Free Essays on The Transformation Of Shell

The Transformation of Shell In the 1990’s, international environmentalists, human rights activists, and shareholder campaigns all asking for change bombarded Shell Oil Company. Shell was in the midst of dramatically changing in hopes to â€Å"become an organization in which financial, social, and environmental performance are equally valued and fully integrated†.1 A product organizational structure was introduced in 1995 to replace the matrix structure that had been used since the 1950’s. The restructuring and external pressures on the company led to the implementation of some initiatives that tried to improve Shell’s social and environmental performance. These initiatives included: a report titled Society’s Changing Expectations, and changes to business practices, reporting practices, and stakeholder relations. Even with all these changes, Shell’s reputation is worse than it has ever been. The SEC is investigating the over reporting of 3.9 billion barrels of oil in the reserves, and the CFO, Judith Boynton has resigned.2 I believe Shell’s changes were just intended to influence the public’s perception of the company. There were three incidences in the mid 1990’s that led to negative publicity for Shell. Greenpeace was the largest environmental organization and opposed Shell’s disposal plans of a large oil storage and loading buoy called Brent Spar. The large platform was going to be sunk in the ocean, after local officers removed Greenpeace activists that had stationed themselves aboard to protest.1 With all the press coverage, Shell revised their plan and decided to recycle the buoy into a Ro/Ro ferry in Norway. The Body Shop International, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth were also teaming up to spread negative advertising protesting Shell. These organizations were outraged that Shell would not take responsibility for their oil spills on the Ogoni land in Nigeria, which Shell has been drilling ... Free Essays on The Transformation Of Shell Free Essays on The Transformation Of Shell The Transformation of Shell In the 1990’s, international environmentalists, human rights activists, and shareholder campaigns all asking for change bombarded Shell Oil Company. Shell was in the midst of dramatically changing in hopes to â€Å"become an organization in which financial, social, and environmental performance are equally valued and fully integrated†.1 A product organizational structure was introduced in 1995 to replace the matrix structure that had been used since the 1950’s. The restructuring and external pressures on the company led to the implementation of some initiatives that tried to improve Shell’s social and environmental performance. These initiatives included: a report titled Society’s Changing Expectations, and changes to business practices, reporting practices, and stakeholder relations. Even with all these changes, Shell’s reputation is worse than it has ever been. The SEC is investigating the over reporting of 3.9 billion barrels of oil in the reserves, and the CFO, Judith Boynton has resigned.2 I believe Shell’s changes were just intended to influence the public’s perception of the company. There were three incidences in the mid 1990’s that led to negative publicity for Shell. Greenpeace was the largest environmental organization and opposed Shell’s disposal plans of a large oil storage and loading buoy called Brent Spar. The large platform was going to be sunk in the ocean, after local officers removed Greenpeace activists that had stationed themselves aboard to protest.1 With all the press coverage, Shell revised their plan and decided to recycle the buoy into a Ro/Ro ferry in Norway. The Body Shop International, the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth were also teaming up to spread negative advertising protesting Shell. These organizations were outraged that Shell would not take responsibility for their oil spills on the Ogoni land in Nigeria, which Shell has been drilling ...

The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang

The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang The Shelf Lives of Expressions and Slang By Mark Nichol Several weeks ago, President Obama, in announcing during a television interview that he didn’t want to inflame Islamic extremists by releasing photos taken of Osama bin Laden’s body following the al-Qaeda leader’s assassination by a U.S. military unit, said, â€Å"There’s no need to spike the football.† Huh? In American football, players have been known to triumphantly punctuate a touchdown by spiking the ball, or throwing it point first against the surface of the playing field so that it emphatically bounces away. By summoning that imagery, Obama expressed his reluctance to have the United States be perceived as gloating about bin Laden’s death. So, do you think that analogy has legs? (The stem of that expression, in turn, is from theatrical slang for a stage production with the potential for long-running success.) The truth is, the entertainment industry, whether in the form of a professional sports or any one of various theatrical endeavors, has enriched our language with a wealth of idiomatic expressions: The sports world has given us â€Å"A-game† (an excellent effort), â€Å"Hail Mary pass† (a desperate gambit), and â€Å"slam-dunk† (a definitive accomplishment), among a stadium full of other vivid phrases. Meanwhile, the performing arts have contributed â€Å"It ain’t over till the fat lady sings† (meaning â€Å"Don’t give up† interestingly, often voiced late in seemingly one-sided athletic contests), â€Å"Break a leg† (meaning â€Å"Good luck†), and â€Å"It’s a wrap† (meaning â€Å"We’re done†). Other expressions derive from a wide variety of other fields and pursuits, and though some of these figures of speech may induce groans because of the excess of their success through viral propagation, many are quite effective in conveying a message at least for now. Any such phrasing, however, is subject to the cultural forces at play at any time. Ronald Reagan would not have said, â€Å"There’s no need to spike the football† in response to the fall of the Berlin Wall more than twenty years ago, because the gridiron tradition in question postdates that event. Two decades from now, it may die out, and the expression may fade into obsolescent oblivion. And that’s the moral of this story: If you’re writing for an ephemeral medium like newspapers, magazines, or the Internet, you need not concern yourself with the staying power of current slang or expressions derived from pop culture. But if you’re writing a book, or are otherwise more concerned about the legacy of your efforts, take care in the use of idiom so that your prose does not come under fire (as the military-based expression goes) for being tired or passe. You are allowed a pass (but not a Hail Mary pass) if, say, you’re writing a coming-of-age story in which you want to re-create the zeitgeist by resurrecting the lingo of the time, but be careful not to have your characters indulge in incessant ’70s-speak, for example. Ask any survivor of that era, and they’ll tell you that â€Å"Far out,† â€Å"Right on,† and â€Å"Keep on truckin’† were far from ubiquitous. Admittedly, some idiom has survived years, decades, centuries, and even millennia: The entrance to a house in Pompeii, inundated by volcanic ash in 79 AD, has an inscription on the floor that reads â€Å"Cave canem† â€Å"Beware of the dog.† But cave this: Whoever coins or borrows an expression isn’t entitled to determine its staying power or whether it survives only in ironic or derisive usage. Bummer, huh? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational Writing16 Misquoted QuotationsWhat Is the Meaning of "Hack?"

