Philosophical View of the Little Prince Essay

Sartre believes that most relationship start out not because they are attracted to one another, but it is because of how one makes the other feel about himself/herself by how the other looks at him/her. They need each other in order to see themselves by basing it on the look of the other. This arrangement is often mistakenly known as love but it is really just both participants being enslaved by the look of the other that they feel the need to prove that they have control over the look. According to Sartre, love is the first attitude that one develops towards the other. But with this so-called â€Å"love†, one tries to understand the other’s freedom while also trying to preserve his freedom, thus creating conflict between the two participants. The paper will focus on love and the self-other relation through the story of the Little Prince. Through this book, the real essence of love is to be explained in line with the self-other relation. The concept of â€Å"The Lookâ €  will be used to explain the conflict of the characters in the story, especially the story of the rose and the Little Prince. â€Å"The Look† is to see yourself how others see you. You are conscious of your existence because you are aware that others see you. The book of The Little Prince tells us the story of a pilot who crashed and was stranded in the desert – which is also a personal experience of the author – where he meets the Little Prince. The Little Prince tells the pilot about his journeys and his experiences. The paper intends to tackle love and the self-other relation through the Little Prince, The Little Prince’s journeys, and the Pilot himself. In relation to love and the self-other relation, the story of the rose and the Little Prince is a good example to explain the real essence of love. The Little Prince’s love for his planet is to be given emphasis in this paper in line with him being the caretaker of it. Also, the paper will talk about the journey of the Little Prince and use this to explain why adults do not see what is deep inside but sees what is on the surface. The Pilot’s low opinion of adults will be explained through the self-other relation based on the experiences of the Little Prince in his journey. Lastly, the conversation between the fox and the Little Prince will be singled out to full answer and explain why we are responsible for the one/s we love. â€Å"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.† Using the quote, the real essence of love is to be explained and reason out the conflicting feelings of the Little Prince towards the rose before and after his conversation with the fox. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE ROSE TO THE LITTLE PRINCE? WHY DID THE LITTLE PRINCE LEAVE HIS PLANET? The Little Prince sees himself as the caretaker of Asteroid B-612 because that is his home. The asteroid is so tiny that he can watch the sunset forty-four times in a single day. His whole existence, his life has been nothing but a bore, doing the same thing every single day. He watches every seed that sprouts out of the ground making sure that those seeds are not Baobabs and are not a threat to his home. He does nothing but makes sure that the Baobabs are taken out every time they start to sprout so that they would not destroy his home. Until one day, a peculiar seed shot up from the ground and he worried that this might be a new kind of Baobabs but it ended up being a flower he has never seen before; a rose so beautiful that he could not restrain his admiration. For the first time, he felt like he had another purpose in the planet and that is to love and protect the rose from harm. The Little Prince took care of the rose by watering it, protecting it from the wind, and from other p otential harm. Through the rose, the Little Prince saw himself as something much more than he was before the rose came. It was like the rose gave him another reason to exist. He needed the rose to realize his own importance and to seek another meaning for his existence. For example, when Lestat turned Louis into a vampire, he was happy because he found a friend, he knew that Louis needed him and that gave his vampire-existence meaning. Louis needed Lestat as a friend, as a teacher, and a lover. A friend in terms of giving each other company, as a teacher since he is new to this life, and a lover because Lestat makes and tells Louis that he is a beautiful creature – no one is to be compared to Louis beauty. Lestat, knowing that Louis needs him, makes him feel like he is important and suddenly, there is more than just being a vampire. In relation to the story of the Little Prince and the rose, the Little Prince felt his importance because he knew that the rose needed him to survive. Without him, the cold winds of the night would just take the rose away, ending its life. The Little Prince knew this so he took care of the rose very well because he cannot afford to lose the rose. He was attached to it and he knew that he loved the rose. The rose makes him feel very special and he sees himself as the caretaker of it because the rose sees him as its caretaker. He finds the definition of his being through the rose and when he started doubting the rose because he caught it lying, he also doubted his being. He felt like that him, being the caretaker and the lover of the rose, is not the real him because the rose lied to him and the rose could be lying to him the whole time. He could not see himself as the caretaker, the friend, and the lover of the rose because he also started doubting himself when he started doubting the rose. He also questioned his â€Å"love† for the rose and said â€Å"†¦but I was too young to know to love her†. He started doubting his knowledge about love when at the start, it was already evident that he knew about love because of how he took care of his planet and the more when the rose arrived. He saw himself as the rose saw him so when the rose lied to him, he saw himself as nothing. He felt like the rose didn’t see him as someone special because it lied to him and so he saw himself as nothing special. This led him to leave his dear planet but he didn’t leave without putting everything in order. Even before it leaving it, he still showed love for his planet and to the rose even if he himself doubts his own love. He needed to see himself in another way aside from how the rose sees him and he hoped to find this through his journey. WHY DO ADULTS TEND TO SEE WHAT IS ON THE SURFACE INSTEAD OF WHAT LIES BENEATH ACCORDING TO THE PILOT? HOW IS THIS EVIDENT BASED ON THE LITTLE PRINCE’S JOURNEYS? â€Å"I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.† The Pilot’s notion about the adults never changed. He always sees adults as ones who need constant explanations for them to be able to understand things. The adults only see what they think is important to society and they tend to neglect what is deep inside. Take the Turkish astronomer for an example, when he presented his findings in his local attire, the adults made fun of him and did not believe him. But when he changed what he was wearing into something more acceptable and presented the exact same thing, the adults believed him and accepted his findings. The Turkish changed his appearance because he needed the society to accept him and for this to happen, he needed to change. He saw himself as someone worthless and someone to be made fun of just because the others saw his works worthless and made fun of him. He was not a Turkish astronomer without his audience accepting his works. Also, in the Little Prince’s journey where he met the King. The King saw himself as the King of everything because he believes that that is his purpose. His commands are already what the people are expected to do. He sees himself as king because he thinks that he controls the stars, by commanding them to shine, and they do of course because they are stars – but the stars, being the other, is a very important factor in the King’s self because through the stars â€Å"obeying† his command, he believes that he has rule over them, therefore he is king. Same as the other people or things he thinks that he has control over just because he is already commanding them something they are supposed to do. The Little Prince’s visit on the planet of the conceited man was very short for the conceited man does not know anything but to be admired. Without his admirers, he is nothing. To be able to be vain, he needed constant admiration from the visitors of his planet. The Little Prince simply did not understand why the conceited man needed to be admired. The Tippler, on the other hand, cannot live without his bad drinking habits because that is what makes him the â€Å"tippler†. If he chose not to drink ever again, then he would no longer need alcohol and then he would lose sense of what he really is for being a tippler is what he has been his whole life. The businessman, who counted stars because he thinks that by doing this he owns them and could buy more if any are to be discovered, knew nothing but to count stars. Again, without the stars, he is nothing. There is nothing else to count that would require a lifetime. He found his being through the stars and by doing so, he felt like he owned the stars and is responsible for them. By doing so, he took away his own freedom by obsessing over the stars and letting the stars control his life. The Little Prince’s visit to the lamp lighter was different because according to him, the lamp lighter was not absurd like the others. The lamp lighter was faithful to his orders and he knew what he was doing and it served a purpose. To light the lamp at night means to give light in darkness, and to put it out in daylight because there already is light. The lamp lighter’s lamp is the Little Prince’s rose. The lamp lighter is responsible for the lamp the same way the Little Prince is responsible for his rose. The geographer was just like the others whose job is a little bit absurd. He is a geographer but has not explored any planet, even his. He just sat behind his desk and writes whatever his explorers have for him. All of the Little Prince’s visits, the adults spoke of the same thing: â€Å"matters of consequence†. The adults only saw what is important to the eye because through this, they find themselves important too. They think of the material things because this has value – concrete value – and to own something with great value means being one of great value too. This is all evident because they are all concerned with matters of consequence. The adults do not see what is beneath because they worry about how caring about something foolish would make them foolish and they cannot let see others see them foolish because then, being foolish would be their identifier. The adults concern themselves with only important things so that others would see them as important and they only see themselves as important because others see them that way. WHY ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ONE/S WE LOVE? †The Little Prince asked,â€Å" What is it to tame?† The fox replies, â€Å"It is to establish ties†¦ to me, you are nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys and I have no need of you†¦ But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in the entire world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world.†Ã¢â‚¬  In this dialogue between the fox and the Little Prince, the fox explains to the Little Prince the value of taming one. He explained that through taming, you are able to establish a relationship with each other. Because of this, the Little Prince was enlightened on how the rose is still unique even if he found a garden of rose in the desert. He took care of the rose until it grew and they established a relationship. They needed each other. The Little Prince needed the rose because he was the one who nurtured it and the rose needed the Little Prince because it needs someone to nurtur e itself. He realized that all the other roses are â€Å"beautiful but empty†. He knew that his rose is beautiful and unique because they share something that the other roses do not have. They have love for each other and they have given each other the gift of friendship. His love makes him responsible for the rose because it was his love for it that started the attachment. He encouraged the rose to depend on him and by showing it that he will always be there to protect and nurture it, hence him being responsible for it’s safety and existence. When you start to love someone, by showing your care and affection for him/her, you are somehow taming him/her, therefore making you responsible for him/her. With this realization, the Little Prince was happy because he knew that what the rose told him was not really a lie and so he saw himself again as someone special; special because he is responsible for the rose, which is of great value for him for he has tamed it. Not only did the Little Prince learn about the important of his rose and his own importance, he also learned about love. The thing he thought he was too young to know of, is now something he knows best about. â€Å"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.† The Little Prince’s mind is now clear of his doubts for the rose. He now knows why the rose is very important to him. â€Å"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.† â€Å"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose.† The Little Prince kept repeating this to himself so that he would no longer forget and doubt the rose’s uniqueness, causing him to also forget and doubt his. CONCLUSION Love and the self-other relation was the explained through the story of The Little Prince. Three main arguments were presented: (1) the rose’s importance to the Little Prince and his reason for leaving his planet, (2) the probable reason why adults only see what is on the exterior and not what is inside, and (3) to give explanation on our responsibility towards the people we love. To explain the rose’s importance to the Little Prince, the Little Prince as the caretaker of his planet was used to why the rose’s existence changed his. He was just a simple prince; taking care of his planet until a flower of such beauty arrived and he had another purpose in the planet. This newfound purpose was used to elaborate why the Little Prince felt the need to leave his planet and clear his mind of his doubts. The journey of the Little Prince and his stories about the different habitants of each planet he visited were used to reason out the adults’ way of perceiving things, in line with the self-other relation and through the use of â€Å"The Look†. Finally, the last part of the paper explains one’s responsibility for the things or people he/she loves through the wise words of the fox to the Little Prince. The quote, â€Å"you become responsible for what you have tamed†, was used to explain why exactly are you responsible for it by aligning it with why the rose is that much of important to the Little Prince. In summary, love and the self-other relation are closely related because â€Å"love† is the first attraction that develops towards the other. Some just find conflict with the other because they let the look consume their freedom too much that they often confuse their feelings for it for something else. References: 1. Antoine de Saint-Exupà ©ry, The Little Prince (London: Egmont Books Limited, 2002), 5-89. 2. Noelle L. de la Cruz, Sartre on being-for-others & Interview with a Vampire (1994) (presentation at De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines, November 19, 2012). 3. Foxfoo, The Little Prince-Personal Footnotes, http://foxfoo.blogspot.com/2008/01/little-prince-personal-footnotes.html (January, 2008).

