The History of the Piano Bartolomeo Cristofori

The piano first known as the pianoforte evolved from the harpsichord around 1700 to 1720, by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori. Harpsichord manufacturers wanted to make an instrument with a better dynamic response than the harpsichord. Cristofori, the keeper of instruments in the court of Prince Ferdinand de Medici of Florence, was the first to solve the problem. The instrument was already more than 100 years old by the time Beethoven was writing his last sonatas, around the time when it ousted the harpsichord as the standard keyboard instrument. Bartolomeo Cristofori Cristofori was born in  Padua  in the  Republic of Venice.  At age 33, he was recruited to work for Prince  Ferdinando. Ferdinando, the son and heir of  Cosimo III, Grand Duke of  Tuscany, loved music. There is only speculation as to what led Ferdinando to recruit Cristofori. The Prince traveled to  Venice  in 1688 to attend the  Carnival, so perhaps he met Cristofori passing through Padua on his return trip home. Ferdinando was looking for a new technician to care for his many musical instruments, as the previous worker had passed away. However, it seems possible that the Prince wanted to hire Cristofori not just as his technician, but specifically as an innovator in musical instruments. During the remaining years of the 17th century, Cristofori invented two keyboard instruments before he began his work on the piano. These instruments are documented in an inventory, dated 1700, of the many instruments kept by Prince Ferdinando.  The  spinettone  was a large, multi-choired spinet  (a harpsichord in which the strings are slanted to save space). This invention may have been meant to fit into a crowded orchestra pit for theatrical performances  while having the louder sound of a multi-choired instrument. The Age of the Piano From 1790 to the mid-1800s, piano technology and sound was greatly improved due to the inventions of the Industrial Revolution, such as  the new high-quality steel called piano wire, and the ability to precisely cast iron frames. The tonal range of the piano increased from the five octaves of the pianoforte to the seven and more octaves found on modern pianos. Upright Piano Around 1780, the upright piano was created by Johann Schmidt of Salzburg, Austria, and later improved in 1802 by Thomas Loud of London whose upright piano had strings that ran diagonally. Player Piano In 1881, an early patent for a piano player was issued to John McTammany of Cambridge, Mass. John McTammany described his invention as a mechanical musical instrument. It worked using narrow sheets of perforated flexible paper which triggered the notes. A later automatic piano player was the Angelus patented by Edward H. Leveaux of England on February 27, 1879, and described as an apparatus for storing and transmitting motive power. McTammanys invention was actually the earlier one invented (1876), however, the patent dates are in the opposite order due to filing procedures. On March 28, 1889, William Fleming received a patent for a player piano using electricity.

The Gravitational Pull into WWI-U.S Involvement - 720 Words

Europe felt strong, secure, and stable before WW1. Every country seemed to have a backup plan, or in this case a country, to call on for aid. The majority of European leaders were in some way related and the treaties were abundant. The triple Entente and the Triple Alliance seemed like a solid and logical support system in case of a war. However, these alliances would later prove to be the catalyst to ignite a colossal fire of war and blood for the entire world. That spark came from Austria, Hungary and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The United States seemed like an unlikely candidate for being involved with WW1 because they were Isolationists and stood neutral in the conflict for three years. The reasons for US involvement in WW1 was because of economic instability if Britain loses the war, political unrest that Germany provoked, and the social yearning for war; shaped by the media. The threat of economic instability influenced the U.S to get into WW1. The U.S had loaned money to allies in Europe for the three years that the war had been going on. Trade with the Allies had increased from $825 million in 1914 to 3.2 billion in 1916, as trade with Britain went up, trade with Germany and Austria went down to nearly nothing as Document (B)’s graph sufficiently shows. Britain was more than three billion dollars in debt to the U.S. If Britain loses the war; that would mean the economy of the United States would be in peril. â€Å"How to remain neutral without inflicting

Ruby Moon Free Essays

As the director and dramaturge for a fully mounted production of, Ruby Moon by Matt Cameron for a festival with a focus on Australian society I must select a relevant scene for an audience to promote the entire play. Ruby Moon was written in 2003 by Matt Cameron (1969), a Melbourne playwright who was heavily â€Å"influenced by headlines in the newspaper† regarding missing children which sparked many of his plot lines.His plays, in particular Ruby Moon, comment on the notion of a decimated community where there is no longer any communication between neighbours and how the suburbs are now deemed as unsafe and frightening. We will write a custom essay sample on Ruby Moon or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is the paradox of Flaming Tree Grove, the street where Ruby Moon sets off to visit her grandmothers and is never seen again. . When an ominous parcel arrives on her parents, Sylvie and Ray Moons doorstep, they are prompted to call on their weird eccentric neighbours in an attempt to solve the mystery of Ruby’s disappearance. Ruby Moon is a fractured fairytale. The dramatic structure is cyclical and episodic. It is episodic in that it contains a prologue and an epilogue with a series of ten short, self-contained scenes which run strictly with no interval, each scene having its own narrative and complication. It is a contemporary Australian drama containing absurdist elements with many different acting styles such as representational, presentational, heightened naturalism, absurdism and mime with influences from Growtoski. To promote the play, I decided to preview Scene Seven to an audience as it best represents this decimated community at stake throughout this play which is a reacurring theme while also containing many Australian influences, being a place of high tension, engaging the audience and persuading them to see the rest of that play. As a dramaturge I must be able to study and interpret plays for actors and directors. I may advise on selecting plays, adaptations, translations, program notes, stagecraft’s etc. I must also be able to look at the interpretations through the dialogue and stage directions and create meaning from them. I decided to preview scene seven as it challenges Australian attitudes and values revolving around this terrifying paradox of the suburbs and decimated community which has now been formed in Australian neighbourhoods. There is a lack of trust in the suburbs whereas both Sylvie and Ray are stereotypically trustworthy challenging the audiences previous assumptions about safety within Australian suburbs, making them feel betrayed. It shows the fear existing in Australian society and the grief of the parents, putting their trust in the community which inevitably can’t be trusted. It highly demonstrates the invasion of privacy and the safe haven in Australian neighbourhoods, for example when Sylvie states that, â€Å"Someone’s been in our home, Ray. † The play overall is suitable for the festival as it challenges Australian attitudes and values about safe neighbourhoods which is clearly non-existent within the play and the fear of the unknown as well as how it comments on this terrifying and frightening paradox heavily existing in Australian suburbs today and the effect it has on not only the parents, but the loss of community as well. As a director also, I must