Impact of First World War on Russia and Germany Essay

Impact of First World War on Russia and Germany - Essay Example This was also the result of Russia being isolating itself and sending belligerent messages to the rest of the astounded world that was aghast with the termination of Tsars that led to their cold-blooded killing. The direct impact of world war started with the vast mobilisation of military and Russian population even in the farthest corners of Russia started dreading the outbreak of war with most of the able bodied men disappearing into the defence forces. Social impact of the military disasters between 1914 and 1915 was terrible for Russian population, who, till then, lived a rather deprived, but peaceful existence and most of the Russians were peasants in the far-flung areas of Russia1.There were war refugees accompanied by vast displacement of population as a result of Russian retreats in the first two years of war. It is said that more than one fifth of Russia's railway wagons were involved only in the work of evacuating people and other equipments in the summer of 1915. This had become very important to save the population from perishing in the hands of advancing Germany. More than half a million peasant households were displaced with disastrous effects. It was not easy to provide eithe r employment or basic necessities to these displaced people and rehabilitation when the country was losing the war was extremely difficult. Military reverses as in any other country, had direct impact on ordinary people of Russia. Farmers had to leave their land and livelihood and farm machinery and this means they had no ways of continuing farming. They were unsuitable for any other life and living without a roof over their heads in Russian winter was another major problem. There was widespread chaos and confusion combined with acute shortage of food and shelter almost leading to starvation. Naturally the government was unable to meet the expenses of refugees and running a full-blooded military campaign against Germany who had prepared for this war for years. Different sections of Russian society reacted in different ways, no doubt. But all of them showed understandable desperation of not knowing when the war would end. Refugees had no idea when they would be able to return home. Educated sections of the society and the intellectuals were getting more and more alienated from the government. From hindsight it is difficul t not to sympathise with the government which was under enormous stress and strain of protecting the land from the enemy attack, facing the weather conditions, clothing and keeping the soldiers armed and happy and facing the internal upheaval of a ruined economy, though the Russian elite remained committed to somehow achieving victory in the ongoing war. There are also indications that other than the military, civil administration was uncooperative in the war efforts and this slowly created rift in the ranks and lines of educated society. Government had been unable to mobilise public opinion in favour of the war it had been fighting. People were more concerned about losing their homes and hearths and were worried about their livelihoods than about the real war. Their minds were full of the hardships and difficulties they were facing with their families and ideologies did not worry them much, faced with enormous problems which did not seem to end.

Overcoming barriers in partnering in construction Essay

Overcoming barriers in partnering in construction - Essay Example No doubt, partnering in construction for private industrial purposes downwardly followed manufacturing decline in the United Kingdom, while, conversely, the main gain in share of total construction output has been in private commercial development - i.e., offices and shops - reflecting the growth of the tertiary sector of the economy. Public infrastructure, especially road-building for private transport, also showed considerable gains(Bak, J. K. 2004). In Ball's review of partnering construction output trends from 1955 to 1985, he noted the dramatic rise in public sector markets, both housing and other construction, from 1955 to 1972, as they doubled in value over this period, with the non-housing element trebling. This latter showed faster growth than any other partnering construction market (Hwang, I. J. 2003). Thereafter, following the oil crisis, there is a sharp division between falling public sector demand across all spheres, and cyclical but growing private sector partnering c onstruction. The reshaping of the public-private divide was therefore a central feature of UK construction market demand over this period (Hwang, I. J. 2003). No doubt, the power to draft building codes

