachusetts due to the unproductiveness of the stony soilaround Boston and the oppressiveness of the Massachusetts government. So from seeds sown in the stonyMassachusetts soil during the early part of the 17th century, outgrows this fruit of self-realized exceptionality and when allowed to grow andspread, would serve to form this moral and intellectual foundation, asWilliam Pfaff describes, that would help construct the logical conclusionAmericans have drawn that the world is eventually destined to become integratedinto an elaboration of the American system.Pfaff summarizes the impact that these early Puritans had on the eventualcourse of the United States by stating that from the beginning, the Americannation has operated on the conviction that it is destined to lead the way forhumanity. This has been fundamental to the American conception of the nationshistorical role. After anothercentury, colonial America has flourished, both in numbers and in quality oflife. In 1760, colonials enjoyed a status unlike any people in the world. Inthis respect, they certainly saw themselves as privileged if not exceptional. AlanTaylor observes that the 13 colonies prior to the revolution of 1776, sought topreserve their special place in the British Empire as virtually untaxedbeneficiaries of imperial trade and protection.They didnt seek independence, but events that began in 1760 would force themto assume the mantle of their calling, and see themselves for what they were. AN EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE American colonies at 1760 werebeginning to formulate a broader concept of exceptionalism, which had its rootsin a centurys-worth of evolving and refining of this notion brought tocolonies like Massachusetts in the form of Puritanism. It was there where apeople with pre-conceived notions of divine-right used their faith as amechanism for developing a political and social structure which would soonpermeate the entire New England region beyond the simple scope of their smallcolony. Already with a belief in a future for themselves greater than that oftheir ancestors, colonials began to see themselves differently from theirEnglish brethren across the ocean. Over time, colonials would seek to maintainboth American and British ties which allowed them to benefit from that uniquemix, both politically, economically and spiritually. However, combinedAmerican-British victories over French forces in 1760 renewed the Britishcommitment to its colonial pursuits, and not in a positive way for thecolo nies. Soon afterwards, British control was increased and its grip tightenedto the point where the 13 colonies had to make a choice between remaining tiedto its British homeland or accepting that role which their predecessors in theNew World knew they were divinely-endowed to fulfill. That choice was basedupon a revolutionary concept comprised of contemporary socio-political forcesand Puritan values espoused by revolutionaries in New England and throughoutthe colonies during the period leading up to 1776 and beyond. Nobody evoked the spirit of thecolonies at this time better than Thomas Jefferson, referred to this uniquecalling that Americans believed themselves had in the Declaration of Independenceclaiming the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and ofNatures God entitle them.This reference and belief in Natural Laws in conjunction with God was a whollyunique concept in Western political ideology and best summarizes what thecolonials political and social self-esteem was like at that time. They clearlysaw themselves in an exalted position, completely justified within thatposition by the grace of God and his Natural Laws. AmericanExceptionalism as an early American concept was introduced as Puritan religiousbelief and evolved into a concept which helped colonials visualize a life asexclusively Americans and not the British/American mixture they had enjoyed tothat point. Understanding that in 1760, colonials had a concept of AmericanExceptionalism, even if it was mixed in with pride as a British citizen, allowsfor one to understand how in the years following, that concept would drive thespirit of revolution that would manifest itself as a nation free from Britishinfluence and dignified by God. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brinkley, Alan, et al. A Survey-AmericanHistory, New Jersey: Stratford Press 1983. Onuf, Peter S., Jeffersons Empire, TheLanguage of American Nationhood, Charlottesville: University Press ofVirginia 2000. Pfaff, William. AmericanDestiny, Commonweal, 5/17/2002, Vol. 129 Issue 10, Rosenbaum, Robert A., The PenguinEncyclopedia of American History, New York: The Penguin Group 2003. Taylor, Alan, American Colonies, NewYork: The Penguin Group 2001

Analysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorn :: essays research papers fc

Ld be at my very elbow" symbolizes that the forest is a mysterious and frightful place (244). With the words, "staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake" (244) and "The moment his fingers touched them, they became strangely withered and dried up as with a week’s sunshine" symbolizes the devil (246). Another important literary element that Hawthorne uses is characterization. He also uses symbolism to represent his characters. For instance, Faith is the wife of Young Goodman Brown and is represented as a beautiful, faithful, and pleasant person. When Hawthorne writes, "the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap", symbolizes Faith to be a beautiful and pleasant person (244). Also Hawthorne writes, "as the wife was aptly named, and she’s a blessed angel on earth" symbolizes that Faith is faithful and honest (243). In contrast to Faith is the mysterious travellar. He represents the devil in the forest which represents hell. Hawthorne writes, "his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake" (244) and "The moment his fingers touched them, they became strangely withered and dried up, as with a week’s sunshine" (246) symbolizes the hellish powers of the devil. Young Goodman Brown plays the middle man within the story. He is married to a beautiful wife and is urged to become bad in the hellish forest. He also finds that his religion teacher, Goody Cloyse, and the church minister, Deacon Gookin, was in this forest. Young Goodman Brown faces an internal conflict with good and evil. Hawthorne writes, "With Heaven above, and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the devil" lets you know that Young Goodman Brown is strongly against evil (247). Also within the story Hawthorne writes, "My Faith is gone, there is no good on earth, and sin is but a name. Come, devil for to there is this world given" which shows that Young Goodman Brown has come to realize that he can no longer trust anyone (248). In this allegory, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses dual settings, along with mood, conflict and characterization to create his theme. That mankind possesses both good and evil within each individual. This is represented by the internal conflict by Young Goodman Brown to be a good individual, but realizing that everyone possess bad.

My Most Memorable Expeirence

My Most Memorable Experience My most memorable experience would have to be the first time I stepped into a dance studio. I recall walking into an old musty room I could smell the sweat from afar. The dance teacher was repeating words that would forever stay with me for years to come. Five, six, seven, eight! The teacher stood in the center of the room clapping her delicate hands to the rhythm of the drum. As I stood there I was transformed. I started to perspire with excitement.I could see the dancers their aces full of intensity stomping to the rhythm of the drum. I knew at that moment that I was soon going to be part of that group. My body began to prepare Itself for the intensity of my first class, that would forever be part of my life. Folkloric dance was soon to become part of my life. I quietly sat down and began to stretch my muscles to prepare for my class. I could see skirts of many vibrant colors twirling and spinning making beautiful designs in the air. I stepped into my f olkloric shoes. These shoes are especially made for this type of dance.They have nails on the tip of he shoe and on the heal, this enables the dancer to make sounds that are different from those used in tap shoes or flamenco shoes. These shoes are hard to find, they are usually ordered from cities like Quadrangular, or Mexico. I Joined the other dancers their faces full of passion and Intensity. They were already producing beautiful â€Å"cooperated†, Toe heal flat, toe, heal flat. I began to move my feet to rhythm of the beat. That I was soon going to be part of that group. My body began to prepare itself for the their faces full of passion and intensity. They were already producing beautiful

Why were the police unable to catch Jack the Ripper?

