Occidentalism The West in the eyes of the East Essays

Occidentalism In Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalits book, Occidentalism: The West in the eyes of the East, they set out to solve the fueling force that drives the enemies of America and the Western world. This hatred spans back to the times of industrialization in the east, causing hatred to erupt from the peoples of Asian nationalities, and continues up to present day with Al-Qaeda and the terrorist attacks. Buruma and Margalit trace the roots of Occidentalism back to Germany, China, Japan and Russia. Japan used Westernization to keep up with the world and then turned their backs on it. Their goal was to overcome the West, and be modern while at the same time returning to an idealized spiritual past (Margalit 4). Because of†¦show more content†¦They failed to give as clear of a description about why they hate us in todays world. The authors have shown the changes throughout history that have shaped their current thoughts and perceptions but they have not explained why they still think that way. This book is good for learning about the history of Occidentalism but is lacking in the fact of showing clear reasons why occidentalists would hate us in the 21st century. It does not give a clear-cut reason as why incidents like 9-11 and the hostage beheadings would happen in the twenty-first century. This leaves the reader wanting more information and having a place to go to find it . The only other possibility for hating us that is mentioned does not involve Occidentalism. The other option is that the individuals have gained their ideas from the Muslim tawhid. The tawhid is closely related to the idea jihiliyya and radical Islamist thinking. The tawhid means Unity of God and can be interpreted in multiple ways. Muhammed Iqbal gained his ideas of politics from the tawhid and is considered to be a `tawhid thinker. Iqbal believed that the Unity of God should be mirrored in the unity and harmony of human society, based on justice, equality, and solidarity (123). Based on these ideas, the individual critiques the West in his own opinion. Iqbal critiqued the economic explosion in the West. The difference between Occidentalism and Iqbals critiques is that Iqbal does notShow MoreRelatedOrientalism in Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North2758 Words   |  12 Pagesthe North, just as far as the west is engendered through refinement and order, so too has Mustafa Sa’eed subsumed the clichà ©s of barbarism. One of the questions that Salih seems to be asking is: if Orientalism is a western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient, can the Orient use this same dichotomy, in turn, to assert power over its European â€Å"masters†. In a discussion of the â€Å"boundless historical chasm,† separating the east and west, Mustafa Sa’eed forewarns, â€Å"IRead MoreEssay on Hong Kong Post-colonial Cinema4693 Words   |  19 Pagesconnection to its Motherland, while at the same time, has frequent contact with the Western world, politically, economically, and culturally. Hong Kong’s unique position has made the city a vibrant international metropolis that acts as a bridge between East and West. Yet after it was returned to China in 1997, this former British colony has been constantly reassessing its British past, struggling to find its new position and redefining its ide ntity. The quest for identity quickly finds its place in theRead MoreAnalysis Of S Americanah Through A Post Colonial Prism4297 Words   |  18 PagesMarxist critic Frederic Jameson once described every instance of â€Å"third world literature† as necessarily nationally allegorical (69), an assertion spectacularly assailed by Aijaz Ahmad (77-82). But it is possible to close our eyes to Ahmad’s very valid misgivings and take a bird’s eye view of Jameson’s assertion: read in reaction to the phenomenon of imperialism, perhaps the literature of dominated peoples is the literature of self-assertion, however blind to Jameson’s national allegorical (or anticolonial)

Self Esteem Essay - 1462 Words

Most people think that peer pressure is one of the leading cause of low self-esteem ,we read about young adult going through teen issues such as bullying , fighting and many more other issues but in 2017 things have changed .Many teenagers are obsessed with social media sites such as Facebook, Snap chat, or even Instagram . these sites were either design for reconnection with lost family or friends to showing people bit a piece what you do on a day to day basis but now that’s not the case. Self -esteem is when an individual has confidence and satisfaction in themselves with the changes in how social media works in this day and age self-esteem is one of the issues it affects. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and†¦show more content†¦Women lurk on a man’s page seeking for their materialistic items such as cars, money, and the way a man dresses. Instances such as these causes low self-esteem of individuals who do not portray these specific items or lifestyles on social media. USA Today asked 23 Chicago college students about social media and 20 out of 23 students believed social media caused anxiety or added stress to an individual’s life. One female college student believed that social media adds a lot of pressure to be the perfect person, because that’s how individuals can make themselves look online. A lot of women on social media with low self-esteem issues show their skin and wear revealing outfits to feel â€Å"better† about their own body by taking into account how many likes on Instagram or Facebook they receive. The college students have realized it was easy to portray a different version of them on the internet. Individuals believe the number of likes on Facebook/Instagram or retweets on Twitter is used as a tool for verification for acceptance within their group of peers. This can cause a domino effect of problems on an individual’s self-esteem. An individual will post photos that are out side their character just to seek approval through the likes from their peers. This may boost an individual’s self-esteem temporarily, but once he or she logs off social media their self-esteem really hasn’t improved. Valkenbur, P. M., Peter, J., Shouted, A. P. (2006). FriendShow MoreRelated Self-Esteem Essay1122 Words   |  5 Pagesknown as: self-presentation. A great deal of human behaviour is, in part, determined or constrained by people’s concerns with others’ impressions and evaluations of them. Because all human beings are different from one another, the thought process used which results in the self-presentation of a person will also differ from person to person. In this case the potential factor effecting the self-presentation of an individual is that of the self-esteem of the individual. Self–esteem being: â€Å" AnRead MoreSelf- Esteem Essays1137 Words   |  5 PagesScenario Self Esteem There are many similarities and differences to self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Self-concept is the mental image or perception that one has of oneself. Self-esteem is the experience of feeling competent to cope with the basic challenges in life and of being worthy of happiness. Then self-efficacy is confidence in your ability to carry out a specific task in contrast to generalized self-confidence. The only person that can feel self-conceptRead MoreSelf Esteem Essay798 Words   |  4 PagesIts your self-esteem! Self Esteem is defined as confidence in your own merit as an individual. Our self esteem is instilled in us during our youth. There are two types of self esteem. There is high self esteem which is when you feel good about yourself, and then there is low self esteem which is when you feel bad about yourself. Being constantly criticized by family, friends, and society tends to slowly strip us of our feelings of self worth. Our low self esteem strips us of our self confidenceRead MoreEssay on Self-Esteem2098 Words   |  9 PagesSelf-Esteem over Logic and Beliefs Columbia College, Missouri Abstract Self-Esteem gives a person the right to value themselves. Our self-esteem sometimes overpowers our logic, and can lead us to act in ways that are not always our own. This paper examines how the following theories; Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Self- Evaluation Maintenance Theory, Self-Affirmation Theory, Rationalization Trap and Self-Discrepancy Theory impact a persons self-esteem decisions. Where people in differentRead MoreEssay Self Esteem1892 Words   |  8 PagesThis paper is about the impact of self-esteem on daily life. The more negative thoughts and feelings you have about yourself, the lower your self-esteem. People with low self-esteem often have little confidence in their abilities and question their self-worth. A common scenario, which exemplifies a lack of self-esteem, features college students who say, It wont do any good to study. I wont make a good grade anyway. These students think they are doomed to failure because of poor performanceRead MoreHigh Self Esteem Essay2676 Words   |  11 Pageslevel of self-esteem.’ Critically discuss. Self-esteem has captivated the interest of psychological researchers and the whole of society. â€Å"This academic preoccupation is substantially matched by interest among the public at large, and not just among those people, doctors, teachers and social workers who might be expected to show a professional interest in the human psyche. In their everyday lives people routinely treat the notion of self-esteemRead MoreAdolescent Self Esteem Essay1098 Words   |  5 Pagestopic, such as relationships and friendship. Results of the study indicate that self-esteem measures between testing were not significant, but several related concepts proved to be. Self-efficacy attitudes did significantly improve after treatment and can be linked to positive self-esteem. An explanation for their results is the possibility that the short duration of time could not change girls’ levels of self-esteem. â€Å"Every Body is Somebody† is another program (McVey Davis, 2002) with the goalRead MoreTeen Self Esteem Essay1199 Words   |  5 Pages Teen Self Esteem Did you know that nearly seventy-five percent of girls that suffer from low self esteem have admitted to taking part in a negative activity such as bullying, eating disorders, smoking, drinking, or even self harm? What about the fact that over forty percent of boys in high school and middle school exercise with the intent of increasing muscle mass because they are self conscious about their appearance (DoSomething.Org). These facts deal with the increasing issue of teenagers dealingRead MoreWhat Is Self Esteem? Essay655 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is self-esteem? Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to describe someone’s level of confidence and respect for themselves. Pride, shame and dignity are some of the emotions self-esteem encompasses. In 1943, Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist created the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; it was composed of physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self-actualization, physiological being the most basic needs. He believed that psychological health is not possible unless people acceptedRead MoreSelf-Esteem in Women Essay1050 Words   |  5 Pagesdramatically, so does our physical image. These changes are hard to believe, seeing yourself transform into an adolescent. We sometimes have trouble adjusting to these changes, which can damage our confidence as well as affect our self esteem. Self-esteem Self esteem basically means that we should like ourselves, feel positive about yourself and respect your own worth. Feeling positive about yourself can determine how you perform. When we respect ourselves and feel really good in ourselves, we