The aim of this paper is to investigate the transformation

The aim of this paper is to investigate the transformation of the Byronic Hero from its creation in early Greek theatre through classical English literature and 19th-Century Russian literature to the modern times. The Byronic Hero is probably one of the most widespread literary types. Under the term ‘Byronic Hero’ literary critics conventionally mean a young man, well-bred and intelligent but rebellious and usually disapproved and disregarded by the larger part of the society. He is an exile and ultimately self-destructive:‘For the Byronic overreacher, who longs to fulfil his divine aspirations, the human body is a form of imprisonment’ (Wu, 2005, p. 891). A typical Byronic Hero not always handsome, yet always inextricably attractive, often to both sexes: ‘Not exactly handsome, the Byronic hero is magnetically attractive, with a piercing gaze and an air of mystery. His face seems to signify that he is haunted by some terrible crime’ (Polidori, L e Fanu & Stoker, 2002, p. 6). Thorsley (1984, p. 189), an influential researcher of Romanticism, gives the following account of the Byronic Hero:‘†¦the Byronic Hero is the one protagonist who in stature and in temperament best represents the [heroic] tradition in England. ’ The image of the Byronic Hero is surprisingly controversial. He is usually disapproved and disregarded by the larger part of the society. Thorsley (1984, p. 187) notes that, ‘with the loss of his titanic passions, his pride, and his certainty of self-identity, he loses also his status as hero. ’ It is more than self-evident that the classical Byronic Heroes is Byron’s Childe Harold. The Canto I from the Childe Harold's Pilgrimage provides an excessive proof for all the abovementioned images of a Byronic Hero.The following lines can be interpreted as the example of rebellious nature of the Byronic Hero: ‘Who ne in virtue's ways did take delight/But spent his days in riot most uncouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Canto I, 2, lines 1-2) A Byronic hero is melancholic and ‘sick at heart’: ‘And now Childe Harold was sore sick at heart†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Canto I, 6, line 1) Finally, a Byronic hero is constantly wandering and forcing himself to voluntary exile: The Childe departed from his father's hall†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Canto I, 7, line 1) So we see that the Childe Harold's Pilgrimage outlines a conventional image of a Byronic hero.Different variations of the Byronic Hero can be found in literature and popular culture, yet all of them are united by certain distinguishing features: ‘The Byronic hero strives to penetrate the barriers of nature and history, whether it be Manfred in the Hall of Arimanes, Cain with Lucifer in Hades, or Harold exploring the historical topography of Europe’ (Wu, 1999, p. 479). All the aforementioned examples are taken from Romantic literature. However, it is important to note that the Byronic Hero emerged much ear lier than the epoch of Childe Harold.Precursors of this typical hero of English Romanticism can be traced back to Greek theatre. The notion of hamartia is intrinsically linked to the early development of the Byronic Hero: ‘Another primary characteristic of the classical ideal of the tragic hero was the hamartia, or the tragic flaw. Generally, this flaw was hubris, or excessive pride in one's position or abilities that led to a failure to exercise proper judgment in a situation. This lack of judgment led the hero along the wrong path and thus brought about his fall’ (Broussard, 2000, para. 4).Classical Greek tragedies always feature a tragic hero who can be regarded as the earliest embodiment of the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is present in literary Gothicism as one of the literary trends within the tradition of Romanticism. In the Romantic literature, two different types of heroes can be found, namely Satanic Hero and Byronic Hero. Byronic hero is associated predomin antly with female features, and power isn’t his attribute – he is characterized by meekness and tenuity. To the contrary, the Satanic hero bears all the typical masculine features and is associated with impressive and aggressive power.In fact, Satan is also believed to be an early version of the Byronic Hero. Despite some apparent differences, these two literary types have much in common: ‘Like Satan, the Byronic hero is an outsider and an overreacher, though the divine Law that he violates is not the First Commandment but the Seventh, a sin often involving not only adultery but incest’ (Polidori, Le Fanu & Stoker, 2002, p. 6). As for the classical period in literature, Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’ is another example of Byronic hero. He is only obsessed by his love for Cathy and hatre for everyone all the rest:‘In the uncouth, passionate Heathcliff, Bronte creates a Byronic hero who lives outside conventional morality’ (Pla tt & Matthews, 2003, p. 509). Captain Ahab from ‘Moby Dick’ is sometimes also cited as a Byronic Hero, although there no broad consensus among critics: ‘Captain Ahab's rebellious nature and attitude towards existing norms illustrates his Byronic qualities, as well as the overall dark nature of his humanity’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘Moby Dick’). Byronic Hero found new incarnation in classic Russian literature.Such notable writers as Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, Alexander Pushkin, and Mikhail Lermontov all contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon later referred to as ‘the Russified Byronic Hero’; it is also important to point out that this type of the Byronic Hero was significantly different from the classical interpretation (Malone, 2006). Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, an important representative of Russian Romanticism and Byronism, creates a hero in Sturm und Drang style, heavily influenced by other ramifications of European R omanticism (Bagby, 1995).Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin is also perceived as another example of ‘the Russified Byronic Hero’; he prefers loneliness to happiness and forces himself into voluntary isolation, caught in the everlasting ennui. Another variation of this type of Byronic Hero can be found in Turgenev’s ‘A Hero of our Time’: ‘Bazarov, as an extreme example of the tragic Byronic hero, generates his own moral code within his society and proves to have a rebellious nature towards the stereotypical society boundaries in which he is held’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘A Hero of our Time’).At the same time, Pechorin from Lermontov’s ‘Fathers and Sons’ is believed to be the classical example of Russified Byronic Hero: ‘Perchorian displays byronic qualities as a wandering nomad, unable to establish lasting permanance with the society that created him. Lermontov was a noted scholar of Byron; incorpo rating his writings into much of his own literature and poetry’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘Fathers and Sons’). Lermontov is credited for the creation of another vivid example of Byronic Hero in Russian literature, the Demon. In general, Lermontov contributed a lot to the evolution of Byronic hero in Russian poetry:‘Lermontov's early Byronic poems constituted one of the major phenomena of Russian romanticism, while his poems ‘The Demon’ and ‘Mtsyri’ demonstrate re-evaluation of Byronic ideas and the crisis of poetic individualism’ (Muraviev, 2005, para. 1). Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov from ‘Crime and Punishment’ is sometimes regarded to be Realistic hero; however, he bears numerous traits that are typical for Byronic Hero: ‘As in the case with the earlier Russian Byronic heroes, Rodion Raskolnikov’s isolation is not physical, but stems from his mental isolation from, and feeling of superiorit y over, the society in which he lives.Since his status above his contemporaries cannot be reinforced by physically distancing himself from them, Raskolnikov cultivates a mental and spiritual isolation’ (Malone, 2006, para. 5). In the modern time, the recreation of the Byronic Hero is often attributed to Albert Camus in his novel ‘The Rebel’: ‘But it was Camus's recreation, in modern terms, of the solitary Byronic hero, who resists fate and an alien world by defiant acts, which brought the cult so vividly to life and gave it actual meaning to youth on both sides of the Rhine’ (Johnson, 2001, p.575). As for the contemporary incarnation of the Byronic Hero, the brightest example is found in popular culture rather than literature. Jim Morrison projects the majority of the characteristics of the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is an extraordinary and talented young man. The tremendous success of Jim Morrison leaves no doubt in his enormous talent and energ y. Secondly, the Byronic Hero is rebellious and opposes almost all social laws and norms. He deliberately distances himself from the social institutions.This feature was characteristic of Jim Morrison from the early childhood: he used to question authority and for that he was dismissed from the scout club; at night, he used to leave home secretly and go to crowded and disreputable bars. His juvenile misbehaving soon evolved into a consistent social protest expressed trough music and show. ‘Philosophies of Protest’ was his favorite course in Florida State University. Morrison rejected social institution, and we find evidence for it in the fact that he had never been married. Instead, he ‘married’ Patricia Kennealy in a Celtic pagan ceremony.The Byronic Hero is never impressed by rank and privilege though he may possess it. Jim Morrison might have become a representative of the ‘golden youth’ with good educational background, stable job, and resp ectable position in the society. But his choice was in favour of the flamboyant bohemian lifestyle. The conventional Byronic Hero is well-red and possibly well-bread. Jim Morrison took a keen interest in self-education; he devoted time to reading Nietzsche, Jung, Ginsberg, Joyce and Balzac. He derived inspiration in the writing of French symbolists, especially Rimbaud.It’s very interesting to observe that Arthur Rimbaud himself was an exemplary Byronic Hero, with his dark passions and impressive talents. Another indicator of the Byronic Hero is the exile, usually imposed by the young men himself. Paris exile is an essential part of Jim Morrison’s biography. The Byronic Hero is continually depressed and melancholy. It is reported that in Paris Jim searched for a sense of life and a sense himself in the world as well as for inspiration to create impressive poetry. But even in the city of great poets Jim was constantly uninspired and severely depressed.Making an overall c onclusion, it is necessary to remind that the figure of the Byronic Hero is first found in classical Greek theatre in the form of the tragic hero. During the Middle Ages, the literary figure of Satan was developed as a prototype of the Byronic Hero. The classical example of this literary type is Byron’s Childe Harold. Numerous examples in classical literature prove that this type was appealing to the reader, especially in the era of Romanticism. Russified Byronic Hero is one of the most notable variations of this literary type. French symbolists and Albert Camus reinvented the Byronic Hero at the dawn of the 20th century.The Byronic Hero remains attractive to the audience now and is widely used in popular culture. References Bagby, Lewis. Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and Russian Byronism. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. Lord Byron. Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Teddington, UK: Echo Library, 2006. Johnson, Paul M. Modern Times Revised Edition: Th e World from the Twenties to the Nineties. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, Revised ed. , 2001. Thorslev, Peter L. Romantic Contraries: Freedom Versus Destiny. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984. Platt, Dewitt, and Roy Matthews.Western Humanities, Complete. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Polidori, John William, Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, and Bram Stoker. Three Vampire Tales: Dracula, Carmilla, and The Vampyre. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Wu, Duncan. Companion to Romanticism. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1999. Wu, Duncan. Romanticism: An Anthology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Limited, Third ed, 2005. Broussard, Jonathan. ‘Diabolos Herodes: Victor Hugo’s Presentation of Satan as a Heroic Figure, Or The Devil With a Cause. ’ April 6, 2000. August 19, 2007. Hospelhorn, Sarah, and Andrew Nicolson. ‘Byronic Heroes in Russian Literature. ’ April 2003. August 19, 2007. Malone, Caitlin. ‘Cloak and Axe: Dostoevskyâ€⠄¢s Raskolnikov as a Byronic Hero. ’ The Birch, a Journal of Eastern European and Eurasian Culture. Fall 2006. August 19, 2007. Muraviev, O. S. ‘Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814 – 1841). ’ Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2005. August 19, 2007.

