American Literature Essay Example for Free

American Literature Essay Works of art reflect the influences of the period, during which artists have created them. Any form of art exposes the trends prevailing in the period of time when the art was created. Paintings belonging to varied periods differ from each other, as the artists follow a style that is reminiscent of the period they lived in. Two such paintings which reflect the periods in which they were painted are Kindred Spirits by American Asher Durand and The Gross Clinic by American Thomas Eakins. The painting Kindred Spirits, painted in 1849 reflects Romanticism whereas the painting The Gross Clinic reflects Realism. In this paper we will analyze these two paintings and focus on the differences in ideas and attitudes expressed through the paintings. Differences The painting Kindred Spirits reflects the period of Romanticism during which the emphasis was placed on the depiction of feral nature in paintings. In this painting, Asher Durand has captured a rich and vibrant natural landscape. Although the painting depicts Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant, the natural landscape is more prominent in the painting. The natural features like Catskill Mountains, the Fawns Leap and the Kaaterskill Falls are incorporated in the landscape. Durand has removed himself from the painting and decided to include Cole whom he wanted to honor through his painting. But the one of the major characteristics of Durand’s landscape paintings is visible in this painting also and that is depiction of harmonious nature. â€Å"Durand’s landscapes almost always move toward harmony, and he located his own vision of landscape solidly within the aesthetic category of the beautiful, as this term was understood in the nineteenth century. † (PecK). The minute details of nature are highlighted by Durand. The depiction of a real landscape points out that Durand wished to bring forth a realist image of the nature rather than an idealized one where an imaginary landscape is depicted in a painting. The aesthetic beauty of nature is revered and admired by Durand. The painting The Gross Clinic presents a view which differs vastly from Romanticism. Being a realist painting, The Gross Clinic depicts a surgical theater where a surgery is being carried. A real event of surgery is depicted on the canvas, in spite of the fact that the scene was horrific. Through this painting, Eakins presents the reality of life in an audacious manner. The realist attitude of Eakins towards life is portrayed through his painting. The conditions in which a surgery was performed during the nineteenth century are presented in the painting. The painting Kindred Spirits provides a beautiful view of nature which is pleasant and soothing whereas the painting The Gross Clinic disturbs the mind of the looker. Eakins was more interested in the events that occurred in real life and he insisted on capturing those events in a realistic way. His painting The Gross Clinic is one such painting that focuses on a real event which is painful and disturbing but necessary to understand the life of that period. The atmosphere in a surgical theater, the naked human body and a distressed woman provide a grim but real picture of life. The display of nudity which prevailed in late Nineteenth Century is included in this painting in form of the naked human body upon which surgery is being performed. The pleasing beauty of nature, which is represented in the painting Kindred Spirits, contrasts with the horrifying depiction of a surgery in The Gross Clinic. Works Cited Peck, Daniel. Unlikely Kindred Spirits: A New Vision of Landscape in the Works of Henry David Thoreau and Asher B. Durand. American Literary History. 17:4(2005) 687-713. http://alh. oxfordjournals. org/cgi/content/ful

Platos The Republic †Should We Search for the Truth? Essay -- Philos

Plato's Republic – Should We Search for the Truth? There is the common belief that what we experience as reality is just a mere illusion of the truth. Plato's allegory of the cave in "The Republic" describes human beings as being chained in a cave, such that they cannot move but are forced to face a wall, onto which shadows of puppets and themselves are projected. They are deceived into believing that their reality is composed of these "shadows" when actually, the world of truth is the "light" outside the cave. This analogy insinuates the probability that we have been entertaining "false notions" about life, and all our beliefs, ranging from religion to the sciences, are merely representations of the truth. What is this "light" that burns so bright in Plato's eyes? Are we certain that it exists? Because for all we know, life might be nothing but the cave itself. Plato appears certain of what the "light" beyond the cave will reveal to the one who has made the journey out. Firstly it will provide a means of illumination that will expose the "real existence" of the world. In the brightness of the "light", everything would be seen in their full beauty instead of the vague impressions shadows create. He would receive accurate information about life and therefore dispense with the need to discern between the truth and the lie. Furthermore, he would also see himself in his own "proper place". He would no longer be confused about his identity, role in society or purpose in life, and could then carry out his duties confidently and effectively. Secondly the "light" itself also symbolizes the "idea of good". Since it is mentioned in the allegory that if one were to act "rationally", he would need to rely on the "idea of good". It ca... ...tion we receive from life. In this case of the allegory, Plato is working on a whole plane of uncertainty as he is neither able to determine the existence of a different reality nor disprove the credibility of our lives. The world as we know it is indeed imperfect but imperfection should not qualify it as being false. Should we stop all things and embark on the intellectual ascent to the truth? Philosophically, yes. For according to Plato it would be better to "endure anything, rather than think as they do and live after their manner". However it is questionable if the need for knowledge of the truth (which might not even exist) is great enough to justify a journey in search for it. This is a decision we have to make for ourselves. Works Cited Plato. Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. 8 Jan. 2001. http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/writing/ccwp11/allegory.htm.