be able to supervise actors as they develop interpretations as well as co-ordinating all the elements that support performers. I must be able to shape, interpret and use the elements of drama to create particular effects for an audience. To enhance conflict I decided to place Ruby and Ray upstage so that they have a closer proximity with the audience. I decided to create many pauses between Sylvie and Ray’s dialogue to redefine the conflict. For example when Sylvie says, ‘Ray†¦? Where’s Ruby? ’ and Ray responds with, ‘I don’t know, Sylvie! I don’t know! ’ I decided to place the actors so that they’re facing each other with a pause after Ray’s dialogue to show the climatic moment. I decided for Sylvie to imagine the mannequin of Ruby is outside the front under the street lamp so she is looking out into the audience enhancing the conflict revolving around the missing mannequin which she says. ‘The mannequin! She’s not under the street lamp. Somebody’s taken her. Who could be that cruel? ’ Sylvie is looking out frantically into the audience making the audience feel uncomfortable and uneasy enhancing the conflict of this missing mannequin. One last way in which conflict is shown is through the body part of Ruby being sent in a parcel and how they don’t know the answers to who sent it and why and how it event got there reinforcing the invasion of a safe neighbourhood. Read also:  Moon By Chaim Potok How to cite Ruby Moon, Essay examples

AVEO Company for Journal of Financial Management- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theAVEO Company for Journal of Financial Management. Answer: Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) depicts a companys financial position in (miles Ezzell, 2012)consideration to its ability to finance innovative projects or other payments by raising cash from external sources. These sources appear in two main classes: stocks and bonds. The two have distinct costs to the firm, and WACC is a subjective average of the entire price of getting funds via debit and equity. Suggestion of Aveo group WACC Recent research shows a considerable decrease in cumulative percentage of Aveo group Weighted Average Cost of Capital. According to 2016 statistics the group WACC was recorded to have declined to a percentage of 3.4.The decline brought about several suggestions to the financial analysts. Briefly, the suggestions attempt to explain the reasons which might have led to this considerable decline(Pricing Tribunal, 2013). The company might have lowered the price of issuing equity Price of equity basically is used by financial analysts to refer to the stockholders required return rate on the company equity investment. It similarly depicts the return rate that would have been realized by investing the cash in a different venture with an equivalent risk level. Price of equity is a crucial factor of stock analysis. An investor will always expect an equity share to propagate by at least the price of equity; price of equity is commonly used as concession rate to compute an equity ventures fair price. Considering the Aveo group scenario, lowering the terms of issuing equity will attract investors and this might have been the reason behind the decline in the average WACC(Arditti Levy, 2014). The company might have reduced the price of debt Price of debt basically denotes the rate at which a company recompenses its current debt. In most cases, it is used to refer to the after-tax price of debt; it can also denote to a firms price of debt before putting taxes into consideration. This measure is essential for giving a notch on the overall rate in the process of payment by a company using debt financing. The measure gives investors an insight on the company risk in comparison to the others; riskier companies usually have a greater cost of debt. Lowering the price of debt by the Aveo group might have attracted potential investors and hence reducing the WACC(Arditti, 2015) . The WACC is settled through intricate calculations and conventions about the different types of capital (debt and equity) used by Aveo group to fund its operations. Costs are restrained against approximate risk elements. Greater subsidy costs and greater risks create a greater WACC. A lesser WACC increases incomes because the company can borrow cheaply(Brusov, et al., 2011). Calculating the WACC The formula is: WACC = E / (E + D) * Cost of Equity + D / (E + D) * Cost of Debt * (1 - Tax Rate) Weights Companys possessions are funded by both debts and equity. For that reason, in calculating the companys WACC the burden of equity and the burden of debt must be considered first. The equity market value of Aveo group also known as the Market Cap has been recorded as $M 1,388.The value of debt in the market typically being hard to compute, this paper uses the book figures of debt to carry out the calculations. According to the book value $0(Bourdex Long, 2013). a)Weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 1,388 / (1,388 + 0) = 1 b) weight of debit = D / (E + D) = 0 / (1,388} + 0) = 0 Price of Equity: This paper makes use of CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) model to compute the required return rate. The formula used is: price of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) (Linke Kim, 2013) a) The paper evaluates a 10-Year Reserves Perpetual Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. The current risk-free rate of Aveo group is 2.41000000% b) Beta refers to the volatility of the anticipated surplus asset paybacks to the anticipated surplus market paybacks. Aveo group beta is 3.15 c). This paper considers the market premium of Aveo group to be 20%. Price of Equity = 41000000%+ 3.15 * 20% = 63.241% The Price of Debt: The research uses last fiscal year end expenses on interest and divide them by the two year average debt to attain a simplified cost of debt; Cost of Debt = 0 / 0 = %. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate: The paper makes use of the current 2-year tax rate for computation. The current 2-year Average Rate of Tax is 0% The Aveo group WACC can hence be computed as: WACC = E / (E + D) * Cost of Equity + D / (E + D) * Cost of Debt * (1 - Tax Rate) = 1 * 63.241% + 0 * % * (1 - 0%) = 63.241% Lowering the WACC Considering all the different components forming the weighted average cost of capital is the initial step to making efforts to lower it. With consideration to debt, firms can lower their cost of giving bonds by reducing the rates of interest they offer to the investors. They become more creditworthy as a result: Firms with bad credit ratings are forced to offer greater rates on bonds. The firm can also move to a location with a greater tax rate, but this is perhaps counterproductive(Ross, et al., 2013). In regards to equity, a firm that offers stocks with small beta is a reduced amount of risky to the investors and consequently can offer small of a risk premium. The other components, the threat-free premium and the overall market risk, are outside of the firms control(Reilly Wecker, 2014). Aveo group capital arrangement The capital structure refers to how a company funds its general activities and development making use of different sources of reserves. Debt emerges in bond form issued or extended-term cash payable, whereas equity is classified as common/ preferred stock or reserved earnings(Nantell Carlson, 2015). Analysis of Aveo group Capital structure Aveo group capital structure as per the recent research has indicated an ill proportion of equity to asset proportion. This simply shows that the company relies largely on debt capital as compared to its equity. Since a healthy proportion of equity capital indicates that a company is financially fit, this trend of Aveo group to rely mainly on debt is a clear indication that the company is financially unfit(Titman Wessels, 2013). Appropriate capital structure recommendation for Aveo group The word capital structure is used to exemplify the proportionate connection between the numerous long-term categories of capital schedules the