Commedia DelArte Essay Example for Free

Commedia DelArte Essay Columbina is the perky maid of the Old Man, Pantalone. She is better dressed than the male servants as she is also a ladys maid. She usually wears a knee length dress and an apron. The colouring of her clothes can be different in different acts, depending on her relationships with the characters and the scenario. She can be in a similar scheme to Arlecchino (where she is sometimes known as Arlecchina with similar diamonds and triangles), or if she is assigned to a rival family of Arlecchinos, she can be in that scheme. In cases where she is an independent character, she can be in blacks and whites in the spirit of a French Maid. Columbina does not usually wear a mask but sometimes wears one covering only her eyes. Her signature props are a tambourine and a basket. Her physical appearance is attractive, perky and petite with a tiny waist, wide hips and lots of cleavage. She walks as if she is skipping on air with a little flick of the foot at the end of each step. All her posses are usually seductive and accentuate her cleavage. Her movement continues during speaking, shifting balance from one foot to the other and moving her head sharply as if searching for someone other than the person being addressed. Shes fast and nimble in order to escape unwanted attentions or to butt in, and can escape from a situation. She is happy and carefree, yet when assigned a task moves with speed and efficiency. This is one of her strongest traits in being a good servant. Her speech is sharp and gossipy with frequent variations of pitch. She Loves Arlecchino, but sees through him. She therefore scolds him, punishes him, deserts him, takes him back, but in the end he does not change and she has to accept him for what he is, which is still more lovable than Il Dottore, Pantalone and Il Capitano. She can be very affectionate to other characters as well, and her affections seem to flow through her physically, but she always holds something back. As a result she is pestered by other men, especially Il Capitano and Pantalone. She is always ready to help the Lovers, perhaps through natural sympathy with their plight. She is a spectator herself. She has a very strong relationship with the audience, almost confidential in the sense that she too can see what fools the rest of them are. She also often flirts with the spectators. She appears almost if not before her name is called, always being on step ahead of her master and finishes sentences for her master too, which she sometimes uses in her favour. When a situation gets out of control, she becomes the dominant voice to put everyone and everything back in its place. She even beats the male characters in strength and intelligence, sometimes even her master. ISABELLA Isabella is the daughter of Pantalone, the old man. Because of her fathers status she had the newest fashion, and usually showed off her wardrobe, wigs and shoes often. She wore stunning silk dresses, often in antique Renaissance style with necklaces of gold and pearls. She is young and attractive and modest but at times can be selfish. Isabella did not usually wear a mask but did sometimes wear a small mask that covered only her eyes. Her signature props are a handkerchief, book and a fan. She has a lack of firm contact with the earth. Her chest and heart appear heavy. They are full of breath, but then take little pants on top. Her posture is correct and tall and is always very proud. Her walk is small as her steps are little. Isabellas posses are of an innocent and happy nature; leaning to one side with one leg pointed outwards, and hands in praying position touching cheek as if sleeping. Another is the back of her hand on her forehead, tilted back as if in agony as well as her chin resting on hands laying on top of each other or fingers interlocked and the head slightly tilted. Her movements are exaggerated, especially her hands and arms, which are like  feathers flapping in the wind. She often manipulates her hankie and frequently looks in a hand mirror. Any imperfection can spell disaster. Her speech is refined, however lacking pretentiousness and is never lost for the correct phrase. The lovers are in love with themselves being in love. They love each other, but are more preoccupied with being seen as lovers. They often feign mild hatred. She is extremely aware of being watched and plays with the audience for sympathy in their plight and ccasionally flirts with spectators. She is flirtatious, headstrong, has dramatic intensity and feigned madness due to passionate love and can be prudish. She can be hot and cold. i.e. prone to mood swings and is a tease with an independent will. She is vain, petulant, spoilt, full of doubt and have very little patience. She has a masochistic enjoyment of enforced separation because it enables her to dramatize their situation, lament, moan, send messages, etc. When her and Lelio do meet they are almost always tongue-tied and need interpreters who proceed to misinterpret their statements, either through stupidity (Zanni), malicious desire for revenge (Brighella) or calculated self-interest (Columbina). Isabellas attention span is short like a young childs and her fear that she might be a nobody keeps her hyper-animated. ARLECCHINO Arlecchino has an enduring magical power, a testimony perhaps to the mystery of it origin. He is a servant and jester, usually to Pantalone, but also frequently IlCapitano, or Il Dottore. He wears a tight-fitting long jacket and trousers, sewn over with random, odd-shapen patches of green, yellow, red and brown possibly remnants of leaves The jacket is laced down the front with a thong and caught by a black belt worn very low on the hips. The shoes are flat and black. He wears a beret, or later a malleable felt hat with a narrow brim, with a feather or tail of a fox, apparently this was a sign of the wearer