Qualnet Free Essays

string(59) " packets to Exponential and change the Mean Interval to 0\." QualNet 5. 0 Tutorial (ELEC 6851) Part 1: Installation TODO: I would recommend getting AITS to provide the installation instructions as I’m sure the license restrictions will determine how/where QualNet gets installed. Part 2: The QualNet 5. We will write a custom essay sample on Qualnet or any similar topic only for you Order Now 0 Developer The QualNet Developer IDE is a GUI program for developing network scenarios that comes with QualNet 5. 0. It can be used to visually design network scenarios and then run simulations of these networks. Although networks can be designed and simulated in a command-line fashion as well, we will focus on the Developer IDE package. The first step is to open the Developer IDE program. Depending on the installation procedure, it can be opened via the start menu or by opening the directory where QualNet was installed. Double-click on the â€Å"QualNet Developer 5. 0. 1† icon on the desktop (this option is available only if you chose to install desktop shortcuts during installation). Part 3: Setting Up a Network – Basics The first task is to create a new network scenario. To do this, go to the File Menu -New. Save it in your local folder: File Menu -Save. Choose the local directory where you want to save the scenario. Enter a name for the new scenario (for example, â€Å"Example1†). Click Save. A grid should appear in the right hand window (see Fig 1). This is where we will deploy the nodes and create network connections. The left hand window has four panels: File System, Toolset, Visualization Control and Runtime Analysis (Toolset panel open). 1 Figure 1: A new scenario has just been created. To setup our first network, we will proceed by a simple example of a 15 node wireless network that accesses the channel using the CSMA/CA scheme defined by the 802. 11 protocol. The first step in creating a network is to deploy the nodes. This is done in the right hand window, the so-called Canvas Area. Nodes can be deployed manually according to an arbitrary topology by selecting Toolset - Device - Default (just a generic node), then clicking anywhere on the canvas area. In adhoc networking scenarios it is often assumed that the nodes are deployed randomly on the terrain and we will assume random deployment in this example. To randomly deploy the nodes we go to the Tool menu - Node Placement. The Automatic Node Placement Wizard will open (see Fig. 2). Figure 2: Node placement 2 We then enter the desired number of nodes we would like in our network. Node Placement Strategy: Random. It then asks for a seed value for the random number generator (leave it blank). Click OK. The Placement Wizard will close and the nodes will be deployed randomly on the grid in the Scenario Designer window (see Fig. 3). Location of a node may be changed by left clicking the mouse on the arrow button then left clicking it on the node and dragging it to the desired location. Figure 3: Random node deployment We now want to add these nodes to a wireless network. The first step is to select the nodes we wish to add to the wireless network. To do this we can use the selection tools (arrow or lasso in the View Toolbar). Select all of the nodes by using either of the selection tools and left clicking and dragging the mouse around the nodes. To connect these nodes to a wireless network, select Toolset - Network Components - Wireless Network. Now click anywhere on the area you selected earlier. A cloud should appear on the canvas area representing this wireless network and the nodes should be joined to this cloud with blue lines representing the newly formed wireless connections (see Fig. 4). 3 Figure 4: The nodes connected to the wireless network. Part 3a: Creation of Application Layer Connections After setting up the network, the next step is creation of application layer connections between the nodes. At any time, there may be several connections active simultaneously in the network. Each connection will have a source and a destination node. The source node generates traffic and transmits to a destination node. Let us create a connection between nodes 3 (source) and 4 (destination), Selection of the source node: Left click the mouse over the arrow selection tool and then left click it over the device symbol for node 3, the color of number 3 should turn to red. Next select a traffic source, the available pre-defined applications such as CBR (Constant Bit Rate), VBR (Variable Bit Rate), FTP Generic, VOIP, and Traffic-Gen are listed in the left window under the heading -Applications. We note that Traffic-Gen generates UDP traffic while FTP Generic generates TCP traffic. Let us select the Traffic Generator button mouse over it. by left clicking the – Creation of the connection: Now left click the mouse over node 3, hold, and drag it to node 4. When the mouse is released over node 4, a green arrow pointing from node 3 to node 4 will appear. This creates a basic Traffic Generation application between the nodes 3 and 4 as source and destination respectively. The next step is to choose the parameter values of this connection: Let us create a Poisson process of data packets at the source and make the packet length exponentially distributed. To do this, click Table View on the bottom of the right window, and select the Application tab. You should see the connection Traffic-Gen 3-4 listed. Double click the connection. A window of Traffic Generator Properties will show up (Fig. 5). Click on the 4 – Packet Size. Recall, we want the packet lengths to be exponentially distributed with mean packet length 2048 bytes. The default size is deterministically set to 512 bytes. Change the Data Size from Deterministic to Exponential. Then change the Mean Size to 2048 bytes. To make the source generate traffic according to a Poisson process, click on Interval from the Traffic Type menu for this connection. By default traffic is generated deterministically every 1 second. Change the distribution of the interval between successive packets to Exponential and change the Mean Interval to 0. You read "Qualnet" in category "Papers" seconds (recall that the inter-arrival times for a Poisson process are exponentially distributed). As well, set the Start Time of the connection to Exponential with mean 0. 5 seconds, and the Duration to Deterministic with fixed duration of 30 seconds. These steps have been summarized below, 1. Click on Packet Size Distribution. (The packet lengths are exponentially distributed with mean packet length 2048 bytes. ) Change the Data Size from Deterministic to Exponential. Then change the Mean Size to 2048 bytes. 2. Click on Packet Interval Distribution. The source generates traffic according to a Poisson process. ) Change the distribution of the interval between successive packets to Exponential and change the Mean Interval to 0. 5 seconds. 3. Click on Start Time Distribution Change the distribution to Exponential with mean 0. 5 seconds. 4. Click on Duration Distribution to Deterministic with fixed duration of 30 seconds. – – – Figure 5 Traffic Generator Properties 5 A wireless network with multiple connections is shown in Fig. 6. Figure 6 A wireless network with multiple connections Part 3b: MAC Protocol The default settings of the MAC protocol can be viewed by clicking on Table View in the bottom panel below the canvas. Click the network tab and double click Wireless Subnet (see Fig. 7). MAC 6 protocol determines how the nodes access to the physical channel to transmit their packets. We note that the default MAC protocol is 802. 11 standard. This standard has two modes of operations known as Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and Point Coordination Function (PCF). The DCF is more popular in practice and based on the random access mechanism. Briefly, DCF function as follows, (see section 6. 10. 3 in the textbook for the description of this MAC protocol), DCF uses the CSMA protocol, thus a node, with a packet to transmit, first has to sense the channel. If the channel is busy the node backs off for a random amount of time. We note that the channel may be idle at the source but not at the destination node. If the source node senses the channel idle, it transmits a short request to send (RTS) packet. If the channel is also idle at the destination node and it receives the RTS packet then replies with clear to send (CTS) packet. After that the source transmits the data packet and destination node replies with an ACK packet if the packet is received error free which completes the transmission of the packet. If the source node does not receive the CTS packet or an ACK following the transmission of the data packet then it backs off for a random amount of time. A source node may retransmit an unsuccessful packet upto a transmission limit, when that limit is passed then the packet is discarded ( for values of these limits see Fig. 7). – The routing protocol is Bellman-Ford (a Distance Vector routing algorithm). The default settings of the OSI layers can be modified here according to the requirements of the network. As well, the default settings of an individual node can be viewed by clicking the Nodes tab and double clicking each node. The nodes update their routing tables regularly by exchanging routing packets. We not that in a single wireless subnetwork all the nodes are one hop away from each other, thus there is no routing, but nevertheless nodes will send routing packets regularly. It is worthwhile to spend a few minutes navigating through the menus to learn where to go in order to view or modify parameters in our network scenario. We can right-click the nodes or wireless network in the canvas area. 7 Figure 7 Properties of the MAC Protocol . Part 3c. Wireless channel with Fading We may include fading in the wireless channel by choosing the Scenario Properties button on the left side of the window and then selecting the Channel Properties tab in the new window. (see Fig. 9). In the Channel Properties window go to the row which says Fading Model [0] and click on where it says None. From the drop out menu choose Fading. Then go to the row which says Specify Gaussian Component File, click where it says No and change it to Yes. After this step is taken, a new menu item is open with the name Gaussian Component File, then fill that tab with the following entry, C:/snt/qualnet/5. 0/scenarios/default/default. fading Failure to provide this link will give the following error. â€Å"Error: Error in file .. librarieswirelesssrcpropagation. cpp:3933 PROPAGATION-FADING-GAUSSIAN-COMPONENTS-FILE is missing† 8 Figure 8. Incorporation of fading to the simulation Part 4: Running Simulation The next step is to run simulation of our network. One useful feature of the QualNet Developer package is the ability to trace packets. To enable packet tracing, go to Scenario Properties in the left hand window, select Statistics and Tracing tab, click Packet Tracing in the left window, select Enabled Packet Tracing, click where it says No and change it to Yes. See Fig. 9. 9 Figure 9 Enabling packet tracing. On the Run Toolbar, there are a set of icons related to simulation which include an Open Current Scenario in File Editor, a Run Settings, a Run Simulation and Record Animation Trace. To initialize the scenario, click on the Run Simulation icon . The mode of the Architect will be changed from Design Mode to Visualize Mode. To switch back to Design Mode, click Switch to Design Mode . The Visualization Controls panel opens in the left window. You should see the coordinates icon of the nodes and the current simulation time (which is 0. 0000 seconds) in the output window. Before running the simulation, we note that the Developer package will by default animate various aspects of the simulation such as packet receptions, packet drops and collisions, and unicast and multicast transmissions. Others aspects such as packet queue animation can be enabled by clicking on the button in the Animation Filters which should appear in the left hand window. Enable the radio range animation. Simulation will tend to run very fast so if we wish to see the animation it will help to slow down the speed of the animation. This is done by sliding the speed bar to about half way in the Animator window. See Fig10. 10 Figure 10 Initialization and animation settings for simulation The total simulation time can be changed by switching back to the Design Mode, click the Scenario Properties button on the left window, and select the General tab. The Simulation Time is set to 30 seconds by default. We will leave this at its default value for now. We run the simulator by clicking the Play button (Fig. 11). on the menu bar. You should see the simulation animations as the simulator runs Figure 11 Simulation animation during a run. 11 You can enable or disable the different animations while the simulation runs. Wait until the simulation completes. Part 5. Routing of the traffic between subnetworks. We need to have a router for to be able to route the traffic from one wireless subnetwork to another. The router will have two network interfaces each one being member of a one subnetwork. We can create a router as an ordinary node which belongs to both subnetworks. Thus the router node is selected among the nodes belonging to that subnetwork when each subnetwork is created ( see Fig. 12). 12 Figure 12 The two subnetworks communicate through the router node [2] Next we will configure node 2 as a router. For this click on the Table view, then on the Node button, then double click on the row for node 2 and click on the Node Configuration button in the window that opens. Then click on the router properties on the left hand window which displays Fig. 13. Fig. 3 Node configuration window In the Node Configuration window in the row for Type of Router click on the arrow for the value User Specified and from the opening menu choose Predefined. Then in the row for Router Type choose the value Generic. Finally choosing Apply button at the bottom of the window configures node 2 as a router ( see Fig. 14) 13 Fig. 14 Node 2 has been configured as a router Part 6. Simulation Statist ics 14 After the simulation has been completed, we can view the data collected during the simulation. To view the statistics of the simulation, click on he Analyze Statistics icon toolbar. in the Components 1- Statistics File If you click on the Statistics File button at the bottom of the window, you will see large amount of per node simulation data. Among the collected statistics we see, – The packets generated by the source nodes and received by the destination nodes are listed as unicast packets. In a connection not all the generated packets may be successfully delivered to the destination. As explained, in Part 3b. a packet will be discarded by the source as a result of reaching the number of retransmissions’ limit. Transmissions may not be successful because of destination node not sending a CTS packet or as a result of the bit errors in the received packet. We note that the bit errors will depend on the distance between source and destination nodes, fading and shadowing. The strength of the received signal which will decrease as the distance between the source and destination nodes increases. As a result of packet discarding, the throughput of the source and destination nodes in a connection may not be same. – If the distance between two nodes is higher than the node’s transmission range, then, these nodes are not aware of each other. They can not communicate with each other and they will not know each other’s IP addresses. Therefore, if two such nodes will exchange data traffic with each other, the packets will be generated by the Application layer of the source node but they will not be passed to the transport and then to the network layers because the IP address of the destination node is unknown. – In addition to unicast traffic packets, as may be seen there are other packets being transmitted in the network , RTS, CTS, ACK and Broadcasting packets for routing. For each successfully received unicast packet there will be a corresponding ACK path. The number of RTS and CTS packets will correspond to the total number of transmissions of a packet until it is successfully transmitted. 2- Graph Analyzer Window If you click on the Overview button at the bottom of the window, then we can navigate through the Physical, MAC, Network, Transport, and Application layers shown on left hand window. We can access to each layer data by clicking on the button for that layer at the bottom of left hand window. This results in opening of a menu for that layer in the left hand window. Then clicking on any of the menu items displays a submenu. Clicking on any submenu item displays a bar chart for the data collected for that item during the simulation. In Fig. 15 we are ready to view the data collected in the application layer. 15 Fig. 15 Viewing the data collected during the simulation. In Fig. 15, when we click on the Traffic-Gen Client button on the left hand window, then from the drop out menu we click on the data units sent. This results in Fig. 16 which shows the bart charts for the total number of packets generated at the application layer of each node. 16 Fig. 16 Traffic generated at the application layer of each node 17 How to cite Qualnet, Papers