equity, debentures, inclination shares, long- term liability, capital excess, and reserved earnings. For a capital structure to be termed as appropriate, it must meet some important features(Brusov, et al., 2011), Flexibility The impression of adaptability gives the back administrator the ability to adjust the company's capital structure with a base cost and deferral, if justified by the changed condition. It ought to likewise be workable for the organization to give reserves at whatever point expected to back its productive exercises(Bourdex Long, 2013). Profitability A sound capital structure should allow the greatest utilization of use at least cost in order to give better productivity and consequently expanding profit per share(Nantell Carlson, 2015). Solvency Broad obligation debilitates the dissolvability and FICO score of the organization. The obligation financing ought to be just to the degree that it can be overhauled completely and furthermore be paid back (if required)(Brusov, et al., 2011). Conservatism No organization ought to surpass its obligation limit. As of now clarified that the intrigue is to be paid on obligation and the foremost aggregate is likewise to be paid. These installments rely upon future money streams. In the event that future money streams are not adequate then the money indebtedness can prompt lawful bankruptcy(Evans Kelvin, 2014). Control The capital arrangement ought not to prompt loss of regulation in an organization. The Proposed capital structure for Aveo group The Optimal capital structure An optimum capital arrangement is the best debt-to-equity ratio for Aveo Group in order to maximize its value. The optimum capital arrangement adoption by the Aveo group will offer a balance between the companys ideal debts to equity level and minimize its price of capital. Theoretically, debt funding offers the lowest price of capital because of the tax deductibility(Brusov, et al., 2011). Risky associated with optimum capital structure In monetary terms, debt is a moral instance of the reputed 2-edged sword. Intelligent utilization of debt upsurges the aggregate of monetary assets available to a firm for its advance and enlargement. The postulation is that management can get additional on loan reserves than it recompenses in interest expenditures and charges on these reserves. Though, as effective as this formula may appear, it requires a firm to uphold a solid record of conforming to its numerous borrowing obligations(Bourdex Long, 2013). A company reflected to have high debts may find its liberty of actions limited by its creditors and its productivity offended as a consequence of repaying high interest costs. Of course, the situation is considered to be worst-case if the company faces distress meeting functioning and debt obligations in times of hostile economic circumstances. Lastly, Aveo group being a highly competitive firm, shuffled by huge debt, will find its opponents taking advantage of its hitches to seize large market shares(Harris Raviv, 2015). Dividend policy Because dividends signify a form of revenue for investors, a company's dividend policy is an essential contemplation for some investors. Intrinsically, it is crucial consideration for company management, particularly because firm leaders are often the prime shareholders and have the most to advance from a substantial dividend policy. Most firms consider a dividend policy as a fundamental part of the company strategy. Board must resolve on the dividend extent, timing and some other factors that impact dividend overheads over time. There are three categories of dividend policies: stable, constant and residual dividend policy(Titman Wessels, 2013). The current analysis based on the Aveo group Analysis of Aveo group has shown an ill trend based on the dividend practices, this is depicted by its percentage stand of 3.91%. this is a low stand basically(Brusov, et al., 2011). Dividend pattern and policy followed by the Aveo group Stable Dividend Policy This is the easiest and most frequently used policy by many organizations. The policy goal is to achieve steady and foreseeable dividend disbursements every year, which is what many investors really like(Teshtesh Titus, 2013). When remunerations are up, shareholders get a dividend. Still when remunerations are down, investors as well receive a dividend. The goal is to support the dividend policy with the long-term advance of the firm rather than with periodical earnings instability. This approach permits the investor to have more confidence around the amount and scheduling of the dividend. Analysis on Aveo group share price and company performance Aveo Group's share price according to recent research shows its below the impending cash flow worth, and at a substantial discount of below 20 percent. Dividends per stake has gone down over the previous 10 years(Evans Kelvin, 2014). General decline in Share prices There have been falls in the general share prices in the Aveo group. The stock market is pretty impulsive, upsurge and decline in the share prices wont shake its general business directly. Conversely, if there is a constant decline in share prices(Brusov, et al., 2011), it may discourage the firm from supplying more shares to increase revenue. For example, in the climate of stock market instability, firms wouldnt have much assurance in supplying more shares as they would get a low profit. A large decline in share prices may cause broader economic hitches. Underperforming Shares Afirm may see a sharp fall in share value with respect to different firms (rest of money markets). This will happen if speculators are not hopeful about prospect of firm to make benefit and pay great profit. e.g. in the event that firm makes an extensive misfortune it won't have the capacity to pay a profit to investors and this makes the offer less appealing(Bourdex Long, 2013). This decline in the offer cost could make the company powerless beside an assume control. This would apt an alteration in proprietorship. The new management may decide to adjust the approach for dealing with the organization. They could sale unfruitful parts of the corporate and significantly change things(Arditti, 2015). Work cited Arditti, 2015. The weighted average cost of capital:some questions and its definition, interpretation and use. journal of finance, Volume 654, pp. 34-45. Arditti Levy, 2014. The weighted average cost of capital as a cutoff rate, a critical analysis of weighted average. journal of financial management, Volume 567, pp. 234-254. Bourdex Long, 2013. weighted average cost of capital as a cutoff rate; a further analysis. s.l.:s.n. Brusov, Filatova, Orehova Brusova, 2011. weighted average cost of capital in the theory of modigliani-miller, modified for finite lifetime company. journal of applied economics, Volume 234, p. 56. Evans Kelvin, 2014. corporate perfomance analysis. journal of recent finance states, Volume 8765, p. 564. Harris Raviv, 2015. The theory of capital structure. journal of finance, Volume 254, p. 34. Linke Kim, 2013. More on weighted average cost of capital: a comment and analysis. journal of financial and quantitative analysis, Volume 987, p. 345. miles Ezzell, 2012. the weighted average cost of capital, perfect capital markets and project life. journal of financial and quantitative analysis, Volume 2345, pp. 123-145. Nantell Carlson, 2015. The cost of capital as weighted average. journal of finance, Volume 567, p. 76. Pricing Tribunal, 2013. Weighted average cost of capital. journal of economics, Volume 765, pp. 123- 345. Reilly Wecker, 2014. On the weighted average cost of capital. journal of financial and quantitative analysis, Volume 876, p. 234. Ross, Westerfield Jaffe, 2013. Corporate finance. s.l.:s.n. Teshtesh Titus, 2013. the basics of dividend policy. journal of corporate finance, Volume 453, p. 34. Titman Wessels, 2013. choices of capital structure in the economy analysis. journal of finance, Volume 453, p. 45. Titman Wessels, 2013. determinants of capital structure choice. journal of finance, Volume 1097, p. 543.