There are several factors that can be used for why the murderer was never caught, firstly: There were no witnesses, whether this was part of the murderers plan, to find someone without people, or to kill them somewhere isolated then dump their body elsewhere is unknown. It could be accounted to luck that there were no witnesses, and the people who did come forward to give evidence gave several different descriptions, which contradicted each other. If there was someone who witnessed the murder, maybe he would have been caught. The victims were prostitutes; people who usually avoided the police anyway. They were easy victims for several reasons. Firstly, they had a dangerous profession anyway, they risked being beaten up and murdered every night, so maybe with a serial killer out their, they didn't see their chances as any lower or any higher of being murdered. They also really needed the money, to risk going out every night, they were very poor, so they still went out. They would take clients to a place that was isolated from other people, it made it easier for the murder, as noone would hear them, and there would be no witnesses. Also prostitutes were often drunk and vulnerable anyway, making them easier to silence. Because the killer did not know his victims, it made it harder to solve. It is the same case today with the Washington Sniper. If you target people you have no connection with, then there is no way to relate you to them. You cannot ask other friends or family about other people they knew in their life who might kill them, or who is suspicious. It gives the police no link, so they don't have much to follow up on. Other than he was killing prostitutes, and there were hundreds in London. Also, this was one of the first big cases detectives of a poorer area (Whitechapel) had to deal with, their usual methods included rounding up suspicious looking suspects, and patrolling the poorer areas. This was obviously not going to work in this case. Because the Ripper had to blend in, if he wanted prostitutes to go with him. Also, the Ripper's gruesome mutilation was not what the police were used to dealing with, it was not a domestic murder case, therefore they had no leads, but the Ripper was striking at random prostitutes, therefore they had no idea where he could be. There was also a lot of misleading evidence. There were hundreds of letters sent in claiming to be from Jack the Ripper. Only 3 of which are considered to be anywhere near liable. Two of which are from the same person, staring with â€Å"Dear Boss† for these two letters, it could have been sent in straight after reading the newspaper, or made up from a journalist trying to promote the story. The other one however, came with half a kidney, that looked likely to be taken from one of the victims. Other false leads like Leather Apron were also off-putting. The anti-semantic writing on the wall, found near Catherine Eddowes's body, could have also have been a great help, or a disaster. If it was a clue, it was wiped off the wall, and therefore they could not use it to compare handwriting. Or it could be false, leading to riots. The Jews in the past had been blamed for a lot of murders, as they were widely disliked, but still held a lot of money and power in general. Any mention of the killer being Jewish would have lead to riots, which the police did not want on top of trying to catch the killer. It can be said they did their best using what evidence they had. There was no forensic evidence, finer prints were not used until 1901, there was no DNA evidence, and photography in this case had only just started, it made the police's job finding evidence difficult with so little of anything to go on. If they had had DNA evidence, more accurate records of criminals and better security (cameras in the streets) then maybe he would have been caught. But because of limited evidence, of the killer leaving no weapons behind, and clothing and possession were later accounted for, the police had little to go on. The police were also under a lot of pressure from the press and politicians. With the press thinking up of one story after another, it maybe gave the police too many useless leads that wasted their time. The media was constantly bombarding the police force: their usual methods were slow, and not very effective. However now, they were under pressure to catch someone, they had to speed things up, which would have resulted in several wrong suspects, and evidence. They were expected by the public to catch the ripper, after 5 murders that were not prevented after heightened security from the police, it made the public and media put more pressure on. The killings stopped, there are several suspected reasons for this. However, if the murders had continued, it is entirely feasible that someone would have eventually caught him, with so few prostitutes on the street, and so many metropolitan police. Some suspected reasons are: The police were getting to near to catching him, to risky to carry on. He died, or was imprisoned for another crime. Many deaths went unreported to the police. Moved to another part of the UK, with not as good as the metropolitan police force, or just simply moved away. Or moved to another country. After the ripper murders, there were several murders in America, with the same pattern. Because of no international links, noone ever linked the two together. After committing so many crimes and knowing the end was near, killed himself, this too would have carried no concern with the press. He had killed enough people. This one is most unlikely. It has been observed with other psychopaths and serial killers, they only stop when they have been caught, or die. It was probably not as much of a lust as a fixation. They caught the Ripper, but it infact was connected to the royal family or government, and it would have been a huge public scandal, and uproar would ensure, so they never told the press, or anyone else in the police force he was caught.

Church and State Essay

Church and State Essay Church and State Essay Katya Camacho July 2, 2013 HIS 204 Essay 1 Early Medieval Church and State The rulers of medieval time needed active support of the church, because during that period of time, there was chaos and the ruling elite had a hard time controlling the vast amount of land in the Western and Eastern sections of the Roman Empire. Due to the lack of control, the land was invaded over and over again my Germanic people. In order to keep control of the land and unify the people, Constantine legalized Christianity. The church gave great benefits to Constantine and the leaders to follow. For one, Christianity gained influence and attracted many people because it promised salvation for everyone, despite what their social status was or class. Christianity also helped transform the empire into a powerful and wealthy institution called Church. The Church was beneficial because it provided religious unity in a time where the political aspects of the empire were severely fragmented. The Church was also helpful to the rulers, because it helped to g et the alliance of the Germans and Celts. By adopting Christianity and the laws of the Church, the Germans and the Celts simply changed their traditional ways of life to reflect those of the Christian way of life. For example, they converted all of their old shrines into Christian churches. If the rulers did not have the support of the Church, then their empires might have never been united, and their political structure would have remained to be in ruins. Also, with out the active support from the church, they could have

Free Essays on My Child

I sit and think about being pregnant at 18 everyday and often cry, I think people tend to look down on me, I feel sometimes like I’m just a statistic, I worry about not being a good mother, How I’m going to do this, There are times when I just wanted to give up†¦ But I never did, And I thank God for being there, And giving me the strength I needed to keep myself going, I’m grateful to have a family, Who is so supportive of me, Who never put me down or yelled at me for my decision, They and I kept myself motivated to be the best I could be, Whatever other people said, Meant nothing to me, When I saw my baby on the monitor at my first ultrasound, I woke up, I came home and cried, I realized that my child means the world to me, And nothing else matters anymore, I know it’s going to be hard, But I’m willing to do what it takes, Now, It kind of sent me for a twirl, But I can’t wait to hold my baby girl. -OR- And my life will be filled with joy, The moment I get to hold my beautiful baby boy.... Free Essays on My Child Free Essays on My Child I sit and think about being pregnant at 18 everyday and often cry, I think people tend to look down on me, I feel sometimes like I’m just a statistic, I worry about not being a good mother, How I’m going to do this, There are times when I just wanted to give up†¦ But I never did, And I thank God for being there, And giving me the strength I needed to keep myself going, I’m grateful to have a family, Who is so supportive of me, Who never put me down or yelled at me for my decision, They and I kept myself motivated to be the best I could be, Whatever other people said, Meant nothing to me, When I saw my baby on the monitor at my first ultrasound, I woke up, I came home and cried, I realized that my child means the world to me, And nothing else matters anymore, I know it’s going to be hard, But I’m willing to do what it takes, Now, It kind of sent me for a twirl, But I can’t wait to hold my baby girl. -OR- And my life will be filled with joy, The moment I get to hold my beautiful baby boy....