Ethics in Advertisement of United Colors of Benetton

As the students of MME (Economics and Management studies), we have chosen the topic, which involves our study program, which is the Marketing and Consumer behavior. Our topic is focused on the advertisement and the practices of United Colors of Benetton Company. Their way of marketing seems to be directed â€Å"another way† and it has been discussed several times whether their strategy is ethical or not in the past. First we would like to highlight the basics of the United colors of Benetton company and then all the classical kinds of moral reasoning theories will be described (Utilitarianism, Deontology) applied on the United Colors of Benetton advertising strategy. Virtue ethics is not going to be discussed as it is not a suitable approach for this case. Utilitarian and deontological approaches are going to serve as a mean for understanding whether it would be wise for Benetton to change its strategy or stick to its traditional way of marketing and ignore the voice of public opinion. The United Colors of Benetton strategy  United Colors of Benetton is an Italian company that thanks to its unusual way of advertising is dicussed all over the world. It is one of a few companies that does not insist on showing its products in the advertisements. Instead of the product controversial motives are used presenting different kinds of social issues (eg. rasism, terrorism, social tabus). â€Å"The Benetton United Colors campaign illustrates how modern advertising has been radicalized into an explicitly political forum. † (Tinic, 1997) Since United Colors of Benetton has started with this advertising strategy many critical reactions have occured. As a result of this negative publicity many Benetton? s adverts were banned in several countries. The criticized aspect is mostly the fact that Benetton is an organization trying to reach the profit and high level of awareness among consumers. Therefore its goal is similar to most of other businesses. However, Benetton? s representatives are trying to persuade the public about their concern in pointing at most dicussed issues in the world and increase general awareness about these problems. United Colors of Benetton uses shocking motives, in other words fear appeal, in its adverts. Fear appeal is used in eg. stop smoking, prevention against AIDS and drugs advertisements. Scary and eye-catching motives are used in the adverts to show what harmful consequences could a certain activity cause. Some of Benetton? s adverts also use fear appeal but the problem is that in regular commercials where fear appeal is presented, possible solution or prevention against the problem is presented in the message (eg. prevention against AIDS – use condoms). Benetton has been trying to call attention to actual social issues but they never provide any other information than the company’s trademark. Beyond complaints about individual Benetton advertisements, there appears to be an undercurrent of unease caused by the fact that social problems have been linked to the sale of designer clothing. † (Tinic, 1997) Therefore our paper is going to dicuss whether the advertisements of United Colors of Benetton are ethical or not based on the theoretical framework related to moral reasoning. The company? s philosophy is based on the conviction of Mr. Benetton who says that â€Å" communication should no be commissioned from outside the company, but it should be conceived from within its heart. The United Colors of Benetton (UCB) emphasizes that the communication should be no longer connected with the consumer but with the individual. â€Å"By entering the universe of values, the brand frees the product from the world of merchandise and manufacturing and makes it a social being of its own. By addressing an individual rather than a customer, the brand can identify its target on the basis not of age or income, but of a shared vision of what is important, starting from a set of common values. † ( Luciano Benetton) First idea of Benetton’s company was written in the early 60’s because their sweaters were marketed into the many different countries with different people’s skin tones. The â€Å"united† name became a metaphor pretty soon thus the name of Benetton’s company was changed to the United Colors of Benetton. One of their first add showing no racial differences saying â€Å"All the colors of the world† was the start of the new era of their many times controversial marketing strategy discussed all over the world. Three separate cycles of building Benetton’s value As it was mentioned above, the strategy of Benetton’s advertising campaign leads to many discussions and criticism and many of ads were prohibited in several countries. Their strategy is divided into 3 main cycles. The cycle of Difference The first and oldest cycle started in the 80’s and was concerning to the racial, religious and sexual conflicts and differences. All the conflicts are based on tabus and on a difference that separates rather than unites. The Benetton’s plan was to integrate opposites and to unite differences under a single flag – the Benetton’s logo. The ads were not so controversial. As in the following cycle – the cycle of the reality. The cycle of reality This cycle starts in the early 90’s as the answer to the Gulf War (the ad showing the war cemetery. This ad was refused to print it by several newspapers. This