Theme Analysis The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath is a perfect example of a political novel that narrates the experience of the Joad family after being evicted from their farm in Oklahoma and their discouraging journey to California.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Theme Analysis: The Grapes of Wrath specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the first few chapters, the author gives the reader an opportunity to participate in the story of the Joads by exploring their experience in their traditional life and their new found life, but in the last sixteen chapters; the author takes a broader look at the experience of displaced migrants in America as a whole. As a result, the novel portrays the issue of land ownership in California and America at large, the conflicts between the Haves and the Have-nots, people’s reactions to injustices, and the strength of a woman (Steinbeck ix). It also delves into the impact of the Great Depression and the natu re of parity and fairness in a larger context regarding America. Thus, this essay presents an in-depth analysis of The Grapes of Wrath, which reveals that the novel develops upon a wide range of themes including hope, class conflict, fanaticism, and commitment as described in the preceding discussions. The theme of hope develops through the character of Ma Joad who struggles to keep her family together despite that the Joads have encountered many deaths, hardships, and deprivations. In fact, at the end of the narrative, the author describes the family as barely surviving (Steinbeck 455). Conversely, the Joads display an optimistic mood because as the family expands, the family members get to recognize the need to identify with the group, and thus, they begin to realize the importance of group consciousness. Hope is also derived from the family’s long and challenging journey, whose experience enlightens some family members such as Ma Joad, Pa Joad, Tom, Jim Casy, John, and Ros e of Sharon. Actually, the family members are optimistic that the end of their long journey will come after realizing the American dream (Steinbeck 65). As a result, the desire to have a good life coupled with other motives encourages some family members to fight harder as opposed to those who are unable to see the end result of the journey including Al, Connie, and Noah. Moreover, the family is determined to experience a different way of life, which gives them a broader perceptive of the world compared to their traditional life. In the end, it is obvious that the family has succeeded in terms of understanding and exploring life-time experiences in the face of different challenges.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another major theme in The Grapes of Wrath entails class conflict. A conflict exists between the poor migrants, native Californians, and the powerful business peopl e (Steinbeck 23). This conflict presents a clear picture of the characteristics of economic injustices in America during that time. From a social perspective, the novel describes the economic disasters that arise after the migrants are forced to forgo their agricultural activities not only because of the natural disasters, but also because of the establishment of larger farms by the landowners, business people, and the banks. Actually, at the beginning, the author notes that the land owners and banks evicted the tenants from the farms thereby making them to move to California in large numbers (Steinbeck 13). Thus, it is apparent that the business people and landowners are insecure in some way because they understand that the presence of migrants in their farms is a threat to their business and financial establishments. Here, the migrants symbolize increased government interference, labor unions activism, and increased taxes on privately held property. This form of class conflict is the cause of the violence observed between the two groups and even the torching of government camps by state residents in California who are of the idea that the presence of migrants in their land is a threat to their financial interests (Steinbeck 305). Moreover, class conflict can also occur when hardships, materialistic interests, and problems within the family are personalized. For instance, within the Joad family, Rose of Sharon is obsessed with her pregnancy and the future dreams instead of helping in the journey while her husband, Connie is still angry that they left Oklahoma, and thus he prefers to disappear rather than help in the family hardships (Steinbeck 45). Fanaticism is also a major theme developed in The Grapes of Wrath. From both the religious and the social perspectives, it is obvious that fanaticism should be condemned because it is a trick used by a certain class of people to deny life, happiness, and advance economic deprivation in the society. For instance, th e former preacher, Jim Casy tells Tom that religion denies different aspects of life such as sexuality. Furthermore, in the camp, a fanatic religious woman claims that dancing is sinful, and thus, poor people should not dance but instead they should wail and moan because they are sinners (Steinbeck 55). On the other hand, religious fanatics claim that religion allows for economic classes within the society including the poor class.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Theme Analysis: The Grapes of Wrath specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Additionally, the experience of the Joads and their American counterparts shows that social fanaticism and prejudice causes fear and lack of faith among the migrants. As a result, this phenomenon led to instances of violence between the migrants and the native Californians, homelessness, starvation, and malnutrition among other shameful events. Therefore, it is certain that fanaticism, be it religious or social, is not a good thing after all. Lastly, the novel develops on the theme of commitment in an extensive manner. Here, we note that the members of the Joad family were committed to certain goals and values, which kept them going and finally led to their success. For instance, Tom and Jim Casy were committed to making Christ-like sacrifices for the rest of the family. As a result, Jim decided to surrender to the authorities to replace Tom and Floyd in order to show his commitment to loving all. Additionally, Jim becomes a labor activist and he dies while fighting for the rights of laborers. Conversely, despite that at the beginning of the Journey, Tom does not want to identify with the group, his experience and friendship with Jim makes him to realize the need to fight for social justice and the significance of group consciousness within the family and in the society (Steinbeck 445). Therefore, commitment is a virtue that should be emulated by each member of t he society if at all collective tasks and goals are to be accomplished. Work Cited Steinbeck, John. The grapes of wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 2002. Print. This essay on Theme Analysis: The Grapes of Wrath was written and submitted by user Aspen Ashley to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Zeitgeist John Philip Sousa essays

Zeitgeist John Philip Sousa essays Artists do not create in a vacuum. They reflect their times or at the very least are affected by the lives they lead which are also influenced by the public sphere. The term for this reflection is Zeitgeist. It literally means spirit of the times. John Philip Sousa and his works can be classified under this term of Zeitgeist. Most of Sousas music was composed during a period known as the gilded age. This period is known for its gross materialism and blatant political corruption in the United States. However, Sousas music does not seem to reflect this corruption, but rather it reflects a way to deal with the corruption and mishaps of the times. John Philip Sousa, also known as the March King, was born on November 6,1854, in Washington D.C., near the marine barracks where his father, Antonio, was a musician in the marine band . He received his grammar school education in Washington and for several of his school years enrolled in a private conservatory of music operated by John Esputa, Jr. . There he studied piano and most of the orchestral instruments, but his main passion was the violin. He became very good at the violin, and at age 13 he was almost persuaded to join a circus band . As a young boy, the martial music of army bands in the streets of Washington during and immediately following the Civil War had a profound effect on him. When he was not yet fourteen he enlisted in the Marine Corps and succeeded in becoming a member of the marine band . This is where he picked up a liking for marches. After being discharged from the Marine Corps, Sousa toured with several traveling theater orchestras and in 1876 moved to Philadelphia. There he worked as an arranger, composer, and proofreader for publishing houses . While on tour with an opera company in St. Louis, he received a telegram offering him le ...