Ancient Greek Pottery Essay Example For Students

Ancient Greek Pottery Essay Ancient Greek Pottery Perhaps of all the arts that flourished in antiquity, ceramic art has the longest continuous history. And this may well be accounted for by the fact that it was utilitarian, for even in those periods when other arts had declined, people still needed pottery to collect and store their oil, grain, water, and wine. Thus, whereas certain forms of art disappear for periods at a time to reappear in an other form or style, the ceramic art appears in all periods from the time it made its first appearance in Greek lands in the 6th Millennium B. C. Moreover, clay, the material which was used in the manufacture of pottery, from the moment it was kilned became almost indestructible, even when the pot was shattered, something which could not happen with other materials such as wood, textiles, and so on. As a result, whereas there are gaps in our knowledge of other arts, and we must turn to related sources to fill these gaps, this is not the case with pottery, the evolution of which can be traced without interruption from the Neolithic age to the end of the ancient Greek world. In this long period of development of Greek ceramics, the shapes of the vases may have altered, or may have become more finished and may have been better adapted to the end of which they were made, but they never ceased to be utilitarian for their purpose was, with few exceptions, to serve the daily needs of man. Most pottery was decorated and each period had its individual style of decorations. One always notes a continuous effort to adjust the ornamentation to the shape of the pot. The themes or subjects used also changed from period to period, and in these changes there are certain preferences for the one or other subject by which means we can not only differentiate the esthetic criteria but even the historical changes in the manner of thought itself. It is not fortuitous, for example, that in the period when one of the most characteristic of maxims Man is the measure of all things was in vogue, the Greek vases almost exclusively used the human figure for decorative purposes. The appearance of pure Greek ceramic art is chronoogically placed in the 11th century, somewhere round about 1050 BC. The 12th C. was a period of great upheavals and readjustment in all Greek lands, but also in the entire Eastern Mediterranean basin. In Greece itself, along with the destruction of Mycenaean civilization , there perished many of the arts that had reached their peak. The only artifacts, or almost the only remnants to survive of this great civilization were the pottery and potsherds. In examining the ceramic artifacts of the period which followed the destruction of Mycenaean civilization one can see that this destruction, although of major proportions, was not total. In the 11th Century there begins to appear a new type of decoration which initially retained many features of late Mycenaean art, the main characteristic being geometric designs. It is on this account that the pottery which is decorated in this manner is known as Geometric. Since most finds of this period consisted of pottery, the comparatively long range of time up to about 700 BC has been named the Geometric period. Geometric art, as all arts, went through various stages of development until attainting its peak in the 8th Century. That which distinguishes it most is the remarkable blend and harmony of shape and decoration. Whereas in the Mycenaean period pottery was decorated as a whole and a single motif covered the entire area, either in the form of flowers or sea life, octopi, and so on, now the surface of the pot was separated into parallel bands of geometric patterns. In the early geometric period, the vase was painted with dark veneer, black or brown and only one or two bands remaining uncolored, over which the decoration extends. Gradually, these light-coloured bands began to expand into wider bands covering a broader area of the pot thus giving it a lighter tone. The bands contained a great variety of geometric motifs, triangles, lozenges, semicircles and, beginning in the 9th Century, the most characteristic, the meander or Greek key which with several variations repeated rhythmically encircled the vase, with the tendency not to leave any part of the surface unornamented. The bands are shrunken in the narrow parts of the pot, and become broader round the belly with larger patterns, and then to diminish again in width as they get closer to the neck. In this way, the curves of the pot are emphasized by the bands with the geometric figures which ornament and encircle them. The first figures of humans and animals begin to appear in the middle of the 9th Century, but always stylized. Some of the bands which formerly contained geometrical patterns were in some cases replaced by a series of animals, deer and other motifs. These were also stylized and convey the feeling of movement along the length of the band. The geometric pot was often used as a funerary marker. Thus we find that from the age in which human figures appear we also find funeral scenes. Gradually the subjects are enriched with various scenes involving a number of persons, battles, naval engagements, hunting scenes, and so on, which become more important in time. And so we find already in the Geometric period those elements which would eventually become the characteristic features of Greek art and the whole of Greek civilization, that is, anthropomorphism. During the Geometric period, pottery was made in all parts of Greece and we observe more or less a similar style of decoration and the same evolution with understandably slight variations in the various areas. In the entire course of this period, Attica was one of the most important centres for pottery manufacture and we can safely say that Geometric ceramic art was basically of Attican origin. Although the Geometric period is no longer considered an obscure age, or the Greek Dark Ages, as it was formerly known, it was nevertheless a period in which, although Greece was not completely isolated from the civilized world, there was less intercourse with the countries of the East and Egypt than had previously existed in the Mycenaean and even earlier yet in the Minoan period. But beginning in the 8th Century, with the growth and expansion of shipping, there began a very vigorous trade activity and closer communication with the Orient which naturally would influence Greek art drastically. This influence was very apparent in pottery decoration, especially beginning in the early 7th Century BC. Even if we had no evidence except pottery, we could detect the strong orientalizing influence on the potters and painters of Greece. Thus the style of this period which followed the Geometric is known as the orientalizing period. The Greek city that played a dominant role in commerce from the close of the 8th Century was Corinth. Her geographical position between two seas was destined to make the city a great maritime and trade centre. And understandably therefore Corinth was among the first cities to receive the influence of orientalizing art. We thus observe that the art of pottery changes completely. The geometric motifs are replaced by an animal style with a repertory of lions, griffins, sphinxes, oriental beasts both imaginary and real. The two original colours of the geometric pots were replaced by many colours. And with this change one also sees a tendency for miniature decorations. In the early stages, the arrangements of decorations on the vases had not altered, the motifs only changing. The pot continued to be divided into horizontal bands as in the Geometric period, but rather than containing geometric patterns, these bands were adorned with a series of various animals, lions, griffons, and so on. The area between the bands was decorated with various depictions. At the same time, the technique of heavy engraved lines for the outlines and the details was used in such a way that often Corinthian pottery conveyed the impression that the artisans who painted the figures used as a model embroideries and the metal techniques of the East, two arts which appear to have deeply influenced Corinthian pottery painters. Then follows a period where the bands become broader and less numerous until finally the entire pot is covered by a single representation. Parallel to this style of decoration there coexisted yet another with the human figure as the central theme and the narrative scenes produced with the technique of the miniature. One of the most beautiful Corinthian vases of this type is the Ghigi oinochoe of the villa Giulia in Rome. Until the middle of the 6th Century B. C. , Corinth was the principle centre both in the production and the export of pottery, pots that were mainly manufactured for the exportation of the famous Corinthian perfumes. In the same period, of course, there were workshops in many other cities, but they more or less retained their local features. But already by the beginning of the 6th Century, Corinths supremacy in this sector was seriously challenged by Athens which gradually overshadowed Corinth. Soon the workshops of the latter city ceased operating to be replaced by the workshops of Athens. In Attica the evolution of the ceramic industry was significantly different from that of Corinth. Although Attica too had undergone the influences of Eastern techniques, in the sector of ceramics there was a longer continuation of the geometric tradition. The monumental nature of the funerary vases of the Geometric metric period was not abandoned unlike the Corinthian potters who made pots basically of smaller size. But perhaps the main feature of the Attic potters was that they used as principal decorative themes for their pots the human figure, thus continuing a tradition which had its roots in the Geometric period . These two features of Proto-Attic pottery, the monumental nature and the tendency for narrative composition, led the vase painters to a technique quite different from that used by the Corinthians in the decorative program of their small-size pots. Artificial Intelligence1 EssayEuphronios had signed vases both as the potter and the painter, and worked mainly on large vases. In contrast with Epiktetos, Euphronios drew his themes mainly from mythology. The presentation of the human anatomy was so advanced that often we have the impression that we are regarding anatomical charts, as for example, in the case of the figure of Heracles and Antaeus on the face of the calyx crater of the Louvre. This striving for the perfect portrayal of the human proportions is also encountered at this time n the sculptures. Figures fill the area of the vase and are portrayed with great expressiveness and power. The mythological scenes are conveyed with power and majesty, but the portrayals of handsome youth are made with particular grace. Another contemporary of Euphronios was Euthymides, who also gives a monumental character to his heroes. The well exercised male torsos have fewer anatomical details than those of the compositions of Euphronios, b ut he seeks new ways to portray the human figure and to fill in the space. The Kleophrades painter, besides possessing a powerful planning and conveyance of movement and vigorous elasticity to the human body which characterize his work, adds also a new element, expression of the inner world. In addition to these pottery painters there is a series of other great artists each of whom in his own particular style animated the vases with their portrayals, such as the Berlin master, the Brygos painter, Myson, Panaitios, Makron who was the painter of the potter Hieron, Daris, Onesimos, and others. After the Persian wars, in 480 BC, certain significant changes in the potters art occurred. Movement was now much freer, the features were conveyed with greater realism, and so on, the eye ceased to be portrayed in its entirety en face with the face in profile, the figure moved in the space available with greater ease and naturalness. The subject matter also changes considerably, for the world of the woman assumes a more prominent part of the repertory. Certain painters would retain some of the traditional elements of the austere style without the later conventions of Archaic art which disappear completely after 480 BC. But their lines and planning no longer possessed the power and purity of the artists of the previous period. The Pan master is the most endowed of the artists of this period and technique. His works are airy and possess elegance and great sensitivity. But besides those painters who somehow retained the tradition of the artists of the austere period, there was another group of pottery painters deeply influenced by the great painters of the time, particularly Polygnotos of Thasos whose works we know from various ancient written sources and from the reflections of his style in pottery painting. A typical example of this influence is the calyx crater of the Niobid master in the Louvre which depicts Apollo and Artemis on the one side slaying the Niobids and on the other an assembly of heroes with Athena. The figures now move in space on different levels, and the bodies have different postures with expressive faces full of passion. Another artist, one of the most important of the period o f the early Classical style is the Penthesileia master. In his works one also detects the influence of Polygnotan painting, but not to the extent as that observed in the Niobid master. After 450 and until 425 BC base painting passes into a new phase in the period of mature Classicism when Athens was governed by Pericles, when the Parthenon was built, and the influence of Phidian sculptures deeply affected vase painting. The painting of this period is characterized by an ease of style, grace and elegance of pattern. In this period in which sculpture and monumental painting attracted the artists, there are encountered less of the brilliant vase painters of the austere red figure style. Rarely does the vase painter sign his work, and this accounts for the totally conventional names used for their products. Nevertheless, some highly distinguished pot painters stand out, among whom are the Achilles master who appears to have been deeply influenced by the classical tranquillity of the Phidian works, and possibly his pupil, the Phiale master, who is distinguished for the fineness, the grace, and animation of his works. The white Lekythos . The white Lekythos was a small one-handled jug with a narrow neck and deep mouth for unguents which was placed on the graves of the dead . This custom was basically Athenian, since there exist only a very few examples of Lekythoi in the export trade. But in Athens its use was very wide especially in the second half of the 5th Century. The white lekythoi are a unique type of vase, rather scarce, and were a luxury item which survived after 450. The technique was entirely different from that used in other pottery and resembles more the technique of monumental painting. The entire main body of the vase was covered with a white coating on which were painted the scenes in rich varied colours. The repertory included scenes from the life of the dead, or a visit to a dear friend in his country, or the dead person before the graves with his kin, or is even given as a votive offering to the dead. Such representations of offerings are often found on the white lekythoi votaries. The restrained sorrow of the faces expresses the attitude towards death which the ancient Greeks of the Classical period had and which is also encountered in the funerary reliefs of the same period. The white lekythoi with the softness of line and harmony of colours are among the most beautiful examples of Attic vase painting of the second half of the 5th Century, and are an exception to the decline of Attic vase painting which becomes progressively more obvious. This decline was due to two basic causes, one of which was purely economic. For nearly two centuries Athens had supplied the populous centres of the West, but began losing the markets wherever local workshops sprang up. The second cause was the ruinous results of the uncontrolled influence on vase painting by monumental painting. For the first time perhaps the vase was not decorated as an object with a given form and shape determining the decoration and which in previous periods was completely adapted to the shape of the vase, but was treated only as another surface which happened to be curved. If in this brief summary of ancient Greek ceramic art more emphasis was given to the decoration of the vase rather than to its shape and uses, it is because our knowledge of ancient painting which rivals that of Greek sculpture is drawn principally from the various descriptions found in written sources. And thus, with few exceptions, it is only from the pottery itself we can see to which heights ancient Greek painting reached and this but as a reflection of the monumental painting of the Greeks. Nevertheless, with the exception of the white Lekythoi in which as in monumental painting the colouring plays a major role in the representations along with the design, in Attic pottery both in the black figure and red figure styles the principal role is played by the designs and the plan. Also the contrast between the two colours, the red an the shiny black, plays its part. The vase painters succeeded in obtaining these two colours by a process of oxidation of the clay when firing the pots and not by adding an extra coating to the surface. The manufacturing of the pots was done in the following manner. First of all the potter centred a lump of clay, which had been properly kneaded, on the potters wheel where it was spun and moulded into the desired shape. When the pot was too large to be formed in one operation, it was made in sections and joined later by a wet clay slip. Handles and sometimes the mouth or lip were made separately. When the pot was shaped it was left to dry, and then polished, after which the painter was ready for its decoration. He painted the design by incision, drawing the outlines and details in the period when incision was commonly used. Thereafter, the entire area to which they wished to give the black shiny tone, was covered with a mixture of clay containing some kind of alkali, or perhaps potash. Then began the most difficult process involving firing of the pot in three stages. The temperature was never greater than 950 degrees C. The appropriate oxidation during the firing gave the red colour to the areas of the pot not covered by the varnish due to the large concentration of iron in Attic clay, and resulted in the black shiny colour in the painted areas from the mixture of clay with the alkaline earth. It was by such a simple process of experimentation in firing that the Greek vases were moulded, those vases and works of art which Pindar so aptly described to be of great variety and beautiful. Kyriazis, Constantine D. Eternal Greece. Translated by Harry T. Hionides. A Chat Publication. NOTE: illustrations in the original text are not included in this computer document. [Ancient Greek Pottery by Helena Yatra [Kyriazis, Constantine D. Eternal Greece

Special Needs Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome Essay Example