kind of ads showed the reality of the life – but paradoxly – the most censured campaign showing the newborn baby (as the eruption of real life) caused the biggest scandal. Another campaigns showing the real, high drama situation were censured too. There are pictures of some of them: The pictures of AIDS patient, the soldier and the Albanian emigrants were not taken for the ad campaign but were the agency photos used for conveying styles. They were showing the real world. The cycle of free speech and the right to express it Last and the most recent cycle campaign was actually created as the answer to the second cycle. The reaction to the real life photos was often violent and not accepted by the critics. Benetton has been fighting for having a free speech and right to express it by new kinds of campaigns (trying to highlight the AIDS issues, homosexuality, racism, etc. ) Utilitarianism approach Utilitarianism is the moral reasoning approach theory, which is answering the question, what is right and wrong in various situations. The effects and consequences determine the right or wrong action. The greatest good for the greatest number may be defined as a utilitarian approach. Pleasure and pain measurement is based on the Cost benefit analysis. The founder of utilitarianism was Jeremy Bentham. He was saying that ethics is more or less a mathematical equation (total happiness plus pleasure minus pain). The negative consequences would have a negative impact on the society and it would create the unhappiness. Everyone who would stick to the rule – the security would be given as well as predictability and certainty leading to the overall happiness. For a Benetton’s company the happiness may be described as the total way of the company’s philosophy. Their goal is not only increase their profits but also the social awareness of the real life problems concerning all of us. The pain involves those who protest against the Benetton’s adverts. The amount of those who protest against the Benetton’s adverts is rapidly decreasing and the Benetton’s strategy has been getting more and more accepted. This means that the Benefits (Happiness) outnumbers the Costs (Pain) thus according to the Utilitarian approach of moral reasoning – the Benetton’s campaign is ethical. â€Å"A utilitarian could condone or even prescribe an act of deception if the positive consequences outweighed the negative consequences. † (van den Belt, 2010) From the utilitarian point of view, even if Benetton? s advertisements are being criticized, it still brings a lot of positive results (eg. increased awareness about the brand). Both positive and negative evaluation enable the brand to be seen and perceived among consumers. Deontological approach Deontological approach as well as utilitarian approach are concerned about a practical solution of a problem more than a philosphical/abstract solution that is more typical for virtue ethics. The core principle of both deontological and utilitarian approach is finding the right thing to do in a certain situation. On the contrary, there is a dissimilarity between these two approaches as utilitarianism is more focused on consequences and deontological approach emphasizes side features of the actions (eg. ishonest or fraudulent behavior). In case of United Colors of Benetton , there is a question if it is correct and ethical to use social issues and catastrophical motives in their commercials. According to questions â€Å"What should I do? † or â€Å"What is the right thing to do? † the solution from the moral perspective would probably be elimination of controversial motives from Benetton? s advertisements. The reason why this solution would be chosen is calming of the situation – decrease of criticizm among the consumers. The public would be satisfied ith not being exposed to unpleasant images of Benetton? s adverts. On the other hand, from the business perspective, Benetton would lose its unique way of increasing awareness both about the social issues as well as about the brand. Based on deontological approach Benetton should change its strategy and use less controversial motives. The company should not only think about instrumental values but should also take into account tha fact that â€Å"human beings have moral dignity and possess intrinsic value† (van den Belt, 2010). Due to this reason the company should not only strive for the profit and increased awareness. Choice of less controversial motives or change of advertising strategy could be one of the solutions. â€Å"It is exclusively the good will of the acting person that renders his action morally appropriate, where one should act out of duty, not out of prudence. † (van den Belt, 2010) Moral issue related to this citation are in case of Benetton as follows: ? never injure anyone with your advert messages? but it does not necessarily exclude the fact that ? Benetton? s commercials should always please everyone?. The way Benetton does its advertisements is unique in the market. There have already been many trials of other companies to copy this strategy but they were never successful. Advertising strategy of Benetton is so distinct from others that losing such a competitive advantage in the market could cause harmful consequences for the company. That does not mean that opinions of the consumers should be ignored. The voice of public should definitely be taken into consideration.