Teen Pregnancy Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Teen Pregnancy - Annotated Bibliography Example Even though the article was written in 1983, all topics discussed in it are relevant. Levering pays great attention to analysis of outcomes teenagers have to face in case of pregnancy. Their financial dependency and lack of skills challenge their families and complicate childhood for their babies. Levering is motivated by the fact that the number of teenage pregnancies is steadily increasing and something should be done to make adolescents more responsible for their behavior. This article can serve as a core for further research as it contains both theoretic explanations and actual data related to teenage pregnancy dynamics, causes and outcomes. This article analyzes the issue of teenage pregnancy the context of modern UK. Such factors as technological progress and media influences motivate teenage irresponsible behavior in relationships. This research calculates the number of teenage mothers in the UK 2001 and draws the conclusion that this number should also be included in governmental statistics published annually. As far as British government aims at reducing the number of teenage pregnancies and supporting teenage parents, this data needs to be calculated. What is more important, the article presents different approaches to sex education at schools and reasons its need there. This article serves as a relevant source of data for further research as it presents not only statistics but analyzes the main contributing factors to the issue. Suri suggests that it to seek for to seek causes of teenage behavior in the community where they grow up. Many girls who decide to give birth to a child grow up to be single mothers and live beyond the poverty line. Single mothers are limited in their parenting opportunities because they are more concerned in financial side of this issue. Education is a way to inform teenagers about these consequences and teach them to make right

Organizational behavior Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Organizational behavior - Article Example olars contemplate that the problems posed by the use of computers and current trends of information technology present new and complicated forms of ethical problems that require new and more comprehensive forms of combating. The current forms of information technology, though accredited with sophistication of security and access to useful information that has been able to combat and prevent harmful activities such as terrorism, is also blamed for one greatest failure: loss of privacy on the part of those exposed to the security. Most buildings today are fitted with CCTV on every department including the washroom, depriving the users of privacy to such facilities. This brings us to the tussle and dilemma of the issue of technology and ethics. There is debate among scholars of worker behavior and ethical regulations as to whether the classical theories present an encompassing ethical theory that is able to cater for emerging needs as presented by emerging technology. While some feel that the theories were designed at a time when forms of information technology were not as complex as they are, therefore, they are not capable of addressing current ethical needs, some feel that the theories are evolutionary and can be adapted to cater for these needs without having to alter them (Ridley 223). Utilitarianism, for instance, a form of consequentialism poses that the best course of action is one that ensures that overall happiness for everyone is maximized. It is a theory that focuses on the end more than the means. Ethics and morality can be compromised in the course of action if the result is worthy. most of today’s technology seems to have found solace in this theory as it exposes users to all forms of measures including nudity checks at some airports and increased scrutiny for persons of particular race, a form of discrimination that is not ethical at all (Penslar 134). Deontological theory states that persons should stick to their obligations and duties to others

Explain what it means to be educated. Make sure you use at least one Essay

Explain what it means to be educated. Make sure you use at least one reading as the base of your argument - Essay Example In reality, to be educated means to have knowledge, potential to think, ability to learn, and the capacity to make use of language. The mental capability of such an individual enables one to have awareness of any vagueness, realize when knowledge is missing, open minded, readiness, capability to doubt, questions things, logical curiosity, and happy to learn. Education has the potential to enhance knowledge, skill, and attitude which empowers individual’s to deal with problems. In this way, an educated person is one who has the power to deal with life problems using the experiences that come from education. For instance, in â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of Language† by Malcolm X, it is clear that Malcolm was uneducated because he could not read or write. However, he transformed himself and began to teach himself vocabulary from the dictionary and from this he began gaining knowledge. This knowledge opened his language skills to begin writing coherently and precisely in wo rds that could be understood (Buscemi and Smith, 2012). An educated person should have not only knowledge but also the potential to make informed decisions. It is a case where someone is enlightened about issues and realizes the need to make a certain decision for the betterment of one’s life. An educated person is therefore, familiar with various ideas which shape one’s view of reality. ... Thinking abilities are part and pursue of an educated person because this is what leads to making of rational informed resolutions. This thinking ability is still what results in knowledge that an individual holds. Just like if a person is analytically thinking about a physician’s suggestion, one would be required to have a bit of knowledge about medical information. It is now possible to think if the recommendation the doctor is offering makes sense or not. This is because with the thinking ability, the knowledge to make rational decisions for the betterment of one’s life is realized. For instance, Malcolm admires Bimbi from prison because he is eloquent and can contribute in any conversation. It is apparent that Bimbi is educated and can converse easily because his thinking abilities translate to knowledge. In the same, way Malcolm assumes this thinking ability by taking Bimbi as his role model and works hard to learn the language (Buscemi and Smith, 2012). It is also evident that an educated individual has learning abilities to independently cope with the changing society. It is not possible for a person who cannot learn independently to be regarded as educated. Independent learning is not only reading books or internet materials but the ability to acquire knowledge through personal effort. This could be to learn through the existing material or creating understanding where there is none. This is the art of rational inquiry where a person has the potential to absorb or acquire information without any reliance on other people’s opinion. Learning is the process of expanding, modification, and refining existing knowledge which further, strengthens the thinking potential. For instance, from â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of

Legal and Ethical Principles in Physician Assisted Suicide