being a butt of ridicule. Coloured in deep earth tones with warm coloured diamond shaped patches, Arlecchino is always ready to spring into action in a clumsy yet graceful manner. He is ragged, yet sleek. His wears a mask that gives him a low forehead with a wart and has small round eyes. Arlecchinos signature props included his batocchio, meaning in Italian clapper inside the bell, which he always carries. He is continuously in a lowered position, with his hands on his hips with his thumbs in his belt. He walks in sly and comical way by taking a couple steps followed by a quick tip toe. This walk shows alacrity; he also uses it to show off in front of Columbina. His joints are often loose and floppy. When Arlecchino spots someone, the mask moves first; he then hops round and into the gesture of greeting. He is physically quick and slow mentally, in contrast with Brighella (who can, however, be fast physically when he needs to be). His gestures extend to the fingertips with each digit having a separate articulation. His speech is guttural and hoarse from street hawking and the are no pauses or silences for the sake of effect he either speaks continuously or doesnt speak at all. Arlecchino is in love with Columbina, but his sexual appetite is immediate in terms of any passing woman. He is occasionally aware the audience is there and can make asides during which he gives his full attention to the spectators before returning to complete absorption in the action. His character is a mixture of ignorance, naivete, wit, stupidity and grace. He is both a rake and an overgrown boy with occasional gleams of intelligence, and his mistakes and clumsiness often have wayward charm. His acting is patterned on the lithe, agile grace of a young cat, and he has a superficial coarseness which makes his performances all the more amusing. He plays the role of a faithful valet, always patient, credulous, and greedy. He is enternally amorous, and is constantly in difficulties either on his own or on his masters account. He is hurt and confronted in turn as easily as a child, and his grief is almost as comic as his joy. Lelio Lelio is one of the lovers (Isabellas partner) and is usually the son of Il Dottore or has no relations. He is high in stature, but is usually brought low by the hopelessness of his infatuation. He wears the latest fashion, which at that time was to be dresses as a young soldier or cadet. Sometimes he dressed in an over fashionable colour scheme that was very feminine with a great deal of flair. Lelio is young, attractive, modest, courteous and gallant. He occasionally wears a mask that covers only his eyes but often went unmasked. His signature prop is a handkerchief. His feet have a lack of firm contact with the earth, making his stance and walk air like. His chest and heart appear heavy and full of breath. His legs are usually tightly together, with only one foot firmly planted on the ground, and the other crawling upward like he has to go to the loo. He does not walk as much as tweeter, due to the instability of his base. First the head leans the other way to the body sway. Then the arms have to be used, one above the other, as a counterweight like and off balance tip toe. His pose can be anything that might look Vogue and whenever he is sitting, his legs are crossed in a feminine matter. Lelios movements are well-to-do but ridiculously exaggerated. His movement comes at the point of overbalance, leading to a sideways rush towards a new focus, with his arms left trailing behind. When stopping at the new point (usually the beloved or some token thereof) before almost touching it. The Lovers (he and Isabella) have little or no physical contact. When there is any, the minimum has maximum effect. Lelio is often holding a handkerchief or flower, etc. in his leading hand. His arms never make identical shapes and because of his vanity, he  frequently looks in a hand mirror, only to become upset by any minor imperfection that is discovered. He is always looking to see if a ribbon or sequin is out of place. A button found on the floor or a blemish in the coiffure equals disaster. His speech makes great display of courtly words and baroque metaphors, also knowing large extracts of poems by heart. He speaks softly in musical sentences which are often flamboyant, hyperbolical and full of amorous rhetoric. When it comes to women, his words are the only thing that shows that he might have any interest. His body language, actions, tone, all contradict any infatuation he may have with a female. The only reason why he would express an interest in a female is because he loves the idea of love. However he seems genuinely more in love with himself and other male characters before he is in love with a woman. He relate exclusively to himself he is in love with himself being in love. The last person he actually relates to in the course of the action is often Isabella. When he and she do meet they have great difficulty in communicating with each other (usually because of the nerves). And they relate to their servants only in terms of pleading for help. The Lovers love each other, yet are more preoccupied with being seen as lovers, undergoing all the hardships of being in such a plight, than with actual fulfilment. Consequently they frequently scorn each other and feign mild hatred; they rebut, despair, reconcile, but eventually end up marrying in the way of true love when the game is up and they know they cannot play any more. Lelio is extremely aware of being watched. He plays with the audience for sympathy in their plight and occasionally flirts with spectators. Lelio is indispensable. Without him and his inability to resolve problems with Isabella, there would be no struggle between the ineffectuality of youth and the implacability of age. The lovers are never alone on stage   they always have someone with them or spying on them.