Special Needs: Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome Paper Running head: SPECIAL NEEDS: PARENTING A CHILD Special Needs: Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome San Jose State University Introduction Parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should define their parenting technique more so than parents of neurotypical children. Children with ASD have many different needs. For example, an ASD child has great difficulties with their social skills; this deficiency causes them not to have meaningful social interactions. Their interests are narrow, and it dominates the childs life (Volkmar Klin, 2000, as cited in Sansosti Powell-Smith, 2006). Aspergers syndrome or high functioning autistic children are under a special category. The term AS that is used to describe a child with mildest to highest functioning autism disorder (Atwood, 1998, as cited in Sansosti Powell-Smith, 2006). It is very important that there should be a different approach when parenting and educating a child with AS. Coping with a child that has special needs is very different from a child that is neurotypical. Since 2001 there has been a significant rise with children that have been identified with AS. According to Hyman, Rodier, and Davidson (2001) they reported that the incidence rate for AS is as high as 63 per 10,000 children born. The children attending preschool are ranging from 8. 4 per 10,000 with AS (Chakrabarti Fombone, 2002 as cited in Sansosti Powell- Smith, 2006). The children ages 7 to 16 are 71 per 10,000 attending schools (Ehlers Gillberg, 1997 as cited in Sansosti Powell-Smith, 2006). This research paper addresses issues on how a family with an ASD child is impacted. The first issue that will be discussed is what problems parents experience when parenting a child with ASD. We will write a custom essay sample on Special Needs: Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Special Needs: Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Special Needs: Parenting a Child with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Next, what are the issues within the family unit? Finally, what are the coping strategies? How does the disability impact the family? How can they become a more resilient and healthy family and where do parents turn to for help? Problems with Parenting Parenting any child can create lots of stress, but parenting a child with AS is a very different experience. There are daily stresses from the day-to-day tasks of caring for the child. The way the parents socialize and communicate with everyone around them has altered, especially when it comes to relationships. The relationships that an AS child has with caregiver, peers, and educators are very different from that of a neurotypical child. They are very often misunderstood because they look normal but have these eccentric social behaviors (Sansosti Powell- Smith, 2006). According to Dunn, Burbine, Boweres, and Tantleff-Dunn (2001), parents of children with the ASD experience more stress and are more subject to negative outcomes than other parents with non-disabled children and parents of children with other disabilities. Parenting style and expectations change for the family when the child has a disability. The difficulty they face are the additional duties, that are needed for there child. The everyday challenges the parent faces; such as integrating the child successfully into the school environment, having playmates, and looking at the child for what he is and not for what he is not. The parents need to make sure that they can cope emotionally in order to be able to advocate for their child. These parents have to adjust to their childs disability, emotionally, socially, and economically. They way the parents view themselves in society, with their partner, friends, and educators are very different with a neurotypical child. Parents have to put up with judgmental statements from society in regards of their childs disability. Family Issues Cashin (2004) interviewed nine parents with a diagnoses of ASD or AS, with age ranging of four to nine years. The problems that these parents faced were profound changes to self, how others view them as a parent, having less social contact and experiencing stress by the amount of financial cost required to meet the needs of the child who has a disability. It was discovered that there is little time or energy to pursue a healthy relationship with a partner or friend. These parents experience more stress than those parents of children with other types of disabilities (Dunn, Burbine, Bowers, Tantleff-Dunn, 2001). These are some of the issues that parents have when dealing with a child that has ASD. Research (Thoits, 1995, as cited in Gray, 2003) on the issue of parents with high functioning autism or Aspergers syndrome shows how parents cope with their childs disability. The mother and the father each draws from different resources to cope with how they react toward their child. Furthermore, the research has shown that coping strategies varies for women and men. In this study the fathers took on a more traditional role when it came to rearing their child. Fathers are often concerned about not being a source of strength for the other mate. Fathers contemplate internally, personally and with their spouse when it comes to their childs disability. Children with special needs have a profound influence on their fathers lives. Many fathers described increased empathy, and patience. The fathers felt that they had to put their lives in better perspective. Fathers often report that working with their childs mother to meet the needs of the child, drawing from each others strengths and preferences. The mothers take on all the responsibilities when it comes to there daily needs. The mothers make sure that the childs daily needs are met socially, emotionally, and educationally. Mothers have the desire to talk it out with someone, especially their mate and be around other parents that are going through a similar situation. Gray (2003) states that even among dual income couples, women still do the housework and take care of the children. With the added special needs child it put more pressure and stress on the women. They are the ones that make and take the child to medical appointments, social class, and talk to the school officials when there is a need. Unfortunately, the women will give up their career in order to manage the family. At the same time they are starting a new career, to become a better advocate and how to gain more knowledge about their childs disability. This type of stress on the couple often ends in divorce. The divorce rates in these families are over 80% in the United States (Center for Disease Control, 2002, as cited in Sansosti Powell-Smith, 2006). T. Atwood (personal communication, October 14, 2006) it is not the childs disability that handicaps and disintegrates families; it is the way they react to it and to each other (Dickman Gordon, 1985 as cited by Atwood). Binger (2006) states those teaching and guiding children is perhaps the greatest concern that parents have and they want to do their best to teach behaviors, values and beliefs. Parents need to be assertive, but not intrusive and restrictive. They should be more supportive rather than punitive (Eastin, Greenber, Hofschire, 2006). Limitations and areas for further investigation Cashin (2004) interviewed nine parents of children, in the age range of four to ten years with a diagnosis of Autistic Disorder or Aspergers Disorder. As it is common with lots of studies that involve voluntary sampling techniques, one can not be sure that these small samplings of nine parents being interviewed can represent all parents that are experiencing parenting a child with ASD or AS. However, Cashin did get great feedback from the nine interviews, an insight on how parents experience parenting a child with autism. A larger sample and different family structure such as different cultures, traditional vs. non-traditional couples, etc. , needs to be further investigated. Coping Strategies Pain (1999) conducted a study with 20 parents with children with disabilities ranging from physical to learning disabilities. His attempt was to study the role of information the parents received in order to be able to cope with their childs needs. His study found that, professionals are the one that are the common source for information for these parents. This information gave the family a better understanding in what they are dealing with and this helped them feel more in control. This control helped the parents successfully raise their special needs child. According to Ramey, DeLuca, Echols, (2003), to be resilient as a family one needs to understand that the family needs to establish active, healthy, and appropriate ways of meeting the needs of an exceptional child. It is important to make sure that everyone in the family has their needs met. It is essential to include the special needs child in a creative way. This will help balance the harmony within the family unit. There are many constructive actions the family can take right away, to help promote a healthy family unit. There are many sources of help, communication, and reassurance. Seek out other parents or support group that is dealing with the same disability. Communicate with anyone that is in contact with your child, such as caregivers, teachers, peers, and the community. Families that are resilient seek professional help, they embrace respite, they develop a support network and they advocate for their family. Conclusion It is important to establish what parenting style needs to be applied and the parent must have a firm understanding of the childs disability. The child with AS has great difficulties with there social skills. The lack of meaningful social interaction is the key indicator to parents that they should change their parenting and teaching techniques. Family issues; especially when it comes to the family unit will be different with an exceptional child. The problems parents have when dealing with a child that has special needs can be exhausting. The parenting style and family unit has been altered. Social relationships with spouse and friends have changed. Reaching out to local organization and other parents that have gone through this will help promote resilience. This paper examines how a parent needs to modify their parenting styles when it comes to having a child with high functioning autism or Aspergers syndrome. This paper is written in hope that it will help new families that just have started a new journey with their exceptional child, and also be useful to professionals who work with these families. There is more research needed when it comes to Aspergers syndrome or high functioning autistic children. Asperger syndrome is categorized under autism but it is under a special category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition. The study should look at the difference between autism and Aspergers syndrome and how the two compare. References Bigner, J. J. (2006). Parent-child relations: An introduction to parenting (7th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice-Hall Cashin, A. (2004). Painting the vortex: The existential structure of the experience of parenting a child with autism. International Forum of Psychoanalysis, 13 (3), 164- 174. Dunn, M. E. Burbine, T. , Bowers, C. A. , Tantleff-Dunn, S. (2001). Moderators of stress in parents of children with autism. Community Mental Health Journal, 37 (1), 39-52. Eastin, M. , Greenberg, B. , Hofschire, L. (2006). Parenting the internet. Journal of Communication, 56, 486-504. Gray, D. E. (2003). Gender and coping: The parents of children with high functioning autism. Social Science Medicine , 56 (3), 631-642. Hyman, S. L. , Rodier, P. M. , Davidson, P. (2001). Pervasive developmental disorders in young Children. Journal of the American Medical Association, 13 (24) 285- 305. Pain, H. (1999). Coping with a child with disabilities from the parents perspective: The function of information. Child: Care, Health and Development, 25 (4) 299-312. Sansosti, F. J. , Powell-Smith, K. A. (2006). Using social stories to improve the social behavior of children with Asperger syndrome. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 8 (1), 43-57. Ramey, S. L. , DeLuca, S. , Echols, K. (2003). Resilience in families with children who are exceptional. In E. H. Grotberg (Ed. ), Resilience for today: gaining strength from adversity (pp. 81-104). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers/Grenwood Publishing Group.

Photo project essays

Photo project essays The poem that I chose, entitled How Lucky to Have Had So Good a Father, was one that I found on the Internet. The author is unknown. Basically, the poem is about the ideal father, one that is fun, hardworking, warm, and loving. It is quite a short poem, but it gets its message across very well. This poem relates to me because I believe that my father was everything that this poem described. He was a very hardworking man, even though he was born with a chronic heart problem. He died last November of a heart attack and when I stumbled upon this poem it reminded me of him. I decided to choose this poem because I felt that this project was something I can give to my mom as sort of a keepsake memory of what my dad stood for. Every single line of the poem can be related to my dad and the life he lived. Furthermore, I believe that the title of the poem represents me, as well as my brother, very well. After I chose this poem, I knew exactly what picture to take. Of course, I could not take I picture of my father since he was deceased, so I photographed my fathers tombstone. The picture represents the poem very well. The tombstone reads my fathers name as well as the last name that he passed down to me. I took the picture at a very low angled position just to emphasize his name a little bit more. I also used the vase to the rate to try and frame the picture so the eye is directed straight to the name. The only thing I wanted really was to capture the name on the stone, because that name, including the poem that I selected, represents my dad. ...