Computer Software Essay

What Is Computer Software? When you think of a computer imagine a machine made of two parts. The first part is the computer hardware, the physical parts of the computer that you can actually touch. Some examples of hardware are disks, monitors, boards, chips, etc. Hardware does all of the physical work of the computer, from memory storage to display. The second part, what we call â€Å"computer software†, acts as the brain of the computer, telling the hardware what to do and when and how to do it. Think of a computer as a living being † in this example, the hardware would be the ody, the eyes, the limbs, the lungs, etc. Computer software would be the mind, interpreting sounds we hear with our ears into recognizable symbols. The â€Å"software† in our brain would tell our other body parts how to behave. Both parts are crucial for the survival of the body. Computer hardware, any single part of a larger machine, is only ever on or off. There are no other states of being for the hardware, and computer hardware operates on a system called â€Å"binary’. Computer software uses this binary code to tell the computer hardware what to do. Computer software translates our human input (clicking a ouse or loading a disk into a drive) into a language that the computer hardware can use to actually perform a function. As such, computer software depends on hardware to survive Just as much as hardware depends on software. Where Does Computer Software Come From? Computer software is usually created by computer programmers using a programming language. The programmer â€Å"learns† a programming language that the computer can use to command the hardware to perform a task. The computer programmer (or software engineer) writes commands in a given programming language tha the computer understands. These â€Å"languages† are not otally like languages you speak, but many of them use our language in a way that makes sense to the programmer. Common commands in programming languages are things like â€Å"if / then† or â€Å"type† or â€Å"function†. These individual commands are called â€Å"code†. Another piece of software called a â€Å"compiler† takes the source code writen by a software engineer and translates it into the language that the computer understands. What starts as a series of translations results in activity at the software and hardware level of a computer known as a computer â€Å"program†. This is Just another word for software.

Countries That Lie on the Earths Equator

Countries That Lie on the Earths Equator Although the equator stretches  24,901 miles  (40,075 kilometers) around the world, it travels  through the territory of just 13 countries- and yet the landmasses of two of these countries do not touch the Earths  equator. Did You Know? The equator is an imaginary line that circles the Earth, splitting it into northern and southern hemispheres. Any location that lies along the equator is equidistant from the North and South Poles. The 13 Countries That Lie on the Equator Of the 13 countries that lie on the equator, seven are in Africa- the most of any continent- while South America is home to three of the nations (Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil). The remaining three (Maldives, Kiribati, and Indonesia) are island nations in the Indian and Pacific oceans.   The countries of Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia, Kiribati, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil all lie along the equator. The landmasses of Maldives and Kiribati, however, do not touch the equator itself. Instead, the equator passes through water controlled by these two island countries. Latitude and Longitude The equator is one of five lines of latitude that help provide relative locations on an atlas. The other four include  the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic  Circle, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn.  Because the Earth bulges at the center, the equator is significantly longer than any of the other lines of latitude. Along with the lines of longitude which run from pole to pole, they make it possible for cartographers and navigators to locate any spot on the globe. The plane of the equator passes through the sun at the March and September equinoxes. The sun appears to travel directly north to south over the equator at these times. Because of this, people living along the equator experience the quickest sunrises and sunsets as the sun travels perpendicular to the equator most of the year, with the length of days being almost entirely the same throughout- daylight lasting 14 minutes longer than nighttime. Climate and Temperatures Most countries that lie along the equator experience much warmer temperatures year-round than other areas of the world that share the same elevation. Thats because of the equators near-constant exposure to the same levels of sun exposure regardless of the time of year. As a result, the countries that lie along the equators include almost half of the worlds rainforest; they are concentrated in the African nations of Congo, Brazil, and Indonesia. Even so, the equator offers a surprisingly diverse climate due to the geographical features of countries that lie along it. There is little fluctuation in temperature throughout the year, though there may be dramatic differences in rainfall and humidity, which are determined by wind currents. In fact, the terms summer, fall, winter, and spring dont really apply to regions along the equator. Instead, people who live in the especially humid tropic regions refer to only two seasons: wet and dry. Equator Extremes Its reasonable and largely accurate to assume that the weather is uniformly warm or hot around the equator. But of course, weather and climate relate not only to latitude but also to geography. Some countries that lie on the equator are flat and warm but others, like Ecuador, include high mountains where the weather is extremely cold. In fact, you will find snow and ice year-round on  Cayambe, a volcano in Ecuador that reaches to 5,790 meters (nearly 19,000 feet). It is the only place on the equator where snow lies on the ground year-round.