The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich Essay -- Papers Vietnam War Red

The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich In the Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich, the main character Henry loses his hold on reality. The story takes place in North Dakota on an Indian Reservation where Henry lives with his brother Lyman. Henry and Lyman buy a Red Convertible that later in the story illustrates Henry’s lack of ability to stay sane. The brothers take a summer trip across the United States in the car. When they return, Henry is called to join the army, which turns out to be the transitional point in Henry and Lyman’s personal life. The Vietnam War changed Henry’s appearance, psyche, and his feelings about the Red Convertible. Before the Vietnam War, Henry’s appearance was cheerful and energetic. Henry enjoyed the time he had with Lyman, working on the Red Convertible, and traveling across the U.S. during the summer. They went from Little Knife River to Alaska without a worry in the world. Henry was talkative and friendly to even strangers. For example, when they pass a woman on the side of the road Henry says, â€Å"Hop on in†, indicating his friendliness and confidence (975). Henry’s appearance before war suggests that his life was complete. However, after war, Henry’s appearance was one of depression and dishevelment. When Henry returned Lyman said â€Å"[he] was very different, and I’ll say this: the change was no good (977).† Henry was 180 different than he was before the war. â€Å"He was quiet, so quiet†¦,† said Lyman, not talkative and cheerful like he was before (977). Henry and Lyman had went on a long trip in the Red Convertible before the war, but now Henry is â€Å"never comfortable sitting still anywhere (977).† They used to sit around the whole afternoon before, but now Henry is always ... ...y’s feelings soon changed. Henry one day comes home and says, â€Å"the red car looks like *censored*†(978). This one point in the story where Henry’s past actions before war were still there after war, completely surprise Lyman. As the Red Convertible progresses Henry’s appearance, mental state, and feelings about his once cherished car change because of the Vietnam War. The war had extreme effects on Henry and his brother throughout the story. 57,000 men and women died in Vietnam, and the soldiers that survived suffered the same post-war feelings that Henry did. Seeing death causes every person to change in some way, but when it is as gruesome and seen as repeatedly as some soldiers did, it changed their lives forever. Work Cited Erdrich, Louise. "The Red Convertible." The Story and Its Writer. 5th ed. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.

Anthony Burns Essay

Imagine being a slave during the time of the fugitive slave act. Would you run away or would you stay and continue being a slave? If you ran away and you ran to Massachusetts and your master found you would you run from him? The man in this story did, listen as I tell you the sad story of Anthony Burns. Anthony burns was an educated slave that had a white father. His mother was a breeder which meant she had a baby every year. Anthony’s first master treated him like a sun early in the morning and gives him a horse ride. Anthony was very smart. One day his master threw him of his horse in mid air Tony did a somersault and landed on his hand and he flipped over. At the age of nineteen, Anthony Burns escaped slavery in Richmond, traveling by ship to Boston in 1853. In Boston he worked for â€Å"Coffin Pitts, clothing dealer, no. 36 Brattle Street. † On May 24, 1854 he was discovered â€Å"while walking in Court Street† and arrested. As a hub of resistance toward the â€Å"slave power† of the South, many Bostonians reacted by attempting to free Burns. President Franklin Pierce made an example of the case to show he was willing to strongly enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. The show of force turned many New Englanders against slavery who had passively accepted its existence before. On May 26, before Burns’ court case, a crowd of abolitionists of both races, including Thomas Wentworth Higginson and other Bostonians outraged at Burns’ arrest, stormed the court house to free the man. In the melee, Deputy U. S. Marshal James Batchelder was fatally stabbed, becoming the second Marshal to be killed in the line of duty. The police kept control of Burns, but the crowds of opponents, including such African-American abolitionists as Thomas James grew large. While the federal government sent US troops in support, numerous anti-slavery activists arrived in Boston to join the protest and continue the faceoff. It has been estimated the government’s cost of capturing and conducting Burns through the trial was upwards of $40,000. He was eventually taken back to Virginia where he went to a slave prison for a year. Afterward he was sold in North Carolina. Where his friend bought him and sent him to Canada where he lived the rest of his short life. He became a pastor and preached and lived peacefully.

The Lady and the Tiger Reading Response

Emma Olmstead Period 4 3-3-12 Class number 14 The Lady or the Tiger By: Frank Stockton This story leaves the reader filled with curiosity. The author doesn’t make the conclusion, or ending, very clear, and instead, leaves the reader to decide how they perceive, or want the story to end. â€Å"And so I leave it with all of you! Which came out of the opened door-the lady, or the tiger? (page ) If I had to make a prediction to guess the result, I would think it was the tiger that came out by the clues/hints throughout the storyline. The ruler of the village has a very interesting way of punishing criminals, and people from the town can even choose to watch- if they are brave enough to watch a horrendous scene or watch a hilarious event that is unexpected to happen, unless they may already know what will happen-of course.The king’s lover stood in the audience knowing which was behind the two doors. She also knew who the lady was-the most fairest and loveliest of the damsel s of who could have been selected as the reward of the accused youth, and she hated this lady. So the most probable or reasonable outcome would be that she wanted him to suffer rather than for him to marry and fall in love with a women whom she despised. I still wonder why the author made the ending the way it was.I think this story shows how your actions could possibly cost you your life. After reading this story, I will always think carefully about what I do- what is right and what is wrong. Although this story is described as in a semi-barbaric village, it still shows a very meaningful message. I really enjoyed this story and it can really teach someone an important lesson to make their decisions in life wisely. Word Count: 317 words The Lady and the Tiger Reading Response Emma Olmstead Period 4 3-3-12 Class number 14 The Lady or the Tiger By: Frank Stockton This story leaves the reader filled with curiosity. The author doesn’t make the conclusion, or ending, very clear, and instead, leaves the reader to decide how they perceive, or want the story to end. â€Å"And so I leave it with all of you! Which came out of the opened door-the lady, or the tiger? (page ) If I had to make a prediction to guess the result, I would think it was the tiger that came out by the clues/hints throughout the storyline. The ruler of the village has a very interesting way of punishing criminals, and people from the town can even choose to watch- if they are brave enough to watch a horrendous scene or watch a hilarious event that is unexpected to happen, unless they may already know what will happen-of course.The king’s lover stood in the audience knowing which was behind the two doors. She also knew who the lady was-the most fairest and loveliest of the damsel s of who could have been selected as the reward of the accused youth, and she hated this lady. So the most probable or reasonable outcome would be that she wanted him to suffer rather than for him to marry and fall in love with a women whom she despised. I still wonder why the author made the ending the way it was.I think this story shows how your actions could possibly cost you your life. After reading this story, I will always think carefully about what I do- what is right and what is wrong. Although this story is described as in a semi-barbaric village, it still shows a very meaningful message. I really enjoyed this story and it can really teach someone an important lesson to make their decisions in life wisely. Word Count: 317 words