In what ways has Internet changed fashion journalism Essay

In what ways has Internet changed fashion journalism - Essay Example The paper tells that social technologies are no longer a niche market of lifestyle activities for the user of the Internet. Blogs, video-sharing applications and social networks are becoming mainstream activities globally, thus changing the methodology of relationship with media and fashion. The mainstream properties of Internet usage are dominating the distribution and flow of information in very wide demographic audiences. Traditional fashion journalism, such as fashion magazines, provided limited opportunities for gaining market interest or disseminating information as these sources of journalism were targeted as specific, homogenized groups of potential buyers that were restrained through geographics. Fashion industry marketers now have a much broader audience to target using blogs, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter (as several examples) in order to promote their information and products. The mainstream aspects of Internet usage no longer constrain the fashion industry in gaining mar ket interest, which can lead to higher profitability or establish a quality fashion brand. Traditional fashion journalism relied on cultural intermediaries, individuals in society â€Å"who transmit information from those engaged in the creative and production processes of fashion design to consumers†. These include photographers, journalists, ad agencies, salespersons and celebrity models. Cultural intermediaries bring value to the fashion content or marketing strategy as it relates to targeting customers or providing valuable fashion information. For instance, the usage of celebrity models gains sales advantages from the consumer culture under social learning theory. This theory describes that individuals in society will model the beliefs or behaviours of role models who are deemed credible and attractive in the eyes of the receiver so long as they witness the model being rewarded for these actions (Neubert, Carlson, Kacmar, Roberts and Chonko, 2009). This has been one of the fundamental aspects of providing equity and value for fashion journalists as the legitimacy, in the eyes of society, of the cultural intermediaries provides reproduction of similar values and attitudes. This has, traditionally, led to higher sales for fashion merchandise through fashion journalism and associated print or televised media. The Internet, despite those who believe it is eroding traditionalism in fashion journalism, is still modelled against the value of cultural intermediaries. Why is this? Consider the fashion blog as a relevant example. Fashion blogs allow for interactive commentaries to be posted by a variety of consumers where compliments or complaints can be searched by hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Internet users worldwide. â€Å"Peers listen to and trust these reviews† (Fichter, 2007: 27). Under Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a model that is intended to serve as a template for universal foundational motivations and needs, individuals in society are motivated by affiliation with peer groups (Gambrel and Cianci, 2003). The fundamental needs for a sense of

Debate essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Debate - Essay Example R. Bork, in his work, Inconvenient Lives, argues that taking the life of an individual deliberately has never been considered as a matter regarding meaningful indifference. Abortion has now been turned to be a constitutional right, and this clearly indicates the attitude towards life by the society is on a sinking ship. It is an indicator of radical individualism and a development in public immorality. Many abortion supporters fail to understand that taking the life of a fetus is killing a human being with a potential. It is often crucial to persist in moral respect despite the circumstances (Ashton 34). This reality brings about moral anguish, yet it’s a certainty that such acts are grave wrong. No arguments justify the killing of helpless humans, not even overpopulation. Abortion can never be smothered through the use of euphemism. All terms are inadequate to describe the ending of an individual’s rights. In this context, terms such as medical procedures and reproductive rights are most inadequate. Those who seek the right to commit abortion to prevent a future harm are no different to those who plan to sin on the basis that they will plan to seek redemption afterwards. There is no justification that corresponds to this. There is no necessary evil (Pell 320). The burdens that may accrue later in future does not justify taking the life of a person. Putting the child for adoption after birth could help solve the dilemma. Abortion can never serve as a technique for birth control. One can never kill for convenience purposes, or even contemplate in the creation of embryos to be destroyed in research or even consider removal of organs from living babies. That is crossing the lines by disregarding human life. Ellen Willis, in his work regarding Abortion Backlash reproduces a very scarifying police photo of a deceased woman botched of an

Benefits and Limitations of Economic Analyses of Entrepreneurial Essay

Benefits and Limitations of Economic Analyses of Entrepreneurial Behaviour - Essay Example The researcher states that entrepreneurship consists in undertaking those activities which are generally not conducted in usual business routine. However, the entrepreneurial behavior in any country can be affected by economic analyses of a particular nation. The efficacy of entrepreneur improves if certain economic contexts such as political or governmental interference are less in a country. Several economists have defined the term ‘entrepreneur’ and their behavior in an economy. In economic theories, the knowledge of selection and decision making is essential for successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs demonstrate individual qualities which let certain persons make innovative decisions whose impact can be experienced in the long run. In every country, the entrepreneurial behavior is influenced by the suitability and setup of proper business foundations. For instance, political environment, economic environment, marketing aspects and technological aspects can significa ntly impact on the behavior of entrepreneurs. A stable, expectable and well-organized business environment with the strong governing system generally facilitates entrepreneurs to take innovative decisions. Entrepreneurs positively react to the environmental opportunities which in turn is related to economic analysis, because it can help to measure the benefits of opportunities identified. One of the most significant tasks of entrepreneurs is to discover and take advantage of opportunities. Opportunities for entrepreneurs can be defined by those environmental circumstances where products and services can be traded for the higher rate than the cost of production. Entrepreneurs typically decide when to utilize a market in order to support the discovery, and when to create a business to assist in facilitating the discovery. These decisions typically depend on the economic analyses of a country such as technological environment, marketing environment, and political environment. Before an entrepreneur earns revenue from an opportunity, he/she first analyze the worth of the opportunity. According to the discovery theory, there are two major assumptions which impact on entrepreneurial behavior.

Business Ethics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Business Ethics - Article Example Over the last few months errors have been found in foreclosure documentations across the nation, indicating a rush to get the paperwork done. Signatures and notary confirmations have been found to be fake. Baum's firm has processed over 50,000 foreclosure cases since 2007 and he has faced accusations of improper paperwork. Moral questions raise here deal with issues of fairness and justice. 2. In defense of Bau would be the need of banks to recoup their losses from the mortgage crises in property assesses in any way they can. Another defense would be it is wrong for people to sign their names to mortgage contracts when they don't have the ability to pay. 3. It would be interesting in this case to apply, for instance, John Rawl's veil of ignorance to a community of people in a natural state of existence, for example, who have no other considerations but their own rational amount of self-interest. Each of these people have natural hopes and also recognize each others dignity and natura l liberties. These people would be morally violated if they did not have natural rights to such things as home and individual and social welfare.

Technology Enhance students learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technology Enhance students learning - Essay Example This article also shows that using technology tools create a flexible learning environment. The article illustrates an effective way, which is using technology tools in education to improve it and help students understand their subjects easily. This article will be used to show how using technology tools in education can have a positive impact on students lives. The authors demonstrate that using technology in instruction helps teachers create learning context that were not previously possible with traditional teaching methods. The article explains researches to prove that using technology in instructions enhance not only the learning capacities of students but also their motivation; therefore, students are more engaged in the learning process. Mathematics was chosen as the subject to be studied. This article design the research about mathematics and how it was work then it shows the result. This article gives a significant research, which is about using technology in mathematics class. It provides the result of research and how technologies improve students’ capabilities in mathematics class. This research will be used as a second reference to support the point of the positive impact of using technology in the classroom. Armstrong shows how using technology makes a significant change in schools. The author proves that by providing researches of students who use technology in the classroom such as smartphones, tablets and laptops to do homework can make them more interested in subjects than students who do not use these technologies. He also explained how technology is changing the way students learn and how much they benefit. In addition, the author provided some problems of using technology in the classroom; however, he gave some possible solutions. This article provided researches that show the positive effects of using