Theory X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Theory X - Essay Example One of the best views of these is that provided by Bobic and Davis. The authors have brought out excellent views on how the Theory X and Theory Y operate within companies. As explained by Bobic and Davis, â€Å"We conclude with a comment on what all this might mean for the future of management. If people are different (some adaptive and others innovative) and personality is relatively invariant, then the management task becomes increasingly complex† (Bobic & Davis, 2003). I completely agree with their views and believe that in the current times, the main reason that might cause a management for fail is due to the use of a single approach of management. It is essential to note, with the changing times and with the high levels of competition that is currently prevalent in the markets, it is now a necessity for the managers to not only focus on one method of management. The needs and working styles of employees are very different and a single office can have a wide range of characters including those who are very adaptive to those who are very innovative. Hence it is the duty of the managers to use this as a chance of training themselves to meet the varying needs and not to stick to a single theory. An excellent example of this is the case of my previous job. I worked there part time, and my manager (knowingly or unknowingly) followed to the point, the theory X. There was always an environment of discomfort in the environment and despite having some of the best in his team; the manager was unable to run the team effectively. The employees in his team included people with great insights, interest in their jobs and a strong level of dedication. However due to the behavior of the manager, a number of people started to quit their jobs only to get better jobs in better companies. Considering the impact that Bobic and Davis have had on Theory X and Y, it is essential to note that in the current times, leaders cannot be one who

Application of the Letter from Birmingham in the War in Syria Essay

Application of the Letter from Birmingham in the War in Syria - Essay Example Martin Luther and his friend Abernathy Ralph had led demonstrations against laws that promoted the segregation of the black people in America. According to the law, Martin and Abernathy were supposed to get a permit to conduct the demonstrations. However, they failed to get the permit and that led to his arrest (King 34). The church clergy had responded to his arrest on the same day that he was detained in Birmingham prison arguing that both the white and black people should obey the civil laws in the country. Luther wrote the letter with the aim of justifying his disobedience of the law by arguing that it was the unjustness of the law that made him to demonstrate. Luther argues there are just and unjust laws, but the existence of unjust laws anywhere leads to injustice everywhere in the letter (King 36). King’s separation of just and unjust laws may be used in the analysis of the way in Syria and recommend on the actions that should be taken to end the war in the country. Mar tin argues that a regulation is just when it concurs with the laws of God, which he calls the ethical rules. Unjust laws, on the other hand, are those that are not based on the moral laws of God. Thus, according to King, laws are fair when they are acceptable in the whole society because God’s rules are equal to all citizens despite their race and color (Tiefendbrun 68). This argument aimed at informing the state that the segregation of the black people who lived in the southern parts of Alabama was an unfair act that was against the will of God. The segregation of the black people commonly known as the Negros had been in the country since the eighteenth century when slavery of Africans and Asians was practiced in the western nations (King 25). King also argued that injustice in any part of the country led to unfairness in the whole nation. This meant that the injustice that existed in the southern part of the nation led to the unfairness in all regions of America (Tiefenbrun 70). Luther also meant that the segregation of the black people was a sign of immorality of the whole nation including the whites. This indicated that the white people would be considered as immoral even when they acted fairly in other things in the south and in other regions in the country. This means that even if nations and people conduct themselves in all things except one, they will still be unfair and they will lack development. King demonstrates this by giving the example of how Africa was moving towards independence at a high speed while America was wasting time segregating the black people. The activist argued that Americans were lagging behind by taking the longest time to serve Africans only a cup of coffee (King 79). This meant that the injustice of the laws would cause injustice in the country by slowing down freedom and development like that which Africa and Asia were experiencing at that time. Martin postulates that â€Å"the oppressors who are mainly the leaders do not award the minority groups their freedom voluntarily† (King 80) Therefore, he argues that there is need for civil disobedience by the oppressed groups to force the leaders to grant them their moral rights. This argument justified King’s act of disobeying laws by conducting demonstrations instead of negotiating with the leaders. He further justifies himself by pronouncing that he was tired of being asked to wait for negotiations. Luther argued that the word wait had become a synonym of never because he and his fellow Negros had heard it for numerous years before deciding to disobey the law (King 82). Thus, according to Martin, leaders should award their people with justice on time to avoid the disobedience of the law. However, when the leaders fail to create fair regulations, they should be reminded through

I will tell you on the different file Assignment

I will tell you on the different file - Assignment Example This sounds like a feasibility study, but it is actually part of a much bigger picture: What can this farm operation do to become more profitable? Note that the decision about the type of bales would be part of the solution, but not the entire solution. This information is important to the audience because it will influence the way that the smart phone industry goes. If Samsung and other competitors of Apple cannot compete due to lawsuits or fear or breaking patent and copyrights, then Apple will become a virtual monopoly. Samsung will then be faced with withdrawing from the smart phone market completely, and would results in billions of dollars of lost revenue, but more importantly, the lost of a huge customer base. Once Samsung (and other smart phone companies) realize that it cannot compete with Apple, then the market will turn into a virtual monopoly. Another problem to consider is the fact that dropping out of the smart phone market may affect Samsung’s other lines of interest. Samsung’s top executives will be able to use sales figures to determine if any negative press from the court rulings is hurting sales of smart phones. A decision can then be made whether to continue in the smart phone market or withdraw if sales are down and/or Samsung products are banned from certain states or territories. There are still several court injunctions out against Samsung, but Samsung’s sales of smart phones continue to rise. In Q2 of 2012, it was estimated that Samsung had sold more handsets worldwide than Apple had. This is perhaps part of the reason why Apple has been so forceful in going to the

World Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

World Civilization - Essay Example In general terms, it is a term that stands for the close ties between people and states of the world culturally, economically and politically (Ostrom, n.d). Proponents perceive that, civilization has played a key role especially in political sphere an argument which has received major backing from civilization nationalists. For example, they have a uniting factor in the view that International institutions such as World Trade Organization have positively influenced political ties among member states. Dividing the two sides in the middle is the issue and the role of technology in globalization (Mancur, 1965). Proponents have identified with the remarkable positive contributions predisposed by technology such as faster access to information and more jobs created such us the online jobs. On the flip side, critics have expressed deep reservations on the security lapses that technology has exposed most countries to as a result of technology. They have also expressed concerns on global mor al decadence that has been wide spread as a result of civilization through technology (Clough, 1990). Civilization has destabilized the stand of poorer states and uncovered people to dangerous and harmful competition. Their concern is rational and understandable especially since the gap between the poor and the rich has become more prevalent in recent ages. Poverty can be deliberated in various ways, for instance, relative to a nation’s individual average consumption level or in terms of well being of citizens. By common agreement, civilization has increased rapidly since early nineteen eighties. If civilization leads to poverty, then Nations that have been economically incorporated through trade and investment should be worse. But, some nations in the world have become more integrated into global economy have made tremendous progress while others like Sub-Saharan Africa that have remained in isolation and have experienced a sharp decline (Clough, 1990). The fissure or gap be tween the poor and the rich groups of people in the world has increased. Inequality would rise with this tremendous increase in poverty. One of the common feature discussions connecting poverty and civilization is the general conception from the stance of impoverishment to lead to world developments. When governments accumulate debts in private markets engaging a decline in world demand for their products, prices of common goods would undergo depreciation leading to recession. Underdeveloped countries and small business owners are at distant from adjusting their technology as often as their developed, larger, wealthier counterparts. Due to inability to merge with wealthy and multinational firms, small firms and underdeveloped countries are pushed to carry on their businesses locally thus never expanding and reaching their full capacity. Technological advances are being made each day all over the world but the bad news is that they are proving to be unaffordable. This high cost of pr oduction leads to fixed consumer prices, which are high. Civilization has become a weapon in the politics of oppositional activities, rallying on the idea that of diverse global ills. Civilization is viewed as a symbol of civilization threat. The main argument behind it is that it tends to refer the United States and other developed countries as hegemonic powers that promote civilization for their own benefits. In turn, they harm the cultural, environmental, and economic interests of other countries of the world. Instead of establishing a universal human progress, it has made the gap between the poor and the rich to widen. About beliefs, the Constantine worshiped Christianity because he grew up in a background that believed in