Assignment #2 - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

#2 - Case Study - Assignment Example army to caused skin burns and still births. Yes that is right; it was Dow that was actually responsible for â€Å"the Silent Spring†. Further, the company also owns the manufacturing unit that resulted in greatest industrial failure in the history, which lead to the death toll of over three thousand Indians in Bhopal; and it also left several unwanted problems for the next generations. One of the recent events that involved Dow Chemicals was discharge of industrial effluents into the air and water supplies in the vicinity of the company’s Midland complex in Michigan. Dow was held liable for violating Clean Air Act rules, and for disobeying the Clean Water Act. Further, the government also held the company for releasing harmful chemicals into the environment without a permit. The issue was brought to the considerations during 2006-07; however, after several delays and trials, the company agreed to pay $ 2.5 million in 2011, for the sake of compensation. In 2010 the annu al release of toxic compounds by Dow’s Midland facility was 275,912 pounds. According to an environmentalist based at the Michigan State University, the company earned a profit of $ 6.2 billion during the time while the production facility was discharging contaminants without permission (Weiss, 2008). The stakeholders include the people living in the vicinity of the production houses, the state that has allowed the company to operate, general public, media, the employees at Dow, and the Dow Chemical Company. People living close to these production houses are directly exposed to the harmful chemicals that released by these industrial units into the environment. These contaminants can have lethal effects on the population residing in the suburbs. In case of the recent activities, the major subjects under the exposure of contaminants were the residents of Midland, Michigan (Weiss, 2008). The side effects of these contaminants can be direct or indirect. The second stakeholder in

The role of regulation and crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The role of regulation and crisis - Essay Example The subprime crisis was also an outcome of negligence of financial regulatory body as well as the professionals engaged in accounting and auditing process. To have a better understanding of financial crisis the role of government, regulatory body, accounting system & standards, political environment and capitalism needs an analysis. From 2001, the Lamfalussy framework was introduced in EU system of supervision and regulation. The framework was arranged in four separate levels and published by European council (Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: European Union Committee, 2009, p.12). These regulations are responsible for making the accounting and auditing process more transparent. After the great depression, International Monitory Fund and World Bank were established to avoid the causes which actually results into depression. But these regulatory bodies are almost 65 years old and are ill equipped to handle the complex banking environment of 21st century. Almost all the major economies have their own regulatory bodies, like Financial Services Authority (FSA) of UK and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in US, but they failed to check the financial crisis. Even the Basel II Accord agreement that was published in 2004 failed to detect and control credit crunch. Many banks are blaming Mark to Mark et system for development of such a disastrous financial crisis (Rayner, 2008). The financial system is based on the trust and faith, but collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bank of America and PNC Bank Corp are few examples of how the policymakers and regulators failed to maintain people’s faith in them. Most surprisingly America’s financial system failed to manage risk and proper allocation of capital (Stiglitz, 2008). Fair Value Accounting or US Accounting Standard FAS 157 is basically used for determining fair value or market value of the assets and the liability. Many critics argued that fair value accounting is highly