Legal and Ethical Principles in Physician Assisted Suicide Methodology: Literature review. Introduction What follows is essentially a consideration of the current law on physician assisted suicide (PAS), with an appraisal of the arguments advanced supporting the practices and those condemning them. The compelling reasons for allowing a choice of death to those who seek it are appraised early on, as are the objections commonly found across many jurisdictions. Notably, scrutiny is given to the Oregon experience of the past decade, where it will be seen that many of the worries relating to abuse of the vulnerable have apparently not materialised. The Human Rights arguments submitted in the Pretty cases are analysed, as are the implications consequential with the sporadic smokescreen of double effect. The incompetent and the juvenile patient are regrettably not covered for reasons of not spreading the discussion too thin. Later, discussion is given to the question of where should the law go? If a balance can be found between the necessary respect for life and the proper regard of an individual’s wishes for their own body, perhaps some of the emotion surrounding end of life decisions can be removed in favour of logic and compassion. First, it is prudent to review the facts of the leading case, which is Pretty. The facts of Pretty have been well documented through the extensive media coverage which the cases received. Mrs Pretty suffered from motor neurone disease, which is a degenerative illness causing progressive muscle weakness, leading inevitably to death. Mrs Pretty became paralysed from the neck down and her speech was substantially affected. Her intellect was, however, unimpaired and she communicated her wish to commit suicide so as to avoid the distress of the final stages of the disease. Lord Hope of Craighead said of this that it: â€Å"†¦might be thought to indicate a lack of judgement on her part. But I believe that the decision which she has taken in such extreme circumstances ought not to be criticised†¦ I would accept her assurance that she has reached the decision to end her life of her own free will and that she has not been subject to outside pressure of any kind†[1]. As Mrs Pretty’s condition was such that she could not commit suicide unaided, she wanted her husband to help her. He was willing to give it but sought an assurance from the DPP that he would not be prosecuted under s.2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 for aiding and abetting her suicide. The pressure group Liberty asked the DPP for such this assurance which he declined to grant and thus Mrs Pretty applied for judicial review of that refusal. The Queens Bench Divisional Court upheld the Directors decision on grounds that the Director did not hold the power to grant what was sought. The House of Lords affirmed that analysis; Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough commenting that: â€Å"the undertaking which the appellant requested was not one which the Director as the holder of a statutory office had the authority or power to give and it would have been improper for him to give the undertaking whatever the merits of the appellants solicitors’ arguments†[2]. This conclusion was reached on the basis of the legal framework which applies to the DPP and not on the basis of the Suicide Act. Suicide was once a felony in England, â€Å"that offended against both God and the King’s interest in the life of his citizens†[3]. In modern times society has recognised that the suicidal person should not be condemned as a criminal, but to be regarded with compassion. While the natural instinct is usually to keep living, where a suicidal motive is born of a desire to be freed from incurable or intolerable illness and pain it is not difficult to understand what has brought a person to arrive at that decision. It has been observed that : ‘In the 19th and 20th centuries two very important changes occurred in our society: the development of the liberal attitude, where the individual wants the right to self determination in his life; and the development of medical science, which has made it possible to prolong life considerably. [However], for some patients a consequence of this is that suffering is prolonged and medical science has brought them far beyond the point where they normally would have died’[4]. McCall-Smith has described how personal autonomy is a concept that has been eagerly grasped, and understood to mean that ‘the individual was entitled to make all the relevant choices himself and to reject, if necessary, the vision of others for his personal life’[5]. Clearly, in the present context of individuals wishing assistance to their suicide this features strongly, and there is to be found running through it a general theme asserting the right of the claimant to determine their own fate. Suicide has not been a crime in England for almost fifty years[6], but the Act that brought this about also placed on a statutory footing the offence of aiding and abetting a suicide. Mrs Pretty did not disclose the proposed method by which her husband was to help her die, but instead died of natural causes in 2002. Likely it shall never be known if she was really to be an active participant in the event, or if she wished her husband to perform a mercy killing, for which there is no separate offence and, as euthanasia, would have constituted her murder; her consent being irrelevant to the offence. Irrespective of the merits of the judgment in Pretty, it is notable that the Lord’s foray into the sphere of mercy killing and assisted suicide was a purely academic exercise. Lord Hobhouse pointed out that the DPP did not have the capacity to grant the request that Mrs Pretty sought. Further to this, Brown has explained that: ‘if what a litigant seeks cannot competently be done in terms of primary legislation, it does not matter how compelling an argument is presented in support of the proposition that it should be done. The litigant cannot succeed and consideration beyond that basic question of competence is necessary only in order to avoid a further hearing in the event of the decision on competence being overturned on appeal’[7]. Despite the unorthodox, and it must be noted – hopeless, request that was made in Pretty, the case has immediate relevance to the euthanasia and assisted suicide debate as a whole. Had Mrs Pretty been successful, it is entirely foreseeable that others in a similar situation to her would begin to request that their doctor be permitted to either despatch them personally, or at least assist in the doing so. Pro-choice groups and leading academic writers maintain that, to be ethical, any activity constituting PAS and especially euthanasia must be at the voluntary instigation of the patient[8], and limited as to whom it is available to. The request: ‘must come from one who is either subject to intolerable pain or disability or who is suffering from an illness which is diagnosed as terminal†¦[9] Glover adds that: ‘if assisted suicide is possible, it is always to be preferred to voluntary euthanasia. If we know that a person himself knowingly took a lethal pill, there is by comparison with euthanasia little ambiguity about the nature of his decision’[10]. In saying that, Glover illustrated the vast ethical divide between allowing a person the autonomy to determine their own future by their own actions, and the dubious position of a secondary party taking that action for them. A United States Court of Appeal, although later overturned by the US Supreme Court, nevertheless had a valid point on dignity in its summing up of a 1996 