Human Resources Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Resources Report - Essay Example Moreover, concentrating on evaluation of a training process it can be stated that it is referred as collection of data in a systematic manner, which helps the trainers to conclude the effectiveness of training program. The main objective of the trainers is to evaluate whether the training contributes towards reaching the overall organizational goal, implementing policies and enhancing the organizational learning (Mavin, Lee, and Robson, 2010). The various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of learning, training and development and the limitations of the methods are also depicted in the report. In an organization, managers have different perspective of the management of people. The two approaches towards management are the unitarist and the pluralist approach. Therefore, the two methods are employed for understanding the different perspectives of management. The effect of the approaches on the physiological contract is also studied in the report. Physiological contract is defined as the unwritten expectation of the employer from the employees. Recruitment is the process of attracting quality candidates to apply for the vacant positions, whereas, selection is the way of determining who is best suited for the job among those who have applied for the available positions. Thus recruitment and selection is the process of searching and hiring the most suitable person for the job (Doornenbal, Stitselaar and Jansen, 2012). The process of recruitment includes giving advertisement for the vacant positions, attending career fairs, connecting directly with people and many other ways. Selection process involves conducting written test to evaluate the aptitude of the candidates; taking their interviews and seeking information about them by contacting the references (Doornenbal, Stitselaar, and Jansen, 2012) At first, a job analysis is conducted in order to determine the

ADR in England and Wales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

ADR in England and Wales - Essay Example This paper highlights that the most complex and far-reaching of these changes is a challenge to the traditional model of the lawyer as a manager of war — the strategic and skilful facilitation of peace now appears to be equally important. The increasing acceptance of ADR processes within civil litigation has immediate practical consequences for legal practice.   This paper outlines that reforms have been initiated in court proceedings and in the private sector as well in the UK and the whole of Europe, the impact of which can be seen and felt by all stakeholders. Tribunal Adjudication and Alternative Dispute Resolution Before starting an analysis of the new issues emerging from this shift in the provision of civil justice through alternative means in England and Wales, a thorough understanding of the related concepts of tribunal adjudication and alternative dispute resolution can help in enhancing? There is nothing new in the English legal system employing specialist tribunals to resolve disputes over a vast panorama of issues historically. There has been an over-crowding of cases because of the making of new kinds of laws such as ‘social security law’ since World War II. At present, tribunals negotiate over a quarter of a million cases each year, which equals more than the total of all County Court and High Court cases. The rol e of Tribunals is, therefore, crucial in the English court system because of the quantity of cases handled by them. They also play a significant part for their unique processes and means of adjudication. These tribunals differ from traditional civil and criminal courts in their missions and aims. The difference between courts and tribunals Difference between a ‘court’ and a ‘tribunal’ is that a tribunal is formed by Parliament in the same way a court hears specific grievances or particular issues of dispute.  

Logically Social Essay Example for Free

Logically Social Essay The article is titled â€Å"Logically Social† on which it tackles the role played by Logic in mans social being. As I study mans social being, I have learned that it will involve language, the fundamental tool for communication. A good example is a relationship between speakers and listeners whereas the speakers must establish the truth of what they say and express and uses reasoning as a way of relating to listeners and the listeners play their part by understanding the message we receive and like the speakers they use reasoning as the means of analyzing the intended meaning of the speaker. Reasoning is one of the objects of study in Logic, which is a fundamental learning to me. I also learned that Logic constitutes two basic types of reasoning, the inductive and the deductive which are both necessary for the correct understanding of a matter. I’m enlightened that under the province of logic there is a hodgepodge of studies under the realm of reasoning: the criteria for our arguments to be valid, the conditions for the statements become true, the fallacies we commit, the norms in properly defining terms, and the way to eliminate ambiguity and vagueness in our expressions. I can also tell that Language is Logic because it prompts us the proper usage of language and it is an objective standard that work in authentically effective communication. I’ve been made aware that logic facilitates the option of choosing among ambiguous, vague, or definite terms that are useful for every call of usage. Like poetry, we must use vague or ambiguous terms for aesthetics. Also when clarity is of prime concern, it must use well defined or exact terms. As I read through I’ve observed that logic plays a big role in the grammatical construction of sentences; good usage of logic means a choice between misleading or precise sentences. I’ve learned that misleading sentences falls in two categories: vague and ambiguous. Ambiguous sentences are those that have two or more meaning and it’s vague when its meaning is not determined with precision. Now I learned that an argument is basically a group of statements, one of which is the conclusion and the rest are the premises. Upon learning I also procured the two kinds of argument based on the two kinds of reasoning that: deductive and inductive. A reasoning or argument is deductive if the premises claim to give conclusive grounds for the truth of the conclusion, or if the premises claim to support the conclusion with necessity. Deductive argument is therefore either valid or invalid. I have learned that to make a deductive argument valid, the premises that should be assumed are true. It will be inconsistent and self-contradictory to accept these premises but deny its conclusion, because the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises. I have also acquired the meaning of invalid deductive argument, where the conclusion does not follow necessarily from the premise/s. I have also learned that when you reason inductively on the other hand, you infer a general conclusion from a collection of particular facts. Whereas deductive argument is either valid or invalid, inductive argument is either reliable or unreliable. I have known for the fact that inductive reasoning to be reliable; the conclusion must be based on ample amount of individual representative instances. I must be aware not to confuse inductive argument with invalid deductive argument because its difference between deduction and induction is not the difference between good and bad reasoning, but between two ways to support the truth of conclusions. I’ve learned that when creating argumentative paragraph in writing or speaking, logic prescribes that we can use both valid deductive and reliable inductive argument. To sum all this up, what logic warns us from, when it comes to using arguments is the use of invalid deductive and unreliable inductive argument.