To What Extent Did Ivan Vyshnegradsky and Sergei Witte Industrialize Essay

To What Extent Did Ivan Vyshnegradsky and Sergei Witte Industrialize 19thcentury Russia - Essay Example Others state that the minister intelligently participated in joint stock companies achieving his state of wealth. Born from parents of the priestly family, the minister graduated from college and thought mathematics and mechanics in a military institution. St Petersburg educational institution is where the minister lectured. Ivan rose to the position of state council in the year 1886. In the year 1887, he became finance minister of Russia. The minister pursued various policies and objectives. Some of his objective in the policies of the ministry increase government interfering with private railways. Some of these policies include the nationalization of the least performing railways. The other important activity of the minister was the preparation of monetary reforms (Alston 904). The other important policy sought by the ministry includes the settlement of the budget deficit. The ministry was also proactive in providing support to domestic industries in the country. When the name of Sergei Witte comes to discussion, various qualities of him take form. The man was a highly influential individual in policy making in Russian. Sergai was at the helm of the ministry during the first Russian revolution. As a minister during that period, the Russian minister saw the abolition of serfdom. The power of the minister was even higher with his relation with reign of Nicholas II. He devoted his life to the adherence of absolute Monarchy. The Minister had an approach to some moral qualities. On the other hand, the leader had a great wealth of wisdom. After his appointment to the ministry, Sergei became the most influential member of the government. His ministry had a positive inferential that is the reason he was successful. On the other hand, the minister implemented a number of reforms in the ministry of Finance. Some of his policies saw the transforming of the economy. The minister was able to transform the economy from a dropping level to a stable scale. The other

Business Ethics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Business Ethics - Article Example Over the last few months errors have been found in foreclosure documentations across the nation, indicating a rush to get the paperwork done. Signatures and notary confirmations have been found to be fake. Baum's firm has processed over 50,000 foreclosure cases since 2007 and he has faced accusations of improper paperwork. Moral questions raise here deal with issues of fairness and justice. 2. In defense of Bau would be the need of banks to recoup their losses from the mortgage crises in property assesses in any way they can. Another defense would be it is wrong for people to sign their names to mortgage contracts when they don't have the ability to pay. 3. It would be interesting in this case to apply, for instance, John Rawl's veil of ignorance to a community of people in a natural state of existence, for example, who have no other considerations but their own rational amount of self-interest. Each of these people have natural hopes and also recognize each others dignity and natura l liberties. These people would be morally violated if they did not have natural rights to such things as home and individual and social welfare.

To What Extent Did Ivan Vyshnegradsky and Sergei Witte Industrialize Essay

To What Extent Did Ivan Vyshnegradsky and Sergei Witte Industrialize 19thcentury Russia - Essay Example Others state that the minister intelligently participated in joint stock companies achieving his state of wealth. Born from parents of the priestly family, the minister graduated from college and thought mathematics and mechanics in a military institution. St Petersburg educational institution is where the minister lectured. Ivan rose to the position of state council in the year 1886. In the year 1887, he became finance minister of Russia. The minister pursued various policies and objectives. Some of his objective in the policies of the ministry increase government interfering with private railways. Some of these policies include the nationalization of the least performing railways. The other important activity of the minister was the preparation of monetary reforms (Alston 904). The other important policy sought by the ministry includes the settlement of the budget deficit. The ministry was also proactive in providing support to domestic industries in the country. When the name of Sergei Witte comes to discussion, various qualities of him take form. The man was a highly influential individual in policy making in Russian. Sergai was at the helm of the ministry during the first Russian revolution. As a minister during that period, the Russian minister saw the abolition of serfdom. The power of the minister was even higher with his relation with reign of Nicholas II. He devoted his life to the adherence of absolute Monarchy. The Minister had an approach to some moral qualities. On the other hand, the leader had a great wealth of wisdom. After his appointment to the ministry, Sergei became the most influential member of the government. His ministry had a positive inferential that is the reason he was successful. On the other hand, the minister implemented a number of reforms in the ministry of Finance. Some of his policies saw the transforming of the economy. The minister was able to transform the economy from a dropping level to a stable scale. The other

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay Example for Free

The adversarial system in England and Wales Essay The adversarial system of law involves a prosecutor defending his/ her clients in the court of law in the presence of a jury. The jury’s role is to make decisions that will be used in passing the sentence. In this system, the lawyers determine the rulings that are passed. â€Å"Lawyers play a central role in presenting each sides case (Mallenson 11). †This is because their intelligence in solving disputes will determine the sentence passed. Therefore, justice will be served when a prosecutor convinces both the judge and the jury that their defendant is innocent. The accused is not mandated to give evidence but should they choose to defend themselves, they will be cross examined by both parties. In England, the adversarial system is overly institutionalised. The prosecutor has to convince the jury beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime. The rule of law entails that the law enforcement agents can only make decisions and exercise their duties when as the law suggests. The rules of revealing evidence are developed based on the laws of England and Wales. The rules in this case give the judge limited power. Hence the roles played by judges in the adversarial system are passive since their duties are to ensure that both parties comply with the court rules and they will give direction on the way forward when disputes arise. The adversarial system, the rules of evidence are strict and the stand of prosecutors should be based on facts. For this reason, the cases are well prepared as prosecutors conduct intensive and extensive investigation prior to the court proceedings. The jury is also supposed to be impartial such that they represent what they consider as the truth so as to enable justice to be served. The adversarial system ensures fair trial as the state is not biased against the defendant. Key principles which govern the behaviour of advocates for the prosecution and the defence For advocates to perform well there are certain principles which they must follow. The key principles are the Expediency principle and the legality principles. The expediency principle also called opportunity principle which ensures that prosecutors need to be well disciplined and discrete so that they can represent the defendants impartially. This means that they are not supposed to handle cases just because they have been presented to the courts but because they want to bring about change and help justice take its course. The legality principle ensures that prosecutors have enough, reliable and valid evidence especially in the early stages. Moreover, the prosecutor is not supposed to be influenced by outside forces (Fionda 8). The key principles are father enhanced by other principles some of them are: The prosecutors should treat each case uniquely and not relate it to similar cases before. They must be fair, independent and should not be influenced by anyone or anything, they have to work in the interests of promoting fair justice and not to fulfil their personal ambitions, they have a responsibility of guiding and advising investigators whenever possible. They also review cases and ensure all evidence is presented to the courts. The prosecutors work is to assist the courts to reach a proper and fair sentence that is backed by sufficient evidence and facts so as to assist the courts to come up with a valid conclusion. They will do this by looking into various matters such as making sure they are conversant with the guidelines on the court procedures with regard to the case; do background research on the victims which will include if they have faced any previous charges. They will also need to make sure that there are fewer barriers that will influence their investigations for instance restraining orders. The prosecutor therefore is useful to the courts because they may tell the court how the victim should be sentenced depending on the crimes they have committed. This is because they prepare a plea and Sentence document before sentencing and they present it to the courts. The prosecutors will therefore ensure fair trial by following up court proceedings by constantly reviewing what is presented to the courts as correct and relevant. Fair trial is also furthered when they address new cases afresh by looking into all the supporting evidence so that they can argue their points in court. In enhancing equality, they do this by making sure that they are not influenced by other people or their personal feelings getting in the way of their work and they will present wrong judgements. They also make sure that the court legislators are informed of what is expected from them as they are constantly advised on the areas where they have doubts. â€Å"Adversarialism will only be valid if both sides are equally matched and every party is treated equally (Ian K, 4). † Presumption of innocence is the state of being considered innocent until the court says you are guilty. This is a right that every accused person is entitled to. The prosecutors therefore are the ones who help the courts prove that a person is ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ beyond any reasonable doubt. The courts refer to as the burden of proof and will only take place when there is evidence. And the prosecutors do this by collecting and presenting the evidence. If the prosecutors or the court has doubt in the evidence presented, the prosecutors will have to be given extra time so that they present what is correct.