case; â€Å"when patients are no longer able to pursue liberty or happiness and do not wish to pursue life, the states interest in forcing them to remain alive is less compelling†¦. A mentally competent, terminally ill adult, having lived nearly the full measure of his life, has a strong liberty interest in choosing a dignified and humane death rather than being reduced to a child like state of helplessness, diapered, sedated, incompetent†¦ How a person dies not only determines the nature of the final period of his existence, but in many cases, the enduring memories held by those who love him†[11]. Speaking of what is currently legal in every common law jurisdiction, that of the refusal of treatment, McCall-Smith observed how it is not difficult to conceive of a situation in which a person is suffering so much that notes that death would be a welcome release, and ‘may in those circumstances be morally acceptable’[12]. The problem for the pro choice advocate is that there is an ethical gap between what is presently illegal, that of assisting a person to a dignified end, and what can be done which is merely limited to the provision of pain relief or respecting a person’s wishes to refuse treatment, but for some the gap is ethically indefensible: ‘advocates of death with dignity are not fully satisfied with the options currently available to dying patients each option usually entails some period of lingering in a highly deliberated or helpless state and, therefore, offends the dignity these advocates are intent on preserving’[13]. Opponents to the introduction of PAS offer a number of frequently cited issues to support their cause, and primary among these is that assisting a person to die is the very opposite role to that which the physician ought to pursue, and that the Hippocratic Oath states I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, not will I make a suggestion to this effect. To this Weir quickly retorts essentially that a doctor’s duties to the patient are more than merely the job of healing, and where healing cannot be achieved then the relief of suffering is still an important duty, even if ‘for that small minority of patients [this means] help in bringing about death’[14]. A further objection runs along the lines that the doctor-patient relationship would lose the trust it currently enjoys if patients thought their doctor might suggest something more sinister than a curing or caring course of action. Perhaps on this count some factions could be accused of scare-mongering. The vehement opponents of any doctor involvement with death include a significant proportion of religious groups prone to stirring up emotive feelings with words such as ‘killing’, ‘executing’, ‘culling’. With suggestions of death squads visiting hospices to kill people who are no longer an asset to society, it is not hard to imagine they would have people believe a society that permitted euthanasia might eventually degenerate to that seen in the science fiction movie Logan’s Run[15], where people are routinely executed upon reaching a certain age. The only conclusion one can reach is that either people are confused and failing to recognis e the essential voluntary aspect of PAS; or that they are deliberately fuzzing the boundaries to present physician assisted suicide as if it were physician initiated murder. Ethics and Life The sanctity of life is a phrase wielded like a sword by opponents of PAS, as if to justify an impenetrable veto on the practice. This in contrast to respect for life, which is unquestionably something everybody ought to have, but is quite a separate principle and not one in conflict with responsible and regulated PAS. Sanctity of life is a religious value. To this: ‘the British Humanist Association suggested that sanctity of life was not a principle on which legal structures should be based, since it depended on a religious outlook which not everyone shared. They suggested that it is particularly hurtful to require someone who does not believe in God or afterlife to suffer intolerable pain or indignity in deference to a God or afterlife he does not accept’[16]. However, perhaps the most frequently cited reason against the legalisation of PAS[17] is the contention that it’s practice would have a disproportionate impact on the vulnerable[18]. Annas has claimed that such groups would encompass ‘the poor, the elderly, women and minorities’[19], a common theme across the writing on this subject. Lindsay identifies two prerequisites that he claims must apply before the disparate impact argument can carry any weight. ‘First, one must believe that it is proper to deny assisted suicide to those competent persons who truly voluntarily choose it, including persons who are members of vulnerable the groups in question, in order to protect others against being pressured into assisted suicide. Second, one must believe that it somehow makes a difference for the wisdom of legalising assisted suicide whether proportionally more blacks than whites, more women than men, more elderly than young and so on would likely be pressured into choosing assisted suicide’[20]. Lindsay suggests a solution to this quandary: ‘what if we imposed stringent quotas on assisted suicide so that no woman would be eligible for assisted suicide unless and until the proportion of men seeking assisted suicide from that particular hospital/hospice in that year was equivalent to the percentage of women seeking assisted suicide? Similar restrictions could be imposed for other so-called vulnerable groups: blacks, the elderly, the disabled, the poor. Quotas would eliminate any disparate impact and, therefore, appear to provide the solution to those concerned about equalization of risk’[21]. Of course, it would be farcical to seriously consider a quota system, but by poking fun at the argument in this way Lindsay exposes its underlying flaw; that it would be preposterous to permit a practice of PAS that would allow anyone to come under pressure into using it. Lindsey suggests that the disparate impact argument is either a smoke screen for the sanctity-of-life ‘family of arguments against assisted suicide’[22] and Glover is at best sceptical of the concept of abuse of the vulnerable, asking ‘is there any evidence of such pressure in a country where voluntary euthanasia is not illegal?’[23]. It is of great significance that in the US State of Oregon, alone in its introduction of a Death with Dignity Act, there has been no rush to take advantage of it. In its first year, 1998, 23 people requested it and of these 15 actually used it[24]. Under the Death with Dignity Act the patient seeking PAS must: Be terminally ill with less than six months to live[25] Not be labouring under depression or other mental illness[26] Make ‘an oral request and a written request, and reiterate the oral request to his or her attending physician no less than fifteen days after making the initial oral request’[27] Convince two physicians that s/he is sincere, acting voluntarily and not on a whim[28] The lead researcher in a study of PAS in Oregon found that educational level and social status bore no effect in determining who sought help in dying, but what did motivate those who chose this route was very different to that the opponents of assisted suicide would have us believe. The two most recurring reasons were concern about loss of autonomy and loss of control over bodily functions. These factors featured most strongly among those patients who had lead an independent life[29]. By the close of 2000, with three years worth of records, the results