Karl Marx and George Shaw

Karl Marx and George Shaw Introduction Karl Marx’s article was essential in explaining how the working class and the elite relate to one another through the capitalist machinery, while the play ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ confirms Marx’s assertions by portraying the effects of an exploitative system of labor. The paper will start with the basics of Marx’s theory in the book and relate them to its manifestations in Shaw’s play. Thereafter, the report will identify commonalities between these two writer’s schools of thought and make a conclusion.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Karl Marx and George Shaw specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Comparison Karl Marx argues that the failures of capitalism will eventually lead to its destruction because it is self contradictory. Marx affirms that wages are what a laborer receives for his work; it is thus a commodity like the equipment that the employer uses to get work done or the lease agreement that he pays in order to open shop. Therefore, labor may be regarded as an investment in production. A worker has the option of selling his labor (commodity) to any investor he chooses at any time. However, he has no right to refrain from selling it at all as he will have no earnings and no means to sustain himself; as the author eloquently puts it â€Å"he works in order to live† (Marx 204). A laborer’s life is all about selling his labor for sustenance. In other words, capitalism has minimized his choices and forced him to contend with this scheme of things. The same concepts prevail in George Bernard Shaw’s play Mrs. Warren’s profession. In this Victorian society, men have no option but to sell their labor. However, women experience even worse predicaments than their male counterparts. They can only sell their labor if they are as highly educated as Vivie. Most of them do not even have the option of exchang ing labor for wages. They must reduce themselves to prostitutes or unhappy wives. Capitalism is inherently exploitative in the play because it gives male workers minimal choices and women even worse alternatives. Karl Marx explains that capitalism is exploitative because employers steal the actual value of worker’s input for benefits. When a laborer works for the capitalist, his pay is equivalent to his value as a commodity. The wage is what is necessary to create the laborer as the employer must train and prepare him for the job (Marx 207). However, Marx notes that laborers produce more value than they consume, and this makes the employer-employee relationship unequal. In order to get profit, capitalists take advantage of the surplus value that a worker produces. For instance, if a worker need to give 6 hours of his time in order to match his sustenance, then any extra hours will be a surplus that exceeds the value of what it took to produce the worker. The stolen excess of a laborer’s worth is an employer’s gain (Marx 208). Therefore, no equal exchange takes place between workers and employers; cheap labor is the means with which the ruling class attains its status.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These sentiments echo throughout George Bernard Shaw’s play. Vivie learns about Mrs. Warren’s profession from her mother. When Mrs. Warren defends her profession, she says â€Å"How could you keep your self respect in such starvation and slavery? And what’s a woman’s worth? What’s life worth? Without self respect! Where would we be now if we minded the clergyman’s foolishness? Scrubbing floors for one and six pence a day and nothing to look forward to but the workhouse infirmary† (Shaw 219). Mrs. Warren was conscious of the unequal exchange that takes place in most conventional p rofessions for women. The worth that women, in particular, provided their employers were in no way related to the meager earnings the got. These exploitative conditions were similar to the ones that slaves experienced. It should be noted that although George Shaw’s play appears to support prostitution, the industry is still just as exploitative as other conventional ones. This proves Karl Marx’s point that no matter how promising a certain industry may seem workers have no choice but to remain buyers of the capitalist class. The aristocrat Croft explains that he regarded the industry of prostitution as a highly profitable one. He asserted that if he turned away from this opportunity, then he would be behaving like an insensible man. Other people were seizing opportunities to make money in various industries so this should come as no surprise. The callousness inherent in the business world was evident in the profession of prostitution, as well. Mrs. Warren objects to th e exploitative nature of the business world; consequently, she chooses to become a prostitute (Shaw 260). However, she contradicts these objections by perpetuating the same level of exploitation against innocent girls. Mrs. Warren rose to the rank of madam by first starting as a conventional prostitute and then climbing the ranks. By running brothels in different parts of Europe, she is doing the same thing that caused her to become a prostitute in the first place. Just like capitalists who cannot survive with exploiting workers, Mrs. Warren could not become a madam without exploiting other women. Marx believed that workers have the freedom to move from one employer to another but never from one class to another. There were structures that kept the working class in their place. The meager wages that they derived from their work was never sufficient to remove them from this cycle; it was only enough to feed them or meet their basic needs. Likewise, in the case of prostitutes in Georg e Bernard Shaw’s play, they had wealth but no virtue; consequently, society never accepted them. One can see this when the Reverend hosts an event in which he finds it appalling that Mrs. Warren is attending it. Society was limiting their choices and ensuring that women always result to an underpaid and overworked position by frowning upon other alternatives to wealth creation. Capitalists make certain that they always have a constant supply of workers by minimizing their options and keeping them in lack.