How Colour Symbolism in Animation Affects the Viewer

How Colour Symbolism in Animation Affects the Viewer The impact on people of colour symbolism in animation Animation movies present an unusual set of challenges and questions to academics examining films from a cognitive perspective. When the boundaries of the real world do not exist like do in live action movies, the film maker is challenged to create the complete narrative space of scratch. How do animators succeed this seemingly enormous task? This question certainly precedes making film life and space in visual art has been a subject of deep study by artists, photographers, historians and psychologists alike. While the intention may be to create a highly realistic visual space, the option given to visual artists and animators  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   is to abandon principle of realism in favour of another different perspective on the visual reality. Animation alone can bring to life inanimate objects, challenge and defy laws of physics, and create visual effects beyond the bounds of possibility in live action film.Animation and colour have evolved since their respective beginning. Colour has been both an obvious challenge as well as a field for exploration for animators throughout the animation history. Scientific discoveries in aspect to the perception of colour also influenced its use in art and animation, making colour an ideal goal for further exploration in a psychological context. In this chapter three questions will be posed and answered. First, what is colour exactly and how is it defined? And second, how has colour been used by animators through the history of animated film? Finally, how does our cognitive sense of colour shape the viewers cognitive sense of a film? The final question will focus on a specific population of animated movies (animated movies adapted for children), and how the use of colour in these films strategically differs from other types of films. WHAT IS COLOR? Color is a concept that philosophers, artists, and scientists have historically spent a great deal of time exploring and quantifying. Physiologically, our perception of color results from varying wavelengths of light being reflected onto the retina, which in turn are processed by cells called photoreceptors. The relative responses to light spectra by these cells are what generate our ability to see and distinguish between colors. Anomalies in photoreceptor cells can cause deficits in the ability of an individual to see color, though in some unique circumstances, these anomalies allow individuals to more finely discriminate between colors (Neitz, Kraft, Neitz, 1998; Jordan Mollon, 1992; Nagy, MacLeod, Heyneman, Eisner, 1981). 2 Quantifying Color. Attempts to categorize color vastly predate our understanding of the physiology of the eye, but Isaac Newtons Opticks (1704) is pivotal in its introduction of his color wheel for understanding color theory2. The ordering of the colors around his color circle (and in subsequent iterations by other color theorists) is based on the order in which the colors are refracted out from the prism, uniting violet and red to close the radial axis (see Figure 1). Thus the ordering of the colors on the color wheel is not arbitrary, but based in the physics of light. Newton also introduced the notions of primary and secondary colors, and notes that opponent colors on the color wheel combine to create a neutral light color3. Despite that it has evolved over time and exists in varying forms, the color wheel continues to play an important part in both the artistic and psychological understanding of color. Notably, it is useful for defining several metrics of color, namely hue and saturation. Hue refers generally to named colors, and corresponds to the sectors of color into which color wheels are typically divided. Examples of hue-based descriptions include blue-green, red, and pink. Saturation is another important color variable, and generally refers to how bright or potent a color is. Pastel colors (which are closer to the center of the color circle) are relatively unsaturated. Very saturated colors (which are referred to as bright red or bold blue, for example) lie along the outer edges of the color circle. Luminance is another variable important for discussing color. Luminance refers to how light or dark something is; when discussing color in particular, it refers to how much black is contained within a particular color. Unlike hue and saturation, luminance can be independent of color; in other words, black-and-white images contain no hue or saturation information but do contain luminance information. Because luminance is not a variable unique to color stimuli, it is not represented on the color wheel4, but nonetheless it is an important variable when discussing color. These terms, including how they are mathematically quantified, will be revisited later with data. The color wheel is not the only color quantification system to define colors using the metrics of hue, saturation, and luminance. One of the most noted color-classification systems, and the one still most reliably used in psychophysiological testing, was originally developed by Albert Munsell, and also uses these color parameters5. Munsell compiled and organized a tremendous set of finely-grained discrete colors now known as Munsell colors or Munsell chips (Munsell, 1912; Munsell, 1919). One important component of the Munsell color system is that it emphasizes that color perception is dependent on the physiology of the human eye. For example, humans can more identify many more discrete levels of yellow than blue at high values, whereas the reverse is true at low values. In other words, one can argue more light yellows exist than dark yellows, whereas color wheel representations suggest that all color values exist equally in our visual environment. While the study of how we physiologically perceive color is important, perhaps more critical in studying art and film from a cognitive perspective is the question of how we psychologically respond to color. Our preferences for and biases toward particular colors have the potential to influence how we respond cognitively and emotionally to art. Color Preferences. Artists across visual domains recognize how the use of color affects viewers perception of their work. Deliberate and comprehensive choices regarding the use of color permeate all types of visual art, including intentional choices to omit color from 3 artwork6. Unsurprisingly, people tend to have strong predelictions for particular colors. While it might intuitively seem like individuals each have their own color preferences that are unique, the psychological research on color preferences reveals a surprising amount of concordance across people in terms of color preferences. In terms of specific colors, research has consistently demonstrated a cross-gender and cross-cultural preference for blue hues above other hues (Eysenck, 1941; Granger, 1952; McManus, Jones, Cottrell, 1981; Komar Melamid, 1997). People also tend to consistently rate yellow and brown hues as being least pleasant, especially in their darker forms (Palmer Schloss, 2010). Biases across populations are not limited to hue; people consistently tend to favor colors in more saturated forms as opposed to more washed-out or pastel counterparts of the same hue (Granger, 1952). Naturally, the consistency in color preference drove psychologists to posit theories on how color preference develops. Some have proposed that color preference is an innate artifact of human evolutionary history, which developed to facilitate our early survival in hunter-gatherer societies (Hulbert Ling, 2007). While some biological evidence supports this idea, if color preferences are present at birth, infants and adults should show similar color preferences, when in fact they do not. Data collected from infants and young children suggest that color preferences change over time, and that while children eventually match adults on their color preferences later, they are not born with those preferences. Infants tend to prefer colors that adults classify as unpleasant, namely dark yellows, yellow-greens and reds (Adams, 1987). Children also have a preference for very high saturation that gradually diminishes to match the adult preference level for saturation (Child, Hansen, Hornbeck, 1968). Since preferences for color dimensions seem to be dynamic over the lifespan, it is unlikely that color preferences are built-in. This is not to say that color preference is purely nonfunctional; in fact, the ecological valence theory of color preference suggests that the early associations humans build with colored objects facilitate their color preferences (Palmer Schloss, 2010). For example, our early preference for dark yellows in infancy may come from consistent positive exposure to caregiver skin tones and hair color; it is only later that we learn the association between dark yellows and rotten food or excrement, at which point this preference changes direction. Conversely, as we increase our exposure to stimuli like clean water and fresh food, our preferences for blues and slightly-saturated hues begins to dominate color preferences. Yet another theory, which is particularly relevant for the use of color in an art space, is that we learn strong associations between emotion and color, and color can consequently be used to evoke particular states of emotion. Specific colors have been shown to correlate with arousal (Valdez Mehrabian, 1994) and scales of emotional valence (Kaya Epps, 2004; for a detailed review on color-emotion literature, see also Steinvall, 2007). This theory is not necessarily at odds with other theories on color preference; in fact, it may simply supplement the idea that gaining positive associations with a color increases our preference for that color, which is an assumption that guides most current theories on color preference. 