A Study Of Semantics and Pragmatics Interface Essay

A Study Of Semantics and Pragmatics Interface Essay Grice suggests that there is an apparent division of labour between semantics and pragmatics in terms of saying and implicating. For every linguistically acceptable sentence of a language, a semantic theory delivers truth-conditions that have been transplanted onto a Gricean view of the semantics-pragmatics divide. As a result, many people conceive that truth-conditions can be put in a way that they are necessarily free from pragmatic considerations. Some argue by challenging the view for pragmatic intrusion into truth-conditional content while others insist preserving a pragmatically clean conception of semantics. Different proposals appear in supporting these controversial arguments. In this paper, I will focus on studying the boundary between semantics and pragmatics, and examining their interface. LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND Semantics and pragmatics are both involving sophisticated methods of studying meaning with different focuses where semantics focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata while pragmatics studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. The key issue is whether their objects to be analyzed can be separated from each other or if each sub-discipline can give one individual object called meaning. Semantics was conventionally responsible for compositionally deduced sentence meaning, in which there is a combination of the meanings of lexical items and the structure involved. Unquestionably, the truth-conditional semantics is the best developed approach to sentence meaning. It appears that such formal methods allow the translation of vague and ambiguous sentences of natural language into a precise metalanguage of predicate logic with the provision of sense-making logical forms. Pragmatics was recognized as a study of utterance intended meaning, and so it is the meaning in context, and was hence undertaking with a different aspect of field to be studied. It was also regarded as a separate enterprise with different object of study. Yet, the so-called semantic under-determination view was created as the boundary between semantics and pragmatics began to be blurred. This view was a revolutionary idea for the theory of language meaning in response to generative semantics that was prevalent in 1960s and 1970s where attempts of syntactic meaning were given to primarily pragmatic situations. The importance of the Oxford ordinary language philosophers should be noted to show the way to the study of pragmatic inference and its supplement to truth-conditional representation, now known as Gricean intended meaning with inherent truth-conditions. SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS INTERFACE Semantics / Pragmatics Distinction By convention, we spoke of the distinction between semantics and pragmatics as differentiation between the meaning of words (semantics) on the one hand and how the speaker made use of words (pragmatics) on the other. This characterization is however loose and ineffective. For instance, the study of indexical expressions such as I and yesterday shows that different occasion of use can have different denotations in the word concerned. Notwithstanding, a definite traditional meaning is found from each indexical word type, that is, there is no variation in a meaning from context to context. In fact, more precision is required. According to Richard Heck (2001), some terms such as the number determiners two and three, or proper names such as Bill Clinton and George Bush are deemed as having a stable standing meaning in such a way that they are referring to the same object or property. Other terms like I, here, or this and so on have unstable standing meanings in the sense that, in different contexts, they can be used to refer to different objects. For example, the traditional meaning of I in English does not have variation across contexts; standard meaning is used in every context in agreement with the meaning of I which is (roughly) the same as the speaker in the context. In a context, however, George Bush uses I to refer to himself, when I is in agreement with its standing meaning. In contrast, Gray Davis uses I in agreement with its standing meaning to refer to himself as well, that is, Gray Davis. According to Perry (2001), however, we prefer applying the concept of referential content which has a wider usage to just using referential expressions in contexts. In other words, standing meaning of a term is context-constant while referential content of a term is the object, property, or function that it has as its content in a context which is conceivably distinct from its standing meaning. Semantics / Pragmatics Boundary Rajman (2007) points out that the boundary between semantics and pragmatics is very critical in view of the constraint of linguistic processes. Traditionally, semantics is in charge of conventional or lexical, i.e. unvoidable meanings, as entailment and meaning are supposed to have (for example, Paul killed Peter Æ’Â   Peter is dead). And, pragmatics has taken charge of meaning in context in relation to conversational implicatures, which is presumably nonconventional. Metaphors and irony are two of the typical examples of nonconventional meaning (conversational implicatures) (Rajman, 2007). The Gricean view has challenged the classical view that the semantics-pragmatics boundary is not connected to the difference between conventional meaning and meaning in context. Actually, Grice has defined form and meaning of words as conventional implicatures. In (1.1)-(1.3) below, words like even, therefore, but are responsible for specific meanings (Ivan is not expected to like Iris, there is a semantic entailment between being an American and being outspoken, and there is a semantic contrast between having children and being a lawyer): Even Ivan likes Iris. (1.1) Joe is an American; he is, therefore, outspoken. (1.2) Stephanie has five children, but she is a lawyer. (1.3) The difference between truth-functional meaning (what is said) and non-truth-functional meaning (what is communicated) earmarks the boundary between semantics and pragmatics. Pragmatics is therefore defined meaning minus truth-conditions. The domain of pragmatics is therefore confined to two types of implicatures in Grices perspective, namely, conventional implicatures and conversational implicatures. Specific expressions may initiate the entailment of conventional implicatures which, as Rajman (2007) suggests, they have separable (the implicature is attached to a specific word), non-deletable (a conventional implicature cannot be negated) and non-truth-functional (the content of the implicature does not involve in the truth-conditions of the sentence) meanings. In (1.1), even initiates at least two conventional implicatures, given in (1.4) and (1.5): Even Ivan likes Iris. (1.1) People other than Ivan like Iris. (1.4) Among these people, Ivan is the less expected to like Iris. (1.5) Obviously, these meanings do not provide the truth-conditions for what is mentioned, that is the proposition (1.6): Ivan likes Iris. (1.6) Conversational implicatures resulting from a linguistic expression initiates in the use of one conversational maxim (generalized conversational implicature) or not (particularized conversational implicature). The conversational implicatures are non-conventional (resulting from conversational maxims), non-separable (the implicature is attached to a meaning), deletable (implicatures can be canceled) and as conventional implicatures, non-truth-functional. A conventional generalized conversational implicature have a temporal meaning of and (and then), as in (1.7): Michael pushed Daniel and Daniel fell. (1.7) PRAGMATIC INTRUSION AT THE SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS INTERFACE Grice (1978) noted that there is a need to take into consideration of pragmatic processes of disambiguation and reference assignment to indexical expressions before assessing the sentences truth conditions. In addition, Kempson (1975, 1979, 1986) and Atlas (1977, 1979, 1989) believe that negation in English should not be recognized as ambiguous between narrow-scope and wide-scope, yet, it was semantically underdetermined instead. That means, on the basis of the recovery of the speakers intentions, the widely known example (2.1) is not semantically ambiguous between (2.2) and (2.3) but the range of negation is applied pragmatically in each particular utterance instead. (2.1) The queen of England is not bald. (2.2) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã†â€™x (QoE(x) à ¢Ã‹â€  à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â€š ¬y (QoE(y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ y = x) à ¢Ã‹â€   ¬Bald (x)) (2.3)  ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã‹â€ Ã†â€™x (QoE(x) à ¢Ã‹â€  à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â€š ¬y (QoE(y) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ y = x) à ¢Ã‹â€  Bald (x)) (2.2) is a presupposing reading: the person who fulfils as the property of the queen of England contains only one person and whoever satisfies this requirement is not bald. The reading in (2.3) is non-presupposing: the queen of England is not bald as no such person ever exists. It is because (2.2) entails (2.3) that the semantic underdetermination (sense-generality) view has both formal and cognitive support in which the boundary has become more and more unclear. According to this view, semantic analysis uncovers only part of the utterance meaning which pragmatic enrichment may complete this process. For instance, sentence (3.1) is naturally developed with the outcome sense before being put under the test of the truth-conditional analysis as in (3.2). (3.1) Timothy dropped the camera and it broke. (3.2) Timothy dropped the camera and as a result it broke. Major concern goes to delimitation of the scope of such an enhanced, truth-conditional representation, called what is said (Recanati, 1989) or explicature (Sperber Wilson, 1986; Carston, 1988) opposite to implicatures. Carston (1988) reasons that as long as the enhanced meaning has reached an optimal relevance level under the Relevance Theory of Sperber and Wilson (1986), such enhancement process can be stopped accordingly. Another post-Gricean boundary dispute provides with a so-called middle level of meaning. For Bach (1994, 2001) and Horn (2006), both what is said and what is implicated count. People often speak blurredly and non-literally; and it is more quickly to do so since inference is fast, while utterance is relatively inefficient. For instance, (4.1) may be spoken by a father comforting his little son who cut his finger (Bach, 1994). But what the father meant was not the content of the sentence alone (the minimal proposition in (4.2)) but instead an extension in (4.3). (4.1) You are not going to die, George. (4.2) There is no future date at which you will die, George. (4.3) You are not going to die from this cut, George. Under the same condition, spoken sentences which are incomplete semantically, although they correspond to complete syntactic forms, like (5.1), are further completed to show the utterance meaning, as from the example in (5.2). (5.1) Tom is not good enough. (5.2) Tom is not a good enough singer to be a star in Hong Kong. They are implicitures as they are implicit in what is uttered, under such extension and completions, which are neither what is said nor implicatures as perceived. The middle level of meaning is formed, while the label what is said is designated for what is explicitly said. Default semantics (Jaszczolt, 2005) represents an opposite view, in which a representation of spoken meaning is created as a combination of various output linguistic and non-linguistic sources. The combined representation comprises word meaning and sentence structure, cognitive assumptions, social-cultural assumptions, and conscious pragmatic inference, which is the mere level of meaning and its construction, does not give preference to any of the sources mentioned above. If that implicit proposition is the fundamental intended meaning, the logical form of the spoken sentence may uncommonly be replaced by an implicit form, for example, (4.4). (4.4) There is nothing to worry about, George. According to the principles of pragmatic compositionality (Recanati, 2004), the formation of meaning is continuing even if the explicit/implicit distinction may cause many theoretical disputes and much experimental research to be conducted. The field was mainly divided into those who accepted the default semantics (e.g., Levinson, 2000; Horn, 2004; Recanati, 2004, 2007; Jaszczolt, 2005), and those in whom pragmatic additions are always inferential (Sperber Wilson, 1995; Carston, 2002, 2007). Up to that time period, post-Griceans more or less followed contextualism in a way that pragmatic processes might affect the truth conditions of the spoken meaning. COMMUNICATION AT THE SEMANTICS / PRAGMATICS INTERFACE In pragmatics, a speaker can express a thought without really putting it into words. He can say one thing but may mean something else. For communicating something to someone, the speaker has to make clear the utterance even if it does not convey what he intends to express. The hearer has a task of understanding the speaker to the extent that he has to recognize the communicative intention of the speaker in producing the utterance and in particular, to identify the meaning of speaker. The hearer also needs to figure out what has happened in the given situation that the speaker spoke that sentence with that meaning. An utterance Mary has beautiful handwriting and her English is grammatical may be used as an evaluation of Marys philosophical ability to implicate that Mary is no good at philosophy (Grice, 1961). Moore (1942) gives a pragmatic contradiction of an utterance Snow is white, but I dont believe it, which may mean you are denying what you have just maintained (snow is white). A capable hearer grasps the semantic contents of a sentence by understanding that the language acts as a function of its constituents in relation to syntactic structure. Bach (2010) suggests that there should not be any intermediate level of meaning existed between the semantic contents of a sentence and the speakers communicative intention in uttering it. Rather, the speakers act of uttering that sentence may invoke additional information to help hearer understand its contents. Bach (2010) further remarks that it is utterances rather than sentences that contain the primary linguistic items with truth-conditional contents. Utterances are the only available subject matter for truth-conditional semantics as what Recanati (2004) prefers as truth-conditional pragmatics. In communication, as Bach (2010) points out, the job for pragmatics is not to offer a representative for semantics but to explain how incomplete sentences in semantics can be used to convey complete meaning. TEACHING PRAGMATICS There are three major questions requiring further exploration: 1) what chances are given in language classroom for developing L2 pragmatic ability; 2) can pragmatic ability be developed in a classroom setting without teaching pragmatically; and 3) what effects do different instructional approaches have on the development of pragmatics. Classroom research can be called upon to address the first and third questions, including the resources, processes, and limitations of classroom learning, with exploration be done through data-based studies in classroom settings. Those who are beginners to the field can draw relevance from the sea of literature on educational research in general and second language classroom research in specific. Hence, we can gain insight acquired for the research of classroom-based interlanguage pragmatics (e.g., Chaudron, 1988; Allwright Bailey, 1991). Literature search on question one and question three shows the deficiency as to the provision of direct teaching s trategies in pragmatics that uncovers at least two limitations, for example, teacher-fronted teaching and potentials for pragmatic development over time (Kasper, 2006). As for the answers to the second question, it is related to whether pragmatic ability can be developed without classroom instruction where such relevance can be drawn from the pragmatics and interlanguage pragmatics literature. It is free of charge for the adult learners to get a certain amount of L2 pragmatic knowledge because of the universal property of some pragmatic knowledge (e.g., Blum-Kulka, 1991; Ochs, 1996), and other aspects of pragmatic knowledge may be learnt from L1 users. Theories and research studies in recent years provide plenty of universal features in discourse and pragmatics. Through taking turns and sequencing of contributions, conversational organization is a universal property of spoken interactive discourse, which may vary in cultural and contextual implementations, among others. Making use of cues in the utterance, context information and different kinds of knowledge origins, speakers and listeners are able to transport indirect pragmatic intent and implicit meaning to each other (Gumperz, 1996). DISCUSSION The use of semantic underdetermination and the recognition of pragmatic inference about the speakers intentions have become more and more popular. The same applies to the conversion of some of the context-bound information into the semantic content. As a result, two disciplines which are originally separate in nature, namely, the formal study of sentence meaning and the informal study of speech acts have become indistinguishable. The centre of attention has thus been focused on the utterance rather than the sentences. Throughout the past three decades, however, the direction of change has not been consistent. There are a number of suggestions that maintain semantics and pragmatics as two separate disciplines where one school of thought suggests keeping the objectives of semantics and pragmatics distinguishable. Regarding pragmatics learning, Kasper (2006) appeals for more classroom research on pragmatics teaching that could relate learning outcomes to classroom processes. It may include longitudinal observation of classroom discourse as well as explorations of students and teachers subjective theories about L2 pragmatics; and how pragmatics competence could best be developed in pedagogical context (e.g., target-based teaching on complimenting, conversational closings and so on), thus enabling ongoing exploration of substantive and methodological issues. CONCLUSION The study of semantics / pragmatics interface can tell the difference between what is said and what is communicated within the context in question, which can be supplemented by pragmatic intrusion at their interface to achieve the purpose of disambiguation and reference making to indexical expressions. Hence, the job of pragmatics is intended to convey near-complete meaning in communication. Learning of pragmatics definitely can help learners to understand the utterance intended meaning that goes beyond what is given by the language form. More classroom research can be done on pragmatics teaching to address the questions of learning opportunities for the development of L2 pragmatic ability in language classroom, and effects of different instructional approaches that can help develop such pragmatic ability.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface Technology In Music Teaching Education Essay