Drug Testing in The Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drug Testing in The Workplace - Essay Example The paper tells that no worker wants that his private life is invaded and suspected. You do not want your life to be your boss’s business. Individual and civil rights are the ones that are most respected giving every citizen the right to keep his life off-the-work private and not scrutinized. However, with the advent of efficient technological tools, it is difficult for a worker to hide his off-duty activities from the scrutinizers. Urinalysis drug testing is conducted when a person applies for a job to know if he is on drugs. The biggest point is the violation of privacy and civil rights. No worker in any position will want that he is being observed or that whatever he does off-duty is counted as having an effect on his performance on-duty (Hansson and Palm). Courts and judges have also been not very protective regarding privacy issues that arise in drug testing, nor have any laws or policies been designed regarding when to conduct drug testing and what to do after a person s hows positive. Also, the process of drug testing itself is privacy-invasive since a person is required to give his urine sample in the presence of other persons. This makes the process uncomfortable and disrespectful for the employee. Moreover, when a person shows positive on a drug test, he is not given any medical treatment but he is very likely to be fired. If this continues, then the society will have an increasing number of jobless drug addicts especially those who are not motivated to leave the addiction. This will result in deterioration of the society on the whole.

Accounting Principle homework questions Coursework

Accounting Principle homework questions - Coursework Example Companies usually issue two different types of stock, common and preferred. The major difference between common and preferred stock is that common stock results in ownership for the buyer whilst a preferred stock does not. The common stock is traded within the stock market within a country, preferred stock, on the other hand are not traded within such markets. The basic essence and nature of a preferred stock is that it is usually considered a loan, which has to be repaid after a certain period of time. A preferred stock holder gets preference over a common stock holder with respect to the payment of dividends. A common stock holder receives dividend only after all the company’s dues are cleared off. Issuance of bond is similar in nature to receiving a loan. The par/face value of the bond is credited within the Bonds Payable account. If the market interest rate on the bond would be higher coupon rate, it would result in a premium on the bond. 4. Discuss the controversy surrounding the Fair-Value vs. Amortized Cost presentation of the value of stocks, bonds and all other investment securities on the Financial Statement. US GAAP uses Fair Value, US Statutory uses Amortized Cost and IFRS uses a mix of both depending on the security. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, and what do you feel is the best way to value this type of asset? The controversy surrounding Fair Value Accounting and Accrual accounting has been prevalent for quite some time now. The major debate is that when to record the profit or loss on any particular security. According to the Fair Value accounting, gains or losses should be recorded whenever is seems that any security has lost its value i.e. if that security is sold at the current moment. Amortized cost accounting on the other hand favors the recording of gains and losses on the actual happening of the event i.e. when the security is disposed. The major advantage of Fair Value

Main Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility Term Paper - 29

Main Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility - Term Paper Example CSR was first heard in the 1960s. At that moment very few organizations were involved in corporate social responsibility. This was the fact, CSR is a voluntary thing that only companies that want to be involved can. However, as time passed more business organizations started adapting CSR practices including CSR reporting. This is necessitated by the growth of sensitivity toward organizational social responsibility among consumers all over the world.  The principle of legal compliance: this is the principle that expects all business organizations to comply with and understand international, local, declared, written, and effected laws and regulations that are applicable in their scenario. This kind of compliance and understanding should be according to specific procedures. This implies that companies should avoid involvement in any practices that are half compliant to the requirements stated by this principle.  The Principle of Adhering to Customary International Laws: this princip le expects business organizations to governmental and international agreements, declarations, executive regulations, covenants, guidelines and decisions in the process of formulating their CSR practices and activities. A company should make sure that their policies and practices are not conflicting with any of the factors that have been discussed herein.  A policy of showing respect to related stakeholders lefts: according to this principle, companies are expected to accept and acknowledge the diversity that relates to stakeholders’ interests and lefts. Companies are also expected to accept and acknowledge the diversity that is likely to exist in their main and minor practices and products. This consideration should also include elements of business existence that might be of an effect of their stakeholders.