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Karl Marx and George Shaw specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Karl Marx notes that the interests of the working class will always antagonize those of the elite. Eventually, this may lead to the demise of the capitalist system as it will implode (Marx 209). When workers appear to be getting more wages as a result of growth in their places of work, this is equivalent to getting mor e crumbs from the rich man’s table as he is enjoying the lion’s share of those rising profits. Therefore, capitalism operates in a mutually exclusive way; one group will always benefit at the expense of another. Likewise in the play, Mrs. Warren chooses to become a prostitute because of her discontent with the exploitative nature of work. Many others like her enter this secret profession because their needs antagonize those of their employers. In essence, an implosion occurred in this society because capitalism had failed to live up to its promise. Prostitution was the unnatural response to a system of work that undermines the same people it depends on for survival. The author of the play Mrs. Warren’s Profession clearly indicates that he is a socialist and a firm supporter of Karl Marx’s principles in the book â€Å"Wage, labor and Capitalism†. One can determine this by the playwright’s choice of characters. Mr. Croft is a shrewd capitali st who does not even conceal the unethical nature of his business practices. In one situation, Croft even boasts about his business. He compares himself to his brother who is in charge of a factory that hires 600 girls. Croft believes that prostitution is far superior because even though his brother gets 22% from the factory, none of the girls earn enough to live comfortably. The audience reacts to this self righteousness by disliking Croft. George Bernard Shaw wanted to show that capitalists are often morally repugnant. Vivie’s response to Croft’s assertions enforces these sentiments. She explains that his words are quite offensive and polluting. One can, therefore, realize that the playwright was speaking out against injustices inherent in a capitalist world. In Karl Marx’s writing, he talks about the notion of the alienated worker. Since members of the working class have no choice but to keep selling their labor power to capitalists, most of them must contend with this role exclusively (Marx 206). They focus so much on creation of value for the employer that they even lose their humanity. Such people misplace their individualism and uniqueness thus becoming like machines. The same thing is evident in the play Mrs. Warren’s profession. The women in this play have lost their sense of humanity as society assesses their worth by how much they can clean or scrub (Shaw 66). Those who choose a daring path such as Mrs. Warren have also reduced their humanity to their secularity. Consequently, one can see that capitalism alienates workers and transforms them into machines.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Employers and many capitalists have created a lot of mystery concerning the way they do business as well as in the value of the things that they create. Karl Marx explains that commodities reflect the social relations and the labor that people put into them. The price of the item often obscures this fact (Marx 209). Capitalists have given money a mythical significance in order to neutralize their effects. Even bourgeois economists minimize the exchange of commodities to financial patterns alone. These individuals do not look at what happens in terms of the social aspects of money. Members of the lower class may, therefore, not be aware of the exploitative nature of wage labor. The shift away from the social relations of labor thus protects the proletariat from potential inquisitions and protests from the working class. Similarly, the same issue of deflecting the real value of commodities exists in the play Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Croft chose not to focus on the exploitativ e nature of his work and instead extolled the profits earned from the trade (Shaw 150). He was justifying his actions by talking about the amount of money made from the trade. However, prostitution still uses vulnerable girls to make profits; this case was not an exception. Conclusion Capitalism promotes class conflicts as explained by Karl Marx, which can only lead to undesirable consequences. George Bernard Shaw’s Victorian society exploits workers and gives females extraordinarily few choices for sustenance. As a result, some of them have lashed out against this exploitation through immoral acts such as prostitution. Marx, Karl. Wage Labor and Capital. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin Michael Ryan. MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. 201-210. Print. Shaw, Bernard George. Mrs. Warren’s profession, NY: Broadview, 1902. Print.