Musical Instrument Digital Interface Technology In Music Teaching Education Essay MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was created in 1980s as a system to connect different synthesizers and sequencers together. (Ballora, 2003). Today it has widely used into  various  fields, involving videogame, mobile media, film, live performance and etc. Similarly, the improvement of MIDI technology in music education has been significant. It offers numerous opportunities and benefits to teachers and students in the process of teaching and learning. Additionally, there are limitations of MIDI that need to be paid attention to. The purpose of this paper is to examine the integration of MIDI technology in music education. The paper presents a literature review of MIDI technology effect on music education; the benefits of using MIDI in music teaching and learning; the limitations of MIDI technology in education and some recommendations of  how to utilize MIDI to better serve music education. Literature review Music technology has greatly advanced over the last decade, thus opening up new possibilities in music education. The technology of MIDI has infiltrated all levels of education. From classes for the youngest of children to classes for college music majors, MIDI has enabled instructors to develop new curricular for the teaching of music skills. MIDI enables the user to control musical parameters, thus allowing one to experience and create a great variety of music with a simple keyboard and computer. Computers can also test musical skills and provide instant and intuitive feedback. This opens the door for the development of a wealth of software designed for the pedagogy of music skills. Mager (1997) researched the status of MIDI and technology in higher education. A vast majority of teachers responding to his questionnaire indicated that technology was enhancing student learning. Music theory was listed as one of the highest areas using technology, according to the study. The availability of several fine software programs, which can help to develop basic music skills, contributes to this. The respondents also felt that music technology will continue to play an increasing role in higher education. Several studies have shown that computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is an effective tool for gaining music skills. Even as early as 1984, shortly following the invention of MIDI, studies began to determine the effectiveness of CAI in music education. John J. Deals study at the University of Iowa determined that software could significantly help music majors develop skills in error detection (John, 1991). Chang also provided a study showing the increase of CAI in the music classroom (Chang, 2001). Using many surveys to back his hypothesis, he asserts that the use of CAI will increase the students learning curve in music fundamentals. To summarize briefly, most studies only focus on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. it has not identified à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. This research will indicate three advantages of technology and MIDI used for the music courses. Analysis 3.1 Benefits: Incorporating MIDI technology into the music curriculum helps achieve some objectives: students truly learn through experience by the use of synthesizer labs and workstations; they acquire skills and techniques as means of attaining ends which make direct vital appeal: the use of technology to serve art; and they certainly become acquainted with changing world, one in which computers are not confined to the electronic music labs in colleges and universities, but are used to make music for recordings, televisions, films, live performances and etc. MIDI helps educators teach existing courses more effectively. The ability to create music for the class, project it on a screen, and play it back with high fidelity audio are made easier with these technologies (David 1991). In the meantime, student utilizes MIDI to write their own music. During this process, MIDI enables them to revise, edit and highlight every note freely. The series of actions are accomplished by just moving the mouse and pressing the keys on keyboard. In MIDI technology extends the range of music technology applications beyond the record keeping, teacher communication, preparation of paper handouts and teacher presentations that dominate todays uses for computers in music education. Notation, accompaniment, and sequencing software gives students direct control over the elements of music-making melody, rhythm, harmony, tone color, dynamics, and form. It provides the tools to actively create and edit music and then easily hear what new material sounds like and how changes affect it. Synchronization of sight and sound under direct student control provides significant advantages over what might be achieved with paper, pencil, and other types of recordings. The ability to prepare interactive homework assignments stimulates the students interest and increases their excitement about the music learning process. Computers and synthesizer technology make learning and practicing music more fun. Technology and MIDI allow music students to be more actively involved in the learning process, instead of playing the role of passive listener. In a general lab, students can extend one-time or short-term creative activities into a composition process that continues over time. If students are not yet ready to use the symbols of staff notation to represent sounds, they can click icons into place on a piano roll grid or type the letter names of chords. Initial ideas can be generated and then edited and altered through a series of successive drafts into a finished, or composed, form. Using MIDI increases the number of students in a class involved simultaneously in the thinking and decision-making process. Students are challenged to make frequent choices and solve numerous problems regarding their projects or assignments rather than passively observing other students answering teacher questions or merely following the directions of the conductor during a rehearsal. This involves students in actively working with the elements of music, making decisions, and solving musical problems. Technology and MIDI also allow educators to provide the students with skills they will need to meet some of the challenges of music industry in the future. 4.configuring a MIDI setup is straitforward and inexpensive. MIDI and music courses In the following part, this report will present the details of how can MIDI help in music technology courses, composition courses and music history courses. MIDI and music technology courses Sound recording courses, for music students who want to familiar with recording technology, can certainly benefit from the use of MIDI to augment the number of tracks available for recording. This is accomplished by the capability of computers to record musical performances into virtual tracks that are performed by synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers. These virtual tracks are then added to the tape tracks, used to record vocals, guitars, winds, and percussion instruments, making even small studios sound like larger recording facilities. Sound design and synthesis courses can also benefit from the use of computers. The graphics capabilities and the high audio quality of computers and digital audio boards allow teachers to demonstrate concepts such as additive and subtractive synthesis, wave editing, and sampling. MIDI and composition courses Composition courses can benefit in several ways from use of technology and MIDI. Using sequencer software, students can hear their music as they write it. Modern synthesizers, sound modules, and samplers provide immediate access to a great variety of orchestral instruments, thus benefiting orchestration courses. Notation software (one type of music software utilizing MIDI technology) can be used to prepare scores and individual parts for performance. Music student can use algorithmic composition software and digital converters to perform their ideas. MIDI and music history courses There are numerous programs, many of them available on CD-ROM format that allow music history educators to present information about composers, their biographies, and their work. Students can see pictures, read background information, hear the music, or watch the score. The music can be stored in MIDI format, so that the students can hear the whole score, or any of the individual parts, or just a small segment. The student can also print scores, biographical information, or comments or reviews from music historians or musicologists Limitation There are several issues that need to be considered by music educators and institutions about music technology and MIDI. As educators attempt to learn how to use the technology that currently exists in the music industry, and how to integrate these technologies into teaching of music courses. However, the information changes rapidly and is available from many different sources. It becomes very hard for the music educator to keep up-to-date. Regarding MIDI itself, there are also several issues to consider: The cost of acquiring the instruments and facilities (recording studios, workstations) and updating the programs The amount of space required to house the instruments Sound quality that differs greatly from that of acoustic instruments In terms of MIDI sound quality, there are two contrasting views. Some students thought that the sounds created using the synthesizer were not an attempt to imitate a real instrument but, rather, had possibilities to create exciting new sonorities. So whether the sounds were realistic or not seemed to be unimportant to them.  The others asserted that the realism of sounds played an essential role in music composition.  They needed the realistic sounds to inspire them and the realism of timbres for these students equated closely with the quality of their final product. The use of MIDI keyboard is the major issues. Some students considered that MIDI keyboard was not an ideal input device for them, because they lacked keyboard skills and they found it was difficult to use a keyboard to play some instruments, like drums. In terms of MIDI sound quality, there are two contrasting views. Some students thought that the sounds created using the synthesizer were not an attempt to imitate a real instrument but, rather, had possibilities to create exciting new sonorities. So whether the sounds were realistic or not seemed to be unimportant to them.  The others asserted that the realism of sounds played an essential role in music composition.  They needed the realistic sounds to inspire them and the realism of timbres for these students equated closely with the quality of their final product. 4. Recommendation There are many good reasons for the integration of music technology and MIDI into the curricula of traditional music programs as well as in to music technology programs. However, this report will give a few suggestions about the potential of the integration of music technology and MIDI into music programs. The first recommendation is the development and implementation of an introductory course on MIDI designed for music education, composition, performance majors. This course would emphasize practical experience. For example, the students should (1) learn the basic computer skills needed to run MIDI software on a personal computer, how MIDI can help transfer data to and from computer, (2) become familiar with some of the CAI programs available and how these programs exercise required to master some of the basic music concepts, and (3) learn how the basic principles of MIDI sequencing and notation can be used to facilitate the teaching and learning of basic music skills like harmony, counterpoint. Secondly, internet access should be included in the curriculum. MIDIà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Based on research of Mager, he believes that the internet plays an important role in music education, and in the future it will play a much greater role (may be essential one) than it does today (Mager 1997). The explosive growth of World Wide Web and its multimedia interactive capabilities, like exchanging information, transferring files, research data gathering, will make internet an invaluable tool for music education. Once all educational institutions are wired for internet communication, the distribution of music and information about music will change dramatically. Music and information can be stored in computers and made available for downloading instantly and at faster speeds than it is today. 5. Conclusion Music technology and MIDI are there to waiting educators to explore, learn, and take advantage of them, to make lecture better teachers and to make students ready for the challenges that they will face as musicians in the future.