4 The question that remains from our understanding of color preference is whether or not art mimics life; in other words, how do animated filmmakers instill color in an artificial world, and do filmmakers exploit our color preferences in order to make their films more engaging? HOW IS COLOR USED IN ANIMATION? Color is arguably one of the most salient features of even the earliest animated films. This is not to imply, however, that the techniques involved in creating an animated space with dynamic color is a simple process. In fact, some of the biggest obstacles in moving animation forward as an art form arose from the complications of colorization. Cel Animation. Often referred to as traditional animation, the cel animation approach dominated the animated film landscape from very early in films history to the relatively recent advent of computer animation. Cel animated films composite a meticulously painted background layer with transparent celluloid (or cel) layer containing foreground information. Each layer carries with it important implications for how color is ultimately represented and rendered in the final film. The background layer, while usually created first, must work reciprocally with the cel layers in order for the colors to appear natural together and for the layers to appear integrated. The overuse of color, in particular colors that are heavily saturated, tends to overwhelm cel forms placed overtop the background; instead, the background ideally consists of more muted colors to complement the component cel forms. This led to the Disney animated film signature watercolor effect of its background layers (Thomas Johnson, 1995). The cel layer presents significantly more challenges where color is involved, and these challenges were originally addressed by Disneys larger-budget animation studios. The physical properties of celluloid itself have implications for color; the thicker the cel, the darker the resulting colors layered onto the cel layer (Thomas Johnson, 1995). Thus, paint color had to be balanced in such a way that the resulting cel painting did not clash with the watercolor appearance of the background layer. Colors high in saturation were often difficult to achieve because they also ultimately darkened when photographed from the cel. Disneys animators found that muted colors in the cel layer often were the best complement for a variety of background layers. When designing a character or a cel-layer object, animators were often limited by the expense of cel paint colors, and thus character design was in a sense limited by color. Adding to this complication, cel artists and color keys also had to adjust the color palettes of characters depending on the implied lighting of a background, to avoid a character looking overly-red or overly-saturated in a nighttime scene, for example (Thomas Johnson, 1995). Color in the cel layer also contained some complications for maintaining realism in the animated scene. For example, outlining characters in black often made their appearance visually heavier and detracted from their integration with the background layer. Disney first introduced colored inking to replace universal blank inking, and colored inking was also integrated with cel Xeroxing technology as that emerged (Thomas Johnson, 1995). Another color problem dealt with creating depth in the cel layer: textures in hair and fur could be created via airbrushing and drybrushing, but this created a flicker effect when the individual cels were captured in sequence. 5 Animators ultimately decided this depth was worth a certain small-scale amount of flicker tradeoff (Thomas Johnson, 1995). Computer Animation. The cel approach dominated animated films for decades, and the interest in streamlining the cel animation process led to the initial involvement of computers in animation. The first film to be digitally composited was Disneys 1990 film The Rescuers Down Under (Prince, 2012). Computer involvement in animation was also prioritized as a means of film restoration and improving film resolution; that same year, digital paint techniques allowed Disney to fix flaws in the original print of Fantasia for reissue, and in 1993, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was completely restored to create a higher-resolution version of the film (Bordwell, 2012). Computer-based coloring was particularly valuable because it generated more freedom to alter independent components of an image. Prior to computer involvement, color correction had to be done on a whole-frame basis; the process of digitally compositing and altering films meant that color-correction could be done on an individual object or character without the need to alter the entire frame image (Prince, 2012). The involvement of computers in animation continued to grow as the technology became more inexpensive and accessible, and animators experimented with new computer-based techniques for animating (such as crowd-generation in Mulan(1998))7. By the mid-90s, the vast majority of cel animated films employed computers to streamline the once-arduous tasks involved in hand-animating films, including colorization. Because animators no longer had to rely on physical paint or hand-calibrate background and cel layers, the colorization and texturization processes became much easier, and artists in turn were able to work with more degrees of freedom in their animating. The revolution in computer animation began with the first fully computer-based animated film, Toy Story (1995). Moving from a two-dimensional animation space into a threedimensional, digitally-constructed environment had a huge initial investment cost (both in labor and finance), but ultimately gave the animated filmmaker a great deal of flexibility in constructing visual narratives (for a review, see Lasseter, 1987). Constructing and coloring a 3D environment and set of characters involves a great deal of initial time and planning, but the ultimate outcome is a greater degree of control in colorization, in which every individual element in the digital landscape can be fine-tuned in color space. Film Stock. One important caveat worth noting when discussing animation is that the color of the final product is always affected by the film stock. Even in contemporary computer animation, where color design can be done on a very fine-grained scale, the final film is ultimately rendered onto film stock. The choice of film stock, as evidenced especially by the changes in stock availability and popularity over time, as well as advances in stock quality, renders color variably (Bordwell Thompson, 2004). Technicolor film stock was popular with early Disney animated films, which exacerbated complications with cel painting by rendering colors heavy in midtones. This forced animators and color keys8 into a particular spectrum of colors when painting in order to achieve the desired final look on the Technicolor film stock (Thomas Johnson, 1995). Even in modern animated films, the change between the cel or computer and the film stock accounts for some variability in coloring of the final product. Indeed, this is not even the last step in color variance: the original camera negative is almost 6 always different from the colors displayed in theaters, on home televisions, or on computer screens (Prince, 2012). Some of this variance can potentially be put to rest with the increasing number of films being distributed as Digital Cinema Packages (rather than in 35mm form), but it persists as a problem for those interested in studying pinpointing color in film scientifically (Bordwell, 2012). It is clear that artists have more freedom with color in animated films. Before digital technology, live action films were confined by the natural color of objects in a scene as well as by the limited amount of post-production work available to alter color (Prince, 2012). However, from animations inception, animators have been able to select a wide range of colors to best suit their needs, despite some of the early cost and technical constraints. The introduction of computer animation allows for the greatest amount of freedom in color control, putting the entire digital color environment under the direction of the artistic team. The precise control of color in this setting not only has artistic consequences, but also important implications for how films can evoke particular psychological responses from its viewers. The rest of this chapter will examine work revolving around the use of color for a particular audience of animated viewers: specifically, how filmmakers use color in animated films intended for children. CHILDRENS ANIMATED FILMS: ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN COLOR USE? In the introduction to her book A Reader in Animation Studies, Jayne Pilling (1997) discusses how Disney, as the first company to invest heavily in animated features, eventually became the model for animated films and subsequently marginalized animation into an art form somehow intrinsically only appropriate for entertaining children (xi). Indeed, it appears that the Disney model caused an aggressive bifurcation in the animated feature world, with heavy emphasis being placed on the creation of child-oriented animated films, and a smaller contingent of artists attempting to legitimize animation as an art form appealing to adults. While Pilling is correct in that the latter set of films is certainly underrepresented in the film studies literature, child-oriented animated features have a particular appeal for being studied from a cognitive perspective. Filmmakers in this animation subset face a specific challenge in trying to engage children in their visual narrative; there