Dormancy-breaking Treatment on Spices of Fennel

Dormancy-breaking Treatment on Spices of Fennel Effect of moist chilling and application of dormancy-breaking treatment on two spices of Foeniculum vulgare Mill Sayyid Amirreza Tahaei, Ali Soleimani Abstract One of the problems of planting of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) is seeds dormancy of this plant’s seed. We designed an experiment and investigated effect of wet chilling levels including 0, 15, 30 and 45 days of chilling and different breaking dormancy treatments on breaking dormancy of seeds of two fennel species which are named Nahavand and Malayer. Dormancy-breaking treatments were including gibberellic acid (100 mg L-1), benzyl adenine (10-5 M), chitin (10-5 M), mixture of gibberellic acid + benzyl adenine, mixture of gibberellic acid + chitin, mixture of benzyl adenine + chitin, mixture of gibberellic acid + benzyl adenine + chitin (with the mentioned concentrations(, concentrated sulfuric acid (90%) for 15 second, potassium nitrate 0.4%, distilled water, aminol forte 0.4%, kadostim 0.4%, fosnutren 0.4% and humiforte 0.4%. The results were indicated that chilling have significant effect on increasing of the germination percentage, coleoptile length, radical length, se edling length, rate of germination and vigor index. The treatments of benzyl adenine + chitin, gibberellic acid + chitin, aminol forte and distilled water caused a significant increase in characteristics of fennel germination in compare to other treatments. Varieties of Malayer has significant percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length and vigor index in compared to varieties of Nahavand. The results indicated that in the condition of this study moist chilling treatment (stratification) for 15 days convey with application of treatments of benzyl adenine + chitin and aminol forte is suitable to breaking dormancy of fennel seeds. Keywords: Chilling, dormancy of seed, dormancy-breaking treatments, fennel Introduction Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is an aromatic, Herbaceous and biennial plant which grows to a height of 2 m. Fennel fruit is small with the length of about 8 mm and width of 3 mm, aromatic and sweet (Rchinger1987). One of the main characteristics of seed is the power of germination and vigor that is important for farmers (Copeland L. O. and M. B. McDonald, 1375). Studies have shown that many of the family Apiaceae plants are produced seeds with lots of endosperm and small embryos (Baskin, 1992). Percentage of seed germination in many plants of this family are low and their germination standards is lower than other plants. Lack of embryo, incompletely and dormant embryo in seed are the most important factors of seed dormancy and reducing of germination in this plants category (Robinson, 1954). The results of the studies of (Hedayati, 2000 and Nichols; ,1934Baskin, 1984, 1991 and , 1999 Troy, 1993; Widrlechner, 2000) indicate that a variety types of the Saubacus genus, Umbelliferus seeds and Dioscora and Cuphea species also show different degrees of physiological dormancy patterns and chilling can greatly help to resolve this type of dormancy. (Slater, 1982). Soltani Pour (1388) showed that the maximum and minimum rate of germination of fennel were 34.1 and zero per day related to cold treatment and hot water treatment. The maximum index of vigor seed was 365.75 related to cold treatment and the minimum index of vigor seed was zero related to hot water treatment. Moist cold causes permeability of seed, materials washing and prevents germination, also cold resolves physiological dormancy and overcomes internal abscisic acid. Plant hormones or growth regulators are involved in many aspects of plant growth. Investigations showed that most of the plant hormones such as auxins, gibberellin, cytokinin, ethylene and abscisic acid affect on the stimulating germination or dormancy of seed via specific ways that cause controlling functions of nucleic acids (Cournf et al., 2002). The results of the interaction of different concentrations of gibberellin hormone (0, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 ppm) and the time of dipping in this hormone (24 and 48 hours) of the rhubarb indicated significant differences between treatments in terms of the evaluated characteristics (percentage and rate of Fecula gummosa). The maximum a mount (65%) was obtained by increasing concentrations of this hormone from 100 to 500 ppm. However it was reduced by increasing concentrations of hormone to 1000 ppm. Bannayan and Najafi (1383) stated that germination of Fercula gummosa was increased at concentrations above 50 ppm of gibberellic acid. They observed that low concentration of gibberellic acid had no effect on breaking dormancy of Fecula gummosa, but the concentration of 50 ppm and increasing the soaking time from 48 to 72 hours improved percentage of germination. As the maximum percentage of Fercula gummosa seed germination was obtained at concentrations of 1000 and 2500 ppm. Materials and Methods Seed Characterization Seed samples of two species namely Malayer and Nahavan were collected from Sarsir area of Hamadan in 1390. In order to preparation seeds, at first the same size and apparently healthy seeds were separated by a loop. Average weight of 1000 seeds was 3 g. After stratification period, the seeds were sterilized and breaking dormancy treatments were applied on them and they were placed in germinator machine with photoperiod of 8 hours of light at 30  ° C and 16 hours of darkness at 20  ° C (ISTA, 1985). Characteristics of Experiment Location To evaluate the effects of moist chilling and application of hormonal, chemical treatments and biological stimuli to break dormancy and induce germination of two varieties of fennel, an experiment was performed in laboratory of seed technology of the Agriculture faculty of Islamic Azad University khorasgan brunch Isfahan in 91-92 years. The research was performed based on a split factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Levels of stratification set in the main plot and variety factorial and break dormancy treatment set in sub-plots. Effect of moist chilling on breaking dormancy of seed Moist chilling levels include 0, 15, 30 and 45 days. This means that the seed is placed in distilled water for 24 hours. Then the moist seeds were placed inside sterilized and humid cotton bags separately. These bags were kept in isolated and dark environment at 4  ° C in the refrigerator. Effect of treatments on breaking dormancy of seed After the chilling period, 14 pregermination treatments were applied on the seeds. 14 braking dormancy treatments were as follow: 1-Gibberellic acid (100 mg L-1). 2- Benzyl adenine (10-5 M). 3- Chitin (10-5 M). 4- Mixture of gibberellic acid + benzyl adenine. 5- Mixture of gibberellic acid + chitin. 6- Mixture of benzyl adenine + chitin. 7- Mixture of gibberellic acid + benzyl adenine + chitin. 8- Concentrated sulfuric acid (90%) for 15 second. 9- Potassium nitrate 0.4%. 10- Distilled water. 11- Aminol forte 0.4% (Growth Stimulus). 12- Kadostim 0.4% (Growth Stimulus). Fosnutren 0.4% and Humiforte 0.4% (Growth Stimulus). Concentrations used for treatments 4, 5, 6 and 7 were same as the concentrations of treatments 1, 2 and 3. Used hormones in these experiments were manufactured by Sigma Company and biological stimuli, including 19 kinds of amino acids, low molecular weight polypeptides and also nutrients were manufactured by Inagrosa Company. Statistical population and sampling In order to determine the percentage and rate of germination germinated seeds were counted once per 24 hours according to the ISTA instruction. Root were considered germinated when they exhibited a radical extension of 2 to 3 mm (Bahadori et al., 1386). Evaluation of germination will be end when amount of germinated seeds in consecutive counts are same and this time was considered as the end of the germination period. After this period, the following parameters were measured: 1-Germination percentage 2- Coleoptile length 3-Radicle length 4- Germination rate 5- Uniformity of germination 6- Seed vigor index Percentage of germination according to equation of (Jefferson and Pennacchio, 2003) G=(n/N)Ãâ€"100 G = germination percentage n = amount of germinated seeds N = amount of the seeds in each petri dish container Germination rate according to equation of (Bahadori and Javanbakht, 1385) RG =1/MTG RG = rate of germination MTG = Mean Time of Germination Uniformity of germination was calculated according follow equation (Karam and Al-Salem, 2001) Uniformity of germination = (4) D = number of days from the beginning of germination ∑n = total number of germinated seeds N = number of germinated seeds at day = average number of days from the beginning of germination Data Analysis: Analyses of variance was performed on the data by MSTATC software. The means of parameters levels was compared using Duncan’s multiple range tests at %5 level of probability. Excel software was used to plot diagrams. Results Stratification It was observed that moist chilling is the most important treatment on seed germination of Fennel like many other members of Apiaceae family. However, Stratification have a significant effect on percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length, average time of germination, germination rate and seed vigor index at %1 level of probability but the uniformity of germination was not significant (Table 1). The results indicated that increasing cold stratification duration for 15 days increased seed germination. Comparison of means using Duncan method indicated that the maximum percentage was obtained with 15 days cold stratification treatment resulting