The Doppler Effect for Sound Waves

The Doppler Effect for Sound Waves The Doppler effect is a means by which wave properties (specifically, frequencies) are influenced by the movement of a source or listener. The picture to the right demonstrates how a moving source would distort the waves coming from it, due to the Doppler effect (also known as Doppler shift). If youve ever been waiting at a railroad crossing and listened to the train whistle, youve probably noticed that the pitch of the whistle changes as it moves relative to your position. Similarly, the pitch of a siren change as it approaches and then passes you on the road. Calculating the Doppler Effect Consider a situation where the motion is oriented in a line between the listener L and the source S, with the direction from the listener to the source as the positive direction. The velocities vL and vS are the velocities of the listener and source relative to the wave medium (air in this case, which is considered at rest). The speed of the sound wave, v, is always considered positive. Applying these motions, and skipping all the messy derivations, we get the frequency heard by the listener (fL) in terms of the frequency of the source (fS): fL [(v vL)/(v vS)] fS If the listener is at rest, then vL 0.If the source is at rest, then vS 0.This means that if neither the source nor the listener are moving, then fL fS, which is exactly what one would expect. If the listener is moving toward the source, then vL 0, though if its moving away from the source then vL 0. Alternately, if the source is moving toward the listener the motion is in the negative direction, so vS 0, but if the source is moving away from the listener then vS 0. Doppler Effect and Other Waves The Doppler effect is fundamentally a property of the behavior of physical waves, so there is no reason to believe that it applies only to sound waves. Indeed, any sort of wave would seem to exhibit the Doppler effect. This same concept can be applied not only to light waves. This shifts the light along the electromagnetic spectrum of light (both visible light and beyond), creating a Doppler shift in light waves that is called either a redshift or blueshift, depending on whether the source and observer are moving away from each other or toward each other. In 1927, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed the light from distant galaxies shifted in a manner that matched the predictions of the Doppler shift and was able to use that to predict the speed with which they were moving away from the Earth. It turned out that, in general, distant galaxies were moving away from the Earth more quickly than nearby galaxies. This discovery helped convince astronomers and physicists (including ​Albert Einstein) that the universe was actually expanding, instead of remaining static for all eternity, and ultimately these observations led to the development of the big bang theory.

Justice, Rights and State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Justice, Rights and State - Essay Example But the fact is that no force to such extent can be use by any country that the limits on losses or benefits are gone. If can country will do so, it will affect its ability reproduce its society and therefore such a country can not maintain a stable rule. But for a state that does not involve self destructive process is the nation which on the pattern of implementing true justice. (Jensen, & Jefferson, 2009) There are three things which are very important for a country to implement true justice and stable rule. The first one is that the country should follow the pattern of justice that is best suited for a state, this type of country need stability with regards to the pressures that it faces. If the justice of this type of country is not strict than others than there is no reason to say that it has no pattern of justice to follow. Secondly, as we all know that the state pattern of justice is more important than the patterns of court's practices for any country. (Jensen, & Jefferson, 2009) When we see justice is a broader perspective than we realize that it's more than judiciary. The state pattern of a country also includes distribution of administration through agencies. The third important point is that while following the pattern of justice can also bring dissatisfaction, there the justice is considered as hard but not impossible to implement. But the fact is that the state can not be run or rule with out following the pattern of justice and completely implementing it. The relationship will go on, no matter what ever the issues are in a country. Justice also brings a state at odd particularly with itself. Social order with its component economy is also important in implementing justice. The rights of an individual play a vital role in implementing justice in any country in the world. When the rights of an individual or a certain group are ignored or not properly watch by the concerned authorities in the country, and even if the special agencies are also not partici pating in assuring the rights of everyone in the country then it is very hard to implement justice successfully in a country. But when it comes to economy of a country there is a strong conflict in supporting an economy and achieving justice. The state is pulled in opposite directions in many different ways. Today the pattern of justice is more complex than before; especially in western societies it is more complex. Decision making of a state is also a important part of achieving justice and implementing it completely because it give a state the ability to build institutions and courts that ensures that the rights of everyone living in the state are given and the justice to everyone is also given and make a state able to implement a stable rule throughout the country and that there should be no conflict in maintaining peace and justice in a state. So we can say that any state in the world regardless of eastern or western can not sustain itself without pursuing the pattern of real ju stice. It is important for the concerned authorities in the country to set these goals after realizing the true justice. (Guild, & Lesieur, 1998) Rawls have attempted to reconcile the quality and justice and liberty. His focus was on stability, and he successfully implemented the idea of overlapping consensus. He was quite successful in guiding the liberal

Is the ICC dangerous to democracy and doomed to fail Essay

Is the ICC dangerous to democracy and doomed to fail - Essay Example One of the controversial issues, however, in regard to the existence of ICC is that it threatens democracy, the given reason why the United States withdrew its signature in the Rome Statute in December 2000. The United States is highly suspicious of multilateral agreements and that the mandate of the ICC further heightened this uncertainty. With the provisions contained therein, ICC would have jurisdiction over American citizens and try them according to the international law, drafted according to a collaboration of international legal principles. This is seen as dangerous because the American jurisprudence is at significant points highly divergent with the ICC’s. For instance, protections that are considered core requirements for a fair trial in the United States are greatly diluted or absent entirely. According to Carpenter (2002), instead of having a right to trial by an impartial jury, a defendant faces the prospect of trial by a panel of judges appointed by majority vote of member-states and could come from countries where there is no concept of independent jury or from a regime hostile to his or her government. (p. 197) In addition to the above factor, there is also the fact that some statutes that would govern the ICC are overly broad. Consider these examples: there is the genocide definition that covers offenses relating to the commission of serious â€Å"mental harm† to members of any national, racial, ethnic or religious group; then, war crimes would include committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating or degrading treatment. (p. 197) With the seriousness of the crimes in question, it is a legitimate argument to say that the broadness of definitions and provisions may be wittingly or unwittingly interpreted differently than what was intended or taken advantage with. There is just a lot of room for a