is ample evidence that the cognitive and attentional capacities of children differ from those of adults considerably, so what changes must the director of a childrens animated film make in order to captivate this unique audience? One potential shift to accommodate this audience appears to take place in colorization of these films. In order to study the physical properties (including color) of childrens films, we assembled a sample9 of G-rated childrens films made between 1985 and 2008 (Brunick, DeLong, Cutting, 2012; Brunick Cutting, in prep). Films in the sample were the highestgrossing G-rated theatrical films from each year in the range and also included some direct-tovideo films10. The sample included live-action, cel animated and computer animated films geared to a variety of ages11. We considered our entire sample of childrens films for our original analyses; for the purposes of this chapter, only the animated films (both cel and computer) will be discussed. This sample is contrasted with a subsample of adult-geared, non-animated films 7 from the same time period (see the 1985 through 2005 films from Cutting, DeLong, Nothelfer, 2010). The following sections will (1) discuss how the color parameter in question was mathematically quantified and (2) discuss the trends in the color parameter for the child- and adult-directed samples. Saturation. As discussed earlier, saturation refers to the brightness or boldness of a color. Saturation radiates outward from the center of the color circle: the center of the circle is white, with no saturation, while the edges of the circle represent fully-saturated forms of a particular hue. However, when analyzing color digitally, saturation is typically not discussed in terms of a color wheel, but instead in terms of a digital color space known as the HSV cone. This space is named for its dimensions: hue, saturation, and value. Value is roughly equivalent to luminance, and this space is essentially constructed by adding this variable to the color wheel (see Figure 2). The base of the HSV cone is a color wheel, and the height of the cone represents value. As value decreases (as the colors become darker), colors are limited in their saturation. Saturation is generally quantified on a scale from 0 (white, no saturation) to 1 (fully saturated). Saturation levels for each pixel in a frame were digitally computed. The median saturation level for all the pixels in each frame was computed, and an average of the frames was obtained for the entire film. Within the childrens film sample, we found that cel animated films use significantly more saturated colors than computer-generated animated films, independent of the year that the films were made. Both live-action childrens films and the matched sample of adult-geared films have been increasing in saturation over time; in other words, newer films are more prone to be more saturated than older films. However, even with this trend, the live-action childrens films and adult-directed films are dramatically less saturated than their animated counterparts. This finding is both interesting and unsurprising for the same reason: the saturation levels in childrens films likely reflect young childrens preference for bright colors. However, it is unlikely that filmmakers are consciously making these choices based on the psychological literature; filmmakers instead are likely intuiting this preference, perhaps based on their own conceptions of how children respond to film or other parts of their visual environment. Regardless of the basis of this intuition, it is important to note that the saturation trends in the films appear to match the scientifically-established preferences of the target audience. Luminance. Though it can be measured independently of color, luminance plays an important part in color space and ultimately how a color is perceived on-screen. To assess luminance, color was digitally removed from the film using a standard digital grayscale conversion. Each pixels luminance value is computed, with values ranging from 0 (pure black) to 255 (pure white). The mean of the pixels in a frame were averaged to create the mean luminance for that frame, and the frames were subsequently averages to create whole-film lumimance. The trend in Hollywood films for adult audiences is a decrease in luminance; in other words, films have steadily been getting darker throughout the studied period, which has implications for directing eye-gaze and attention of the viewer during the film (Cutting, Brunick, DeLong, Iricinschi, Candan, 2011; Smith, 2012). Animated films for children, conversely, maintain a steady level of brightness independent of year, the target age of the film, or what type of animation (cel or computer) was used. While one could argue that consistent brightness is a 8 possible artifact of representing particular colors in animation, childrens live action films are actually increasing in brightness over this period; this evidence instead supports an interpretation that the intended audience is driving the brightness level, not simply that animated films are generally brighter. Another question posed by these findings is the potential interaction between saturation and luminance. As demonstrated by the HSV cone, colors with lower values are limited in their saturation. Is it then possible that childrens films are more saturated only because they are brighter? Or, perhaps, does the inclination of filmmakers to use saturated colors in childrens films necessitate a certain luminance level? While this is certainly possible, it is unlikely that the luminance findings are purely an artifact of the saturation levels, or vice versa. If this were the case, one would expect the trends in both the childrens films and adult-directed films to be complementary; in other words, both luminance and saturation should be increasing or decreasing together in the samples. This is not what we find. In the childrens sample, saturation levels hold steadily across time, while these films have increased in brightness over the same period. Even more importantly, adult-geared films have gotten considerably darker, but have also become steadily more saturated, not less. This evidence suggests that while luminance and saturation have a reciprocal relationship, and while some of the variance in one accounts for variance in the other, the findings reported here on the two metrics are largely independent. Hue. As discussed earlier, hue generally refers to named colors. In both the color wheel and in the HSV cone, hue is represented around the radial edge. One major problem with this representation of hue is that it is based in circular geometry, which makes mathematically quantifying and comparing hues difficult and unintuitive. Fully isolating luminance from hue in the HSV color space is also problematic; an ideal space for considering hue would allow for a full spectrum of colors to be represented (1) in a more convenient mathematical space and (2) independent of luminance. Accordingly, we considered hue using the YCbCr color space, which meets these important criteria. This color space takes the form of a rectangular prism on a diagonal axis (see Figure 3). This color space is also named for its axes in the space: Y (on the vertical axis) refers to luminance, while Cb and Cr refer respectively to chrominance-red and chrominance-blue. The chrominance axes plot complementary colors from the color wheel (red-green and blue-yellow, respectively) on opposite rectangular planes of the prism. The distinct advantage of YCbCr is having luminance on its own axis; in this way, one could take a square slice through the prism to get a square containing all colors at an isoluminant level. Rather than examining whole-film hue, which is nearly impossible without reducing hue on arbitrary dimensions, our research has examined the hue of particular characters in childrens films. We asked independent coders to view childrens animated films in grayscale, and to identify unambiguous protagonists and antagonists in the film. Frames containing these characters were selected, and the characters themselves were extracted from their background. The dominant hue of the protagonists and antagonists were plotted on an isoluminant slice of YCbCr color space. The analyses showed that protagonists, defined as unquestionably positive and morally-right characters, contained more blue and green hues. Antagonists, conversely, contained more red and yellow hues (Brunick, DeLong, Cutting, 2012). Unlike saturation, 9 where films mimic the preferences found in children, this analysis shows that the use of hue in childrens films coincides with adult hue preferences. If childrens preferences were being exploited, good characters would likely contain more child-preferred hues, such as red and yellow, when in reality precisely the opposite occurs. It is unclear why this trend is present, and certainly merits further analysis. One possible explanation is that the shift in hue preferences supposedly occurs earlier than the shift in saturation preferences; adults may not be as aware of the hue preference in children because it shifts earlier, and thus adults and filmmakers have less exposure to this cognitive facet of child color preference. The implications for studying childrens animated films, and childrens films in general, are vast. Researchers not only are able to gain insight into childrens cognitive capacities and preferences, but they can also observe the early reciprocal relationship between filmmaker and viewer. While films for adults are mostly classified as art or entertainment, film in a childs world also serves as an important tool for learning. Facilitating early learning from visual stimuli is a major goal of both psychology and education researchers, and childrens films c