in 36.86% and it was decreased by increasing moist cold stratification duration as 45 days cold stratification treatment resulting in 11.18% stated that there was no significant difference in germination practically (Table 2). Results indicated that the maximum average time of germination was obtained by using no stratification treatment and cold stratification of 15 days but average time of germination was decreased significantly by increasing cold stratification duration from 15 to 30 and 45 days (Table 2). Stratification treatment have a significant effect on seed vigor index at %1 level of probability (Table 1). the maximum seed vigor index was obtained by using cold stratification treatment of 15 days and there was a significant difference between this treatment and other treatments. the minimum seed vigor index was obtained by using cold stratification treatment of 45 days and there was a significant difference between this treatment and other treatments (Table 2). Breaking dormancy treatments The results of variance analyses table of breaking dormancy treatments application indicated that applied of hormone- amino acid- chemical treatment caused a significant difference between germination parameters such as percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length, average time of germination, germination uniformity, germination rate and seed vigor index (Table 1 and 2). Comparision of means indicated that the maximum affect on germination of fennel was obtained by using aminol forte, benzyl adenine + chitin treatments (Table 2). Interactions of moist chilling and breaking dormancy treatments indicated that bio-stimulant treatments of kadostim and aminol forte and hormonal treatments of benzyl adenine + chitin had the highest percentage of germination in the absence of cold. An increased in germination percentage was observed by increasing cold stratification duration of mentioned treatments to 15 days but increasing cold stratification duration up to 15 days reduced germination percentage with the same ratio. However, increasing cold stratification duration from 0 to 15 days for nitrate potassium treatment increased germination percentage of 26% that is maximum percentage of germination but increasing stratification duration to 30 and 45 days reduce germination percentage to a lesser extent compared with that (Table 2). The results of applied treatments revealed that the concentrations of used materials and the duration of these treatments are effective in stimulating germination. Varieties The results of varieties reaction indicate that increasing percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length and seed vigor index of Malayer variety is significantly higher than nahavand variety. The seeds of Malayer variety with 32.29% of germination is ranked higher than the seeds of Nahavand variety with 13.11% of germination (Table 2). The interaction between the moist chilling with break dormancy treatments and varieties Study of interactions of moist chilling, varieties and breaking dormancy treatments indicated that cytokinins convey with increasing cold stratification duration to 15 days increased some parameters such as percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length and etc. in Malayer and Nahavand varieties (Table 3). The highest average time of germination was obtained by using 15 days cold stratification treatment covey with distilled water treatment in Nahavand variety while the lowest average time of germination was obtained using 30 days cold stratification treatment covey with sulfuric acid treatment in Nahavand and Malayer varieties and 30 days cold stratification convey with kadostim in Malayer variety. Interactions of variety, chilling and breaking dormancy treatments have a significant effect on seed vigor index at %1 level of probability (Table 3). The maximum seed vigor index was obtained by using humiforte treatments convey with cold stratification tre atment of 15 days in Malayer variety and there was a significant difference between this treatment and other treatments. The minimum seed vigor index was obtained by using sulfuric acid treatment convey with cold stratification treatment of 30 days in Nahavand and Malayer varieties and there was a significant difference between this treatment and other treatments except kadostim treatment convey with cold stratification treatment of 45 days in Nahavand variety and sulfuric acid treatment convey with cold stratification treatment of 15 days in Nahavand variety (Table 3). Discussion Our data indicated that improving moist chilling to 15 days can be caused breaking dormancy of seeds as the maximum amount was obtained with 15 days cold stratification treatment resulting in 36.86% and it was decreased by increasing moist cold stratification duration as 45 days cold stratification treatment resulting in 11.18% stated that there was no significant difference in germination practically. There is continuity between seed dormancy and germination (Choun, 1996). This reaction can be due to growth of stratified embryos. Similarly, number of cell, dry weight and final length were increased in the embryonic axis of cherries seed which had been stratified (Eleni and Pelak, 1960). Also absorption of oxygen and energy were provided at the surface of cellular that the enzymes catalase, phosphatase, alkaline lipase and peroxidase were increased (Zarska-Maciejewska and Lewak, 1976). Thus it becomes clear that many of fetal development and metabolism are affected by stratification. In addition amount of hormone changes in stratified seeds. For example, ABA level is reduced due to seeds stratification of apple, pine, walnut and hazelnut. Adding gibberellin can be substituted stratification in some seeds (Pinà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ eld, 1968) due to the stimulatory role of this hormone. During the stratification procedure observed an increase in the amount of internal gibberellin which can be confirmed previous hypothesis )Frankland and Virnik, 1966). Therefore, in addition of the increase in growth rate and metabolic activity of the stratified seeds, changing of the inhibitor and stimulator levels can also be effective in breaking of the seed dormancy. The stratification time varies depending on the species. Seeds of Wild Rose needs to have a two-month period of stratification (Crocker and Barton, 1931). The stratification time depends on the age of the seeds. The seeds of Malayer variety with 32.29% of germination is ranked higher than the seeds of Nahavand variety with 13.11% of germination. The difference between seeds collection areas or the condition of the seed on the mother plant and strength of seed dormancy could be the reasons of this observation. On the other hand, it seems that induction of secondary dormancy is provided by the development of chilling on the studied seeds of the 1390. Study of breaking dormancy treatments effect indicated that the maximum affect on germination of fennel was obtained by using aminol forte, benzyl adenine + chitin treatments (Table 2-4). These reactions can probably be accrued due to the effect of cytokinins such as kinetin on increase activity of alpha-amylase that finally lead to the breakdown of starch molecules. In the other hand it seems that the resolve of seed dormancy by cytokinins may be related to increasing membrane permeability and exchanging storage materials. In addition cytokinins increase the process of cell division in the embryo by stimulating the synthesis of RNA and DNA and thereby facilitates seed germination. Thus the cytokinins are required to complete induction of germination by GA and reduce the effect of growth inhibitor (such as ABA) indirectly. Agrol and Dalani (2004) also proposed a model to study the effect of the germination stimulating and inhibitory hormones and they concluded that 1ibberellins can n ot break seed dormancy when there are high levels of ABA in the seed and in this case, presence of 1ibberellins besides the cytokinin leads to overcome ABA and seed dormancy will be beaked. Totally, it is believed that seed dormancy in excellent plants will be occurred by the balance of growth internal inhibitory and stimulating. Therefore, dormancy may be occurred due to the presence of growth inhibiting substances or lack of growth stimulating substances or a combination of both them. The amount of these endogenous compounds are controlled by environmental factors such as light and temperature. Study of interactions of moist chilling, varieties and breaking dormancy treatments indicated that cytokinins convey with increasing cold stratification duration to 15 days increased some parameters such as percentage of germination, coleoptile length, radical length, seedling length and etc. in Malayer and Nahavand varieties. The increase of mentioned parameters by cytokinins probability r elated to increasing membrane permeability and exchanging storage materials. However, chilling is effective due to elimination of germination inhibitory factors. Moist chilling increases effects of breaking dormancy treatments and as a result resolve dormancy and Induces germination. In the other hand, bio-stimulant treatments of kadostim and aminol forte and chemical treatments of nitrate potassium convey with increasing chilling duration improved degree of their germination. Acknowledgements This study was part of a MS thesis of Sayyid Amirreza Tahaei that was defended in Faculty of Agriculture of Islamic Azad University Isfahan brunch. Therefore, I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to manager of Faculty of Agriculture of Islamic Azad University Isfahan brunch, my supervisor Dr. Ali Soleimani and my advisor.