Iago Essay -- essays research papers

Iago, More than Just a Villain Iago, the evil villain of Shakespeare's Othello, is more than just a villain. In many ways he is the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago shows superiority over the rest of the characters in the play. He has the ability to manipulate the characters in the play, therefore controlling the play with every sequence of events. His intelligence shines through his ability to deceive, his ability to strategize, and his ability to twist the truth. Iago is appealing to the characters of the pay because he gives them what they want. Iago is appealing to the reader as well. His character is totally unconflicted about being evil, making him known to some authors as the villain of all villains. Iago is, in many ways, the most intelligent and appealing character in the play. Iago has a sophisticated way of deceiving the characters of the play, making him a very intelligent person. Early in the play Othello introduces Iago to the Duke of Venice as, â€Å"My ancient / A man he is of honesty and trust† (!. iii. 284-85). This is but one of the times in the play that Iago is referred to as honest and true. Throughout the play Iago is considered to be honest, but is actuality the villain. In order to maintain this false image one has to have a beguiling character. After Othello and his lieutenant, Michael Cassio, return from the war against the Ottomans, there is a celebration. At this celebration Iago puts his manipulation to work. He knows that Othello and Desdemona’s love for each other is very true, but he tells Rodrigo that Desdemona had love for Cassio: â€Å"With as little a web as this will I ensnare as great a fly as Cassio. / Ay, smile upon her, do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (II. I. 164-65). This quote shows that Iago deceives Roderigo into believi ng that Desdemona loves Cassio, when in Roderigo’s eyes it is virtually impossible. Iago basically controls Rodrigo because Iago deceives him into believing that he can have Desdemona, by both Cassio and Othello. Iago uses his strategically apt abilities to come up with a very intelligent system that will eventually destroy Othello. After Iago and Rodrigo find out about Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, Iago manipulates Rodrigo into making him angry, because Rodrigo has feelings for Desdemona. Iago and Roderigo go to Brabantio’s abode to enrage him by telling him about Othello and Desdemona: â€Å"Call up her ... ...sio is in fact in love with Desdemona, and that Cassio is in fact doing dishonesty to Othello. Othello does get discouraged by this advice given by Iago, and eventually does confront Desdemona. The quote specifically displays how Iago can make Cassio seem evil to Othello. Iago persuades Othello into believing him, which creates a way for Iago to work around the truth. Iago completely changes the appearance of Cassio, therefore making Iago extremely intelligent and far superior. Iago’s magnificent intelligence and superiority make him a very intriguing character. Iago is not just any villain that comes into a town, with a black cape and knife that scares everyone, he destroys and â€Å"kills† by using creative tactics that could only be thought of by someone who is brilliant. He deceives, strategizes, and twists the truth with amazing ease. Iago maintains his on point intelligence by staying completely unconflicted about being evil. Iago is completely committed as he states, â€Å"[He will] turn her virtue into pitch, / And†¦ make the net / That shall enmesh them all† (II. Ii. 366-368). Iago is considered a cross between God and the Devil, as shown in the, â€Å"Divinity of Hell!† (!!. ii. 356)

William Shakespeares Othello Essay -- William Shakespeare Othello Ess

William Shakespeare's Othello A significant moment in Othello demonstrates the theme of binaries questioned in many of Shakespeare's works. Addressing the Duke and senators, Othello says: "Let her have your voice. Vouch with me heaven, I therefore beg it not To please the palate of my appetite, Nor to comply with heat--the young affects In me defunct--and proper satisfaction, But to be free and bounteous to her mind; And heaven defend your good souls that you think I will your serious and great business scant When she is with me. No, when light-winged toys Of feathered Cupid seel with wanton dullness My speculative and officed instruments That my disports corrupt and taint my business, Let housewives make a skillet of my helm, And all indign and base adversitities Make head against my estimation." This speech occurs in Othello 1.3.259-273. Desdemona has just requested to accompany her husband to Cyprus and Othello seconds her request. He swears not to be distracted from his military duties if Desdemona comes along. To convince his listeners, he claims he cannot be distracted by sex because he lacks the desire for it. As he puts it, â€Å"the young affects [are] in me defunct† (262-263). Further stressing his commitment to the military, he boldly declares that if he indeed neglects his duties for the state, â€Å"let housewives make a skillet of my helm, and all indign and base adversities make head against my estimation† (271-273). In other words, if his sexual pleasure (â€Å"disports†) gets in the way of his work (â€Å"business†), he does not deserve to be called a man and should be emasculated by allowing housewives to cook with his helmet. Furthermore, his enemies good reputation should be razed. Line 271 (â€Å"Let house... ...od a place as any to start. Works Cited â€Å"Appetite.† Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1987. Greenblatt, Stephen. Introduction. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. â€Å"Helm.† Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1987. McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespare. 2nd ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. â€Å"Palate.† Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1987. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"The Tragedy of Coriolanus.† The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 2793-2872. ---. â€Å"The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice.† The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 2100-2174. ---. â€Å"Troilus and Cressida. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. 1835-1913. â€Å"Skillet.† Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1987.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Thirty-Two

Moonlight shone in the window, iluminating a long swath of Elena's bed. Meredith had tossed and turned for a while, but now Elena could hear her steady breathing. It was good that Meredith was sleeping. She was exhausting herself: working out constantly, patrol ing every night, making sure al her weapons were in prime condition, wild with frustration that they weren't able to find any solid clues as to the kil er's identity. But it was lonely being the only one awake. Elena stretched her legs under the sheets and flipped over her pil ow to rest her head on the cooler side. Branches tapped against the window, and Elena wiggled her shoulders against the mattress, trying to calm her busy mind. She wished Bonnie would come home. The tapping on the window came again, then again, sharp peremptory raps. Slowly, it dawned on Elena, a little late, that there weren't any trees whose branches touched that window. Heart pounding, she sat up with a gasp. Eyes black as night peered in the window, skin as pale as the moonlight. It took Elena's brain a minute to start working again, but then she was out of bed and opening the window. He was so quick and graceful that by the time she shut the window and turned around, Damon was seated on her bed, leaning back on his elbows and looking total y at ease. â€Å"Some vampire hunter she is,† he said cool y, looking over at Meredith as she made a soft whuffling sound into her pil ow. His gaze, though, was almost affectionate. â€Å"That's not fair,† Elena said. â€Å"She's exhausted.† â€Å"Someday her life might depend on her staying alert even when she's exhausted,† Damon said pointedly. â€Å"Okay, but today is not that day,† Elena said. â€Å"Leave Meredith alone and tel me what you've found out about Zander.† Sitting down cross-legged on the bed next to him, she leaned forward to give Damon her ful attention. Damon took her hand, slowly interlacing his fingers with hers. â€Å"I haven't learned anything definite,† he said, â€Å"but I have suspicions.† â€Å"What do you mean?† Elena said, distracted. Damon was stroking her arm lightly with his other hand, feather touches, and she realized he was watching her closely, waiting to see if she would object. Inwardly, she shrugged a little. What did it matter, after al ? Stefan had left her; there was no reason now to push Damon away. She glanced over at Meredith, but the dark-haired girl was stil deeply asleep. Damon's dark eyes glittered in the moonlight. He seemed to sense what she was thinking, because he leaned closer to her on the bed, pul ing her snugly against him. â€Å"I need to investigate a little more,† Damon said. â€Å"There's definitely something off about him and those boys he runs around with. They're too fast, for one thing. But I don't think Bonnie's in any immediate danger.† Elena stiffened in his arms. â€Å"What proof do you have of that?† she asked. â€Å"And it's not just Bonnie. If anyone's in danger, they have to be our top priority.† â€Å"I'l watch them, don't worry.† He chuckled, a dry, intimate sound. â€Å"He and Bonnie are certainly getting close. She seems besotted.† Elena twisted away from his careful hands, feeling anxious. â€Å"If he could be dangerous, if there's anything off about him the way you say, we have to warn her about him. We can't just sit by watching and waiting for him to do something wrong. By then, it might be too late.† Damon pul ed her back to him, his hand flat and steady against her side. â€Å"You already tried warning Bonnie, and that didn't work, did it? Why would she listen to you now that she's spent more time with him, bonding with him, and nothing bad's happened to her?† He shook his head. â€Å"It won't work, princess.† â€Å"I just wish we could do something,† Elena said miserably. â€Å"If I had gotten a look at the bodies,† Damon said thoughtful y, â€Å"I might have more of an idea of what could be behind this. I suppose breaking into the morgue is out of the question?† Elena considered this. â€Å"I think they've probably released the bodies by now,† she said doubtful y, â€Å"and I'm not sure where they'd take them next. Wait!† She sat up straight. â€Å"The campus security office would have something, wouldn't they? Records, or maybe even pictures of Christopher's and Samantha's bodies? The campus officers were al over the crime scenes before the police got there.† â€Å"We can check it out tomorrow, certainly,† Damon said casual y. â€Å"If it wil make you feel better.† His voice and expression were almost disinterested, provokingly so, and once again, Elena felt the strange mixture of desire and irritation that Damon often sparked in her. She wanted to shove him away and pul him closer at the same time. She had almost decided on shoving him away when he turned to look her ful in the face. â€Å"My poor Elena,† he said in a soothing murmur, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. He ran a soft hand up her arm, shoulder, and neck, coming to rest gently against her jawline. â€Å"You can't get away from the dark creatures, can you, Elena? No matter how you try. Come to a new place, find a new monster.† He stroked her face with one finger. His words were almost mocking, but his voice was gentle and his eyes shone with emotion. Elena pressed her cheek against his hand. Damon was elegant and clever, and something in him spoke to the dark, secret part of her. She couldn't deny that she was drawn to him – that she'd always been drawn to him, even when they first met and he scared her. And Elena had loved him since that winter night when she awoke as a vampire and he cared for her, protected her, and taught her what she needed to know. Stefan had left her. There was no reason why she shouldn't do this. â€Å"I don't always want to get away from the dark creatures, Damon,† she said. He was silent for a moment, his hand stroking her cheek automatical y, and then he kissed her. His lips were like cool silk against hers, and Elena felt as if she had been wandering for hours in a desert and had final y been given a cold drink of water. She kissed him harder, letting go of his hand to twine her fingers through his soft hair. Pul ing away from her mouth, Damon kissed her neck gently, waiting for permission. Elena dropped her head back to give him better access. She heard Damon's breath hiss through his teeth, and he looked into her eyes for a moment, his face soft and more open than she'd ever seen it, before he lowered his face to her neck again. The twin wasp stings of his fangs hurt for a moment, and then she was sliding through darkness, fol owing a ribbon of aching pleasure that led her through the night, led her to Damon. She felt his joy and wonder at having her in his arms without guilt, without reserve. In return she let him feel her happiness in him and her confusion over wanting him and stil loving Stefan, her pain at Stefan's absence. There was no guilt, not now, but there was a huge Stefan-shaped hole in her heart, and she let Damon see it. It's all right, Elena, she felt from him, not quite in words, but in a rock-solid contentment, like the purr of a cat. All I want is this.