Buffalo Soldiers :: essays research papers

Daily Life on the Western Frontier Daily life for the troops of the 9th and 10th Cavalries was harsh, but, for the most part, it was similar to that of their White counterparts. During the 1860s and 70s, the frontier forts resembled little more than rundown villages, and the enlisted men's barracks were often poorly ventilated, insect infested hovels. The only bathing facilities usually consisted of the local creek. As a result, diseases such as dysentery, bronchitis, and tuberculosis were a common problem. Rations throughout the Indian campaigns consisted mainly of beef or bacon, potatoes, beans, fresh vegetables from the post garden, and sometimes fruit or jam. The work week was seven days, with the exception of the fourth of July and Christmas. The monthly pay for a private was a mere $13. When available, many of the African-American troops spent leisure hours in schools established to alleviate the illiteracy mandated by slavery. The schools were normally run by chaplains assigned to the Black units, for this purpose. Other leisure activities were few, especially for the African-American troops stationed in west Texas. Only a small percentage of enlisted men were able to bring their wives with them to the frontier posts. The small villages which grew up around the forts were usually little more than a collection of saloons and gambling parlors, inhabited by some of the more unsavory characters on the frontier. Here, partially due to the federal government's harsh reconstruction policies, racial prejudice by both local citizens and law officers was severe. When disputes arose among Buffalo Soldiers and locals, the local law and juries consistently sided against the troops. The most serious problem faced by the Army during the Indian War period was desertion. In 1868, the desertion rate for enlisted personnel was approximately 25 percent. Desertions among White regiments were roughly three times greater than those among Black units.

Gun Control Essay -- Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Gun control in the United States has been a controversial issue for some time now. So much so that the Supreme Court even refuses to address this issue directly. Gun control really boils down to the the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Many people have different interpretations of the Second Amendment and the trenches are dug in deep on this issue. The Second Amendment can not provide the right to bear all types of arms to protect the people from governmental tyranny. If the Second Amendment was absolute, then we would allow the public to possess nuclear weapons, missiles, and other such arms, because like the 9 mm handgun that is an arm, a nuclear warhead is also a type of arm. The more our government restricts our rights to own certain types of arms, the more freedom we lose. Should the government make citizens disclose information such as your views, associations, and personal history in order to obtain an arm? Which types of Arms should be prohibited? The Second Amendment c learly states â€Å"A well regulated Milita, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† The question then is not if we should restrict arms ownership, but how much we should restrict arms ownership or how much freedom we are willing to sacrifice?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Second Amendment does not say that certain peoples with certain views are the only ones who are allowed to bear arms. The government must be very careful about what they ask in order not to infringe on our personal rights. I feel that it is wrong for government agencies to ask your political views in order for you to obtain a gun. It is not their right to decide which views are acceptable for gun ownership. The government must provide the right to bear arms equally to all citizens. If the government could completely regulate who had weapons and who didn’t have weapons there would be no equality among the people. The reason being is the government would abusively allow their supports to own weapons and the non supports would be without weapons to defend themselves. This would create an unbalanced society that would install fear in to the non supporters. So where should the government stop? I believe the government should only be able run a cross check wi th some database of repeat offenders and known terrorists. All who don’t raise a ... ...u may think that owning one of these weapons would increase shooting and so forth, but I believe that if you want to shoot someone you are going to do it regardless of what type of weapon you have, and you could possible in danger a lot more people with a now easily obtain legal sniper style rifle. In most states there is no check what so ever other than you age in order to obtain such a gun. On the other hand there are extensive background checks in order to obtain a .22 Cal handgun of much less power. I don’t think that we need to dictate what type of fire arms people own, instead let us set a some other type of limit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All things considered, I think criminals are obtaining more and more illegal arms with great diversity while the general publics’ choices in firearms are becoming much thinner and under matched with today’s criminals. We must change the laws to allow our citizens to actually protect themselves from these people. And the government should do only minimal background checks in order to assure society as a whole protection and not its own. Works Citied â€Å"ACLU Policy #47† http://www.lectlaw.com/files/con11.htm Copyright  © William Thomas

Easton Baseball Bats vs. Demarini Baseball Bats

Ever since the invention of the metal bat, creators have been perfecting the specific ingredients to it in order to create the best performance possible for an athlete. Over the past decade, two particular brands of baseball bats have revolutionized the way that players hit the baseball and perform at high levels. The common brands for baseball players are the Demarini and Easton brand baseball bats. Not only are both baseball bats reliable, they also perform at the highest level to create exemplary satisfaction. But an argument remains for both bats; which is the most reliable, which bat is the most effective on the field, and which bat do the players prefer the most? The elements of these particular brands are corresponding in a way to create an exceptional evaluation, but based on overall performance and player nostalgia the Easton bat has the upper hand. The Demarini brand of bats was established with the common goal in mind of revolutionizing the feel of the ball off the bat, and ultimately increasing the velocity of the ball off the bat. As a result, the manufacturer conjured the idea of â€Å"composite† metal, which is a softer and more flexible metal then the normal aluminum used in bats from the past. The baseball would basically bounce off this new type of bat with higher velocity. The composite idea took off, and soon players all over the world loved the feel of this now material as it struck a baseball. Climactically, the new Demarini bat was a better performer on the baseball field than its counterparts; with the exception of the Easton brand. As a result to the evolutional upgrade to the Demarini baseball bat, Easton turned the competition up a notch with the creation of stronger, more reliable bats that lasted a player several years of pertinent performance. Demarini bats were known to crack and lose â€Å"pop† over time, even with the risk of completely breaking! Easton bats were now tougher and more durable than the competitors, specifically Demarini. They also created the perfect balance on the baseball bat. Some bats feel â€Å"top heavy† (more weight is on the end of the bat causing an uneven swing), but Easton perfected balance creating more weight towards the handle. With the upgrades established by Easton, they were now on top of the baseball performance mountain, and no one has touched them to this day. Players across the nation and world have enjoyed the Easton bat’s performance on the field. Organizations have committed specifically to reviewing and studying the performance of baseball bats. According to baseballbat-reviews. com: Easton has produced top-of-the-line sporting equipment and for years has been one of America’s first choices, especially when it comes to aluminum baseball bats. There is no doubt [sic] all of Easton baseball bats will get the job done. Players have also personally shown their appreciation of the Easton baseball bat and how it has improved their performance on the field. John Stalton in Littleton, CO stated to Easton’s personal website, â€Å"†¦this is the best bat I have ever used over the course of 3 years; I will never buy a different brand of bat. † Player nostalgia is the most important argument to proving the level of performance a baseball bat brings to the table, and Easton went above-and-beyond in customer satisfaction. Demarini had many player disapprovals regarding reliability and, sometimes, performance. John Stalton said, â€Å"I have tried to use a Demarini, but it created too many problems. After 2 weeks, there was a rattling in the bat when I swung it. † Performance and reliability are the two major components to how bats are evaluated by players in modern day baseball. The Demarini and Easton brand baseball bats have been widely praised for their performance on the field, but no other brand can compare to Easton’s reliability to the players. Players have voiced their opinions regarding the performance and reliability of these particular brands, and a result; the Easton baseball bat has been considered the best metal bat in baseball today.