The Theme of Loss in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay -- Tempest essays

The Theme of Loss in The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Shakespeare's play, The Tempest tells the story of a father, Prospero, who must let go of his daughter; who brings his enemies under his power only to release them; and who in turn finally relinquishes his sway over his world - including his power over nature itself. The Tempest contains elements ripe for tragedy: Prospero is a controlling figure bent on taking revenge for the wrongs done to him, and in his fury he has the potential to destroy not only his enemies, but his own humanity and his daughter's future.    Throughout the play, Prospero is a figure who talks at rather than to the other characters, including his daughter Miranda, Prince Ferdinand, and Ariel, his airy servant. At the end of Act IV Prospero is caught up in the ecstasy of punishing and determining the fate of his foes. The beginning of Act V, however, marks a change in the character of Prospero, which averts a possible tragedy. Prospero is unsettled even though his plans are reaching fruition. In his talk with Ariel for the first time we see an actual conversation take place. In addition, in the line "...And mine shall." (Shakespeare V.i.20) we see a change of heart on the part of Prospero, and in the following monologue the audience is privy to introspection and contemplation even beyond that of the end of the masque in Act IV "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."(Shakespeare).    ... ...est: An Interpretation." In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225. Kermode, Frank. Introduction. The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1958. xlii. Palmer, D. J. (Editor) The Tempest - A Selection of Critical Essays London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1977. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans, et. al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. Solomon, Andrew. "A Reading of the Tempest." In Shakespeare's Late Plays. Ed. Richard C. Tobias and Paul G. Zolbrod. Athens: Ohio UP, 1974. 232. John Wilders' lecture on The Tempest given at Oxford University - Worcester College - August 4th, 1999.

Barry Glassner’s The Culture of Fear Essay

The murder of thousands of Americans on their own soil on September 11, 2001 created a new era in United States History: the era of fear. That is the finding Barry Glassner, author of The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things. In the book’s pages is found a thorough examination of why Americans are fearful, why they aren’t, and what this says about the average citizen. It is not to say that Glassner indicates that Americans do, or should, live in fear of unexpected terrorist attack. Rather, his purpose in writing is to illuminate why it is that Americans fear the wrong things and fail to act on the right fears: he cites examples such as fearing shootings on school grounds, but not limiting access to guns. In other words, he is attempting to describe what fear is like in the culture of America and what it says about reality and perception. That is his thesis. Summed up, Glassner writes that when it comes to fear, Americans live in a culture of false paranoia and irrational paradoxes. His methodology comes through clearly. He utilizes individual case studies to coherently and cohesively build a strong unified theory. Each story and topic becomes one more brick in the foundation of his thesis. In that way he easily compels and convinces all but the most cynical reader. Finally, it is Glassner’s point of view that really works wonders. He acts as if he is but a casual, though analytical, objective observer. What Does the Author Have to Say? Fear can be created – and manipulated. Time and again Glassner returns to the example of the events of September 11, 2001 for treasures with which to bolster his theory. It is indeed ripe ground for that. It seems to be the case study for just why American citizens are paranoid for all of the wrong reasons. Yes, the terrorist attacks were awful, and all the more so because 1) they were completely unexpected and unannounced, and 2) they targeted the innocent civilian populace. That being said, writes Glassner, they were also completely anomalous. The fear of such an attack in the future due to the fact that it happened once before is unjustifiable. It had been two hundred and twenty-five years from the beginnings of the United States for such an attack to occur, and as of this tenth anniversary edition of the book it has been another ten years without such attack. Sure, that is not to say that it couldn’t happen again. However, the point that the author makes is that it is just circumstances like this that are fertile breeding ground for manipulators. In this case, he cites the then ongoing efforts of President George W. Bush to convince the population that there was an active war on terror. This war, he reminded frequently, was directed at the American citizen, the mom and pop on the street. The war could reach every home, every business. The entire country was under various alert conditions at all times. This supports the first main point of The Culture of Fear. Fear can be a force of manipulation and creation. The second point of the book is closely related to its main premise. It is the ongoing effects of a mass media accentuating the most unlikely of crimes. Each and every day the media, including the press, the internet, and the television networks, blares out stories of kidnappings, murders and more. The chief aim seems to be that ‘it could happen to you. ’ In fact, it probably will happen to you unless you take precautions daily. Fingerprint your children. Update your photographs and dental records. Plant microchips in your children’s skin. Anything to do to escape the boogeyman, because undoubtedly he’s out there. Never mind the fact that more often than not, the statistics behind the reports are skewed mightily to prove these points ex post facto. The announcements alone are proof enough for most people. The culture of fear is encouraged, and bought into. After all, the media is a powerful presence. When it comes to the third point, it becomes somewhat murky as to how some things come about. Glassner relates example after example of public policy responses to these scenarios – and how they absolutely fail to deal with the actual situations that spawn the fear. In other words, ineffective public policy is the knee jerk reaction to fear. The author is quick to relate such failures. He points out the sheer number of dollars allocated to these efforts and the startling statistics that show the problem has not changed at all. Also, he is not shy at pointing out that this culture of fear and reaction provides great political opportunity for candidates that are ‘tough on crime’ to emerge, ready to raise the banners of various well-meaning causes. Once the candidates become elected officials, either the cause is dropped along with its passion, or new laws are passed that in essence are just excuses to spend money and advance political careers. Criticism of the Author I greatly enjoyed this book. I will be unequivocal about that. Perhaps it biases my review, but I do have points to support my response. To begin with, the book is well-paced. By that I mean to say that it reads well. Much of non-fiction – particularly educated and researched non-fiction – is dry, and fails to engage the reader in the sense that its subjects remain remote. Granted, Glassner has a subject that is much more accessible to readers than the typical tome, but he does not bore with statistics or inane stories. He moves the action right along by showing readers why this involves them, and why it should naturally interest them. Each chapter begins with a premise that is readily understandable. It also includes a counterpoint and then the fun begins. Every chapter delivers. There is a natural satisfaction to this and makes reading the book enjoyable. I never experienced a more well planned out book, in this regard. I was never left wondering why something was missing, or what the author’s point was after all. He provides vignettes that most every reader either has knowledge of, or direct experience with. In that regard, the book almost reads like a continuous narrative, full of intrigue and personal connections. What surprised me in particular were the findings of the author. He clearly exposed the myths behind much of the country’s fears – fears that turn out to be nearly entirely fictitious or so improbable as to be nearly laughable. Then he does something important and which caused my surprise. He listed the fears that all Americans should actually be concerned with. These are the issues that most citizens will encounter on a daily basis and should be giving their attention rather than the stories at the top of newspaper headlines. Motor vehicle injuries, drowning, fires, head injuries to children from bicycle accidents, these are the realities of danger in America. And these can be prevented. Safer vehicles, more restrictive drivers’ licenses, and bicycle helmet laws – these are the tools of the fearful citizen that can bring some peace to life. I never thought that Glassner would make such a strong point out of such mundane information. It made me want to actually change my personal living styles, and not in the manner of investing in gas masks or bunkers. Naturally, the book is not perfect. Probably the greatest weakness is the ability of it to be dismissed as a big government bashing book. It could be accused of having an agenda. It is fairly heavy handed when it comes to discussing the media and the government’s efforts at propagating fears among the population. Perhaps Glassner could have helped himself some by providing statistical analysis of actual terrorist linked events over the course of the century. This may have more convincingly pointed out just how anachronistic the terror attacks of Fall 2001 really were, and remain. Rather than describe the government’s reaction to it, he could have simply left it at that and trusted the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. But that is a small point. One area that could have been covered differently is that chapter on Youth at Risk. With a subtitle of Faulty Diagnoses and Callous Cures one would expect that it would be a medically related chapter. Indeed that it is. However, I feel that the chapter rather disregards the pervasive depression and angst that this generation seems to be finding themselves in. It would appear at least from common experience that these troubles which are leading to more and more suicides and bullying are real and worth a serious look. It is not as if Glassner just glosses over these things, but I think that his overall take on the situation is not serious enough. He instead appears to have it out for the medical establishment. Some could say that this trivializes the problems that teens today are undergoing. I think that would be an accurate indictment. The chapter could either have been more aimed that direction, or perhaps could be eliminated altogether as a general fear among the United States population at large. Summation Barry Glassner’s book The Culture of Fear is one to be read. It is quite easy to recommend. Primarily it is because the book’s audience is also the general population. Every reader would know a potential reader in a neighbor, co-worker, relative. Glassner makes his point very clear – the culture of fear is absolutely pervasive. We are all a part of this society that lives in near constant paranoia over things that probably will never happen; and we ignore what we probably should fear on a daily basis. That is what is so ultimately compelling about the book. It is nearly a handbook for peaceful living. The Culture of Fear makes promises through its introduction and its chapter titles, and it delivers. The prose is concise and clearly understandable. The scenarios, likewise, are situations in which nearly every reader can either imagine, or has actually experienced. This lends an instant authority and trustworthiness to the book. And after all, where there is trustworthy authority, there is careful consideration of fears itself.