The Positive Effects of the Internet

Positive effects of the internet Internet, as most of us know, is a large network of networks, which communicate with each other by means of data packets. Internet is regarded as the largest information base. Today, Internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. We depend on the Internet to update ourselves about current news and rely on the communication platform it offers to get in touch with our near ones. The information from all around the world is just a click away, thanks to the Internet. Internet has surely affected the society positively. With the onset of the Internet, access to information has become easy.Internet has served being an efficient and organized storage of information. Internet search engines are the best information retrieval systems that are functional over the Internet. Typing in a simple search query to a search engine fetches you thousands of search results. Moreover, the ranking strategies adopted by the search engines ensure that the most relev ant results are delivered to you on priority. The search engines crawl over all the information that seems relevant to your search query. They retrieve the most relevant results in top order, thus helping you fetch the required information with great ease.Information is truly a click away! The Internet provides some of the most effective means of communication. Emails and instant messages have made online communication possible. Social networking and blogging websites and online discussion forums have proved being popular platforms of expression. People in different parts of the world can collaborate over the Internet. They can exchange views, share information and work together over the Internet. It was the development of the Internet that made online education and distance learning possible.Professionals working in physically distant locations can collaborate their efforts, thanks to the Internet. Today, the Internet is a part of every sphere of life. Looking at the wide range of the positive effects of Internet, it is sure to rein in future too! Go through these basic Internet terms for a technical know-how of the world wide web. As with any new technology, everyone is always talking about the negative side effects of the internet and saying how it ruins real face to face relationship, fills our minds with filth and damages our eyes and melts our brains.As usual it’s the panic mongers whose voices are most heard in the media and it’s gotten to such a point that people begin to feel guilty when they boot up their computer. The same things were said about rock music when records were at their most popular, and about televisions when they were first invented. The fact of the matter remains however that we still use both music players and televisions and that the internet isn’t going anywhere either. The reason for this is that although all these things do have a few downsides (like anything), they also have a plethora of upsides.The positi ve effects of internet use far outweigh the negatives, whether you’re a child, a pensioner or a business man and to say otherwise is not only small minded but destructive. Before we get onto the positive effects of internet use, let’s start with these much touted negative side effects. The naysayers would have us believe that the internet prevents us from interacting on a face to face basis and destroys old fashioned pursuits of writing letters and speaking on the phone; people even meet their spouses online these days!With business and finance now handled online we’re also far too dependent on the internet and would be at a loss should it break down. With the internet in our pocket we’re now never ‘disconnected’ and are at our boss’ beck and call 24 hours a day. Our bank cards are also more susceptible than ever to fraud and theft†¦ And through all this we’re getting addicting and neglecting our real relationships, stuck i nside in a more and more hermit like existence.They also say that sitting in front of a computer prevents us from getting outside and basking in fresh air and instead gives us repetitive strain injuries, hunched over spines and square eyes. As though this wasn’t enough, when we are sat inside on the computer we’re mostly looking at filth as that’s what the internet is comprised of – and having so much temptation and porn at our finger tips can only be a bad thing. The temptation isn’t limited to porn though – we’re also surrounded by bad investments and all-to-easy online shops not to mention gambling sites.And it’s not just ourselves we affect online – we also damage industries by downloading free books and music and downloading pirated movies. The internet provides a hiding place for all the perverts and weirdoes to meet online and to talk about completely irresponsible and antisocial subjects in a way that they could never get away with online. Adverts for penis enlargement, Viagra and Bestiality pop up every two minutes and find their way into our inboxes. Never mind the positive effects of internet use; all this is something you’re willing to expose your children to?The truth of the matter though is that all these things are simply symptoms of our own psyche as a race and if you look at them slightly differently you’ll see that many of these ‘downsides’ actually represent progress and the positive effects of internet use. Firstly, the accusation that the internet ruins ‘real life’ relationships is a bit of a misnomer and perhaps what people are forgetting here is that those people at the other ends of e-mails and on social networking sites actually are ‘real life’ people too.In the case of sites such as Facebook and others then, you’re actually more in contact with people than you would be otherwise and in fact need never lose contact with anyone ever again. Romantic relationships also benefit from the internet and if you ask any long-distance couple they’ll very easily be able to reel you off some positive effects of internet use as it allows them to talk every night without wracking up a ridiculously long phone bill on Skype or MSN, and how it even allows them to see each other on the webcam.And for those who actually meet online†¦ so what? For those who lack the social skills or the opportunity to meet people in more traditional ways (and what’s so elegant about snogging someone drunkenly in a club anyway? ), it can be a great way to meet someone that they might not otherwise. Taking away the ‘physical’ element to begin with may even make the relationship less shallow and get both parties to visit new and exotic locations. There are also positive effects of internet usage in business.While it’s true that office workers are now spending less and less time ‘relaxingà ¢â‚¬â„¢ with no internet connection and so no capacity to work; it also means that they have to take fewer trips into the office and means that some people can now work entirely from home and set up their own businesses. And by ‘working from home’ what we really mean, again thanks to the internet, is working from anywhere – while travelling, in a pub or while chilling in the hot tub. It also means fewer business trips abroad when people can make video conferences far more easily which means more time with the family and less damage to the environment.Who’d have thought being eco-friendly would be one of the positive effects of internet use? While many technologies have taken jobs away from the public, the internet has opened up a wealth of opportunities and heralded an age where anyone can be published and anyone can be an entrepreneur. Even if you only sell a few old items on e-bay; anyone can make money online. With the ‘One Child One Laptopâ€℠¢ scheme that’s heading to Africa, and the large-scale attempts to provide the continent with a secure internet connection this could see one of the largest continents joining us online to share their views and earn themselves some money.This will give them access to all the education they could need as well as the resources they’d need to make the most of that. Many of them could see themselves working their way out of poverty – and online they can expect the same wages as other continents as its faceless nature eradicates discrimination. One of the positive effects of internet use then is that it could help some people in escaping from the poverty trap. And yes more of our personal information is now available online and to an extent that does leave us vulnerable.At the same time however, bank robberies are a thing of the past and most of us no longer carry more than ? 20 on us at a time. If we are careful and follow the guidelines advised by the banks and onl ine businesses, then our data should be safer than it was before – it’s shredding the hard copies you need to be careful of. And the internet is full of filth. Well okay that’s quite true, but to be fair that’s not all it’s filled with either. Apart from anything else the internet is filled with knowledge and information. If you’re friend or your child started spending lots of time in the library you’d be impressed right?Well the internet is essentially the largest library of all, and even if you don’t aim to use it for learning purposes it’s pretty hard to go online without learning something. The news for instance is flashed on most search engines and e-mail providers’ home pages and it’s far to tempting not to use Wikipedia as a means to settle debates and disagreements. Wikipedia and other sites in general in fact provide almost everything you could ever need to know right at your finger tips. Furthermo re, simply interacting with people from other cultures is bound to help make you more cultured and worldly.Just getting to see other people’s points of view on forums and in chat rooms (and sharing their point of view is something people are only too pleased to do online, just check out YouTube for proof) will make you more open minded and a more reasoned critic. Improve your knowledge and informing your points of view are two of the most important positive effects of internet use. As for all that temptation†¦ Well the amount of porn on the internet really only reflects how sex-obsessed we are as a culture and blaming the internet isn’t going to achieve anything.If someone really wants to access porn they’ll find a way, and surely it’s better that they vent their sexual frustration in a safe environment and for free? And anyway, masturbation in itself is completely natural and not unhealthy so there’s not really anything to be worried about. S ure there’s some rather extreme stuff on there, but that will always exist internet or no, and if you want to prevent you kids from seeing it you just need to set up a filter. And as for those ‘all too easy’ online shops, most of them provide significant discounts on their items meaning that you can afford to be a bit more materialistic.In doing so you’re also putting money back into the economy, so again what many people view as a bad thing is actually one of the positive effects of internet use. Destroying industry and providing a place for these deviant ‘subcultures’ to converse? Those too are perhaps the most positive effects of internet use. These are the things that promise to change the way politics and business work forever and potentially usher in a new age of supreme democracy and resources. Granted, there are some sub groups online that we’d probably rather there weren’t, but at least if they’re online they can talk to each other and leave us alone.Other ‘subcultures’ however simply reflect different ways of thinking – and the internet gives them an open forum to freely express themselves, something that everyone has a right to do. The anonymity and freedom that the internet gives us can also be a good thing as well as bad. On the one hand it does allow people to get away with things they would otherwise, and to lie about their identity. On the other hand however it also further oils the cogs of democracy by giving people an opportunity to speak freely without fear of retribution and gives everyone a voice.It also gives people the opportunity to ‘try out’ different personas and shed their social anxiety which can be a liberating experience. On the internet racism is also impossible when anonymity is observed – it is a place where people are judged only on the quality of their contributions. This expression then gives a voice to those who wouldnâ€⠄¢t be heard otherwise, and petitioning can take part on a global level where people are united by cause rather than geographical location.Soon governments may take advantage of this open forum and start listening more closely; an age may exist where we all get a say on every decision that affects us, where we act as ‘one mind’ in decisions that affect the general public, but as completely autonomous and free individuals the rest of the time. And as for the free exchange of movies, books and CDs – well many companies and artists have found that by freely distributing their material they actually make much more money by generating a larger following. Information is a resource that will never run dry and so to charge for it could be seen as immoral.Particularly as the internet allows all of us to create and market our own work. In time then, most things will be free and money will mostly be made via advertising sponsorship. So in conclusion, the positive effects of internet use have only just begun, and if we continue as we are and ignore the pessimistic doom-mongers then it won’t be long before we’ve heralded in a new age where true democracy and the free flow of information and art are commonplace. With this in mind, who really cares if it’s full of porn?