in Oregon were positive, and that the predicted abuse spectacularly failed to manifest itself was conspicuous. Robinson cites the statistics for 2000 as being that 27 individuals ended their life using PAS and the average use per head of population in that time ‘remained at six to nine per 10,000 deaths†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢[30]. Significantly, a provision in the Oregon legislation[31] criminalising the alteration or forging of a request for PAS, or interfering with a patient’s rescindment of it, appears to have never yet been invoked. Abuse To request that a doctors assist one to die is not normally a decision a person would take lightly, and that there are doctors who would take advantage of any provisions that might be introduced cannot be denied. While Dr Shipman was certainly exceptional in his lust for killing, he is not alone in being suspected to abuse his position and resources. Oregon has been successful, but no system for regulating PAS can be thought of as foolproof, and for some, any risk of abuse at all is adequate reason to reject the entire proposal[32]. However, this is not an attitude that is mirrored in other areas of law. There are an immeasurable number of activities sanctioned by the law that pose very great risks to the participants, a risk that is taken for far less compelling reasons than can be advanced in support of PAS; boxing and smoking being the archetypical paragons. Furthermore, a member of the Sikh religion, whilst wearing a turban, is exempt from being required to wear a crash helmet whilst riding a motorcycle[33], clearly an instance of a huge risk to the individual’s life being outweighed by the need to respect that individual’s beliefs. Arguably, it cannot only be that a second person is involved with assisting a suicide that makes it so offensive to the criminal law. A man’s peer could supply him with all the cigarettes he ever smokes without any worry of legal liability when that man dies of the resultant cancer. Suicide and smoking are both legal activities and the significant variable between the two is time. Assisted suicide usually brings about the death very quickly, whereas it will normally take many years for the smoker to perish. The irony is that PAS would not be desired by anyone facing the choice if it were not a swift exit from the unbearable existence they toil under. Widely acknowledged to be unavoidable, ‘the principle of double effect is a doctrine that distinguishes between the consequences a person intends and those that are unintended but foreseen’[34]. Williams continues that ‘in a medical context it is usually relied on when a doctor foresees that [due to the doctors action] a patient may die, although that is not his intention’[35]. The opinion of the law is stated by Ognall J in Cox, in that: â€Å"if a doctor believes that a certain course is beneficial to his patient, either therapeutically or analgesically, then even though he recognises that that course carries with it a risk to life, he is fully entitled, nonetheless, to pursue it. If in those circumstances the patient dies, nobody could possible suggest that in that situation the doctor was guilty of murder or attempted murder†¦ [but] what can never be lawful is the use of drugs with the primary purpose of hastening the moment of death†[36]. His Honour further added that â€Å"a doctors duty is to alleviate suffering for so long as the patient survives but†¦ he must never kill in order to achieve relief from suffering†[37]. It is immediately apparent that the principle of double effect allows a situation to arise whereby the doctor may directly cause death and yet not suffer any legal liability as a result. Questions of intention naturally follow, and despite the recent clarification that where an event is ‘virtual certain’[38] to occur then the jury are entitled to find that the actor intended it to do so, Ashworth implies that the jury are equally entitled not to find intention[39]. That the jury may have laboured not to find intention, one can speculate in cases such as Adams and Carr[40]. Alternatively, there also exists a unique condition that ‘doctors are not normally presumed to intend all the foreseen consequences of their actions’[41]. Williams notes that ‘there is no evidence that this presumption is applied other than in the medical context†¦ using the principle of double effect is seen to provide a justification for doctors behaviour’[42]. Williams also observes that ‘providing medication to control pain has always been a legitimate and lawful way of fulfilling [the doctors] duty – even if there is a chance of death. [but] it has been accused of being a smoke-screen and a fig-leaf for euthanasia’[43]. Such is the strength of the double effect doctrine that Wells has suggested that had Dr Cox used pain killing medication (instead of potassium chloride, for which there is no known therapeutic property in the dose administered by Dr. Cox) then he ‘would have been found not guilty if the results were the sam e, and regardless of his intent’[44]. It will be recalled that Mrs Pretty was not asking for a doctor to be involved with her death, she was asking for her husband to be granted immunity from prosecution should he assist her to die. This is no small request, and it was accepted by her counsel that, apart from the ECHR rights, she could not succeed. Mrs pretty claimed that the DPP’s decision breached the Human Rights Act 1998 and her argument rested on the provisions of the Convention at Art.3, the right not to suffer degrading and inhuman treatment, Art.2, the right to life and Art.8, the right to physical integrity and privacy. The position of the law in this country had already been tested for its impact on human rights long before Mrs Pretty would even have become ill with motor neurone disease. In 1983 the Commission considered[45] whether s.2 of the Suicide Act 1961 violated either the right to privacy at Art.8 or freedom of expression in Art.10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The outcome of that case was that â€Å"aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring suicide were excluded from the concept of privacy by virtue of their trespass on the public interest of protecting life†[46]. While Mrs Pretty argued that Article 2 of the ECHR, when read with Articles 1 and 2 of Protocol 6 guaranteed her a right to choose whether or not to live, Kennedy and Grubb suggest exactly the opposite. For Kennedy and Grubb, it ‘could be argued that to permit assisting suicide (or euthanasia) infringes Article 2 regardless of the patients consent’[47]. In taking this latter stance both the Strasbourg Court and the House of Lords emphasised that the purpose of Article 2 is to protect life. Lord Steyn went further by saying that the Article â€Å"†¦provides a guarantee that no individual ‘shall be deprived of life’ by means of intentional human intervention†[48]. His Lordship did not stop there, but obliterated any doubt that may have remained by stating that â€Å"nothing in the Article or in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights can assist Mrs Pretty’s case on this Article†[49]. The Strasbourg Court made it abundantly clear that the exceptions detailed in Art.2 are exhaustive by saying: ‘its sets out the limited circumstances when deprivation of life may be justified†¦ and the first sentence of Art.2 enjoins the State not only to refrain from the intentional and unlawful taking of life but also to take appropriate steps to safeguard the lives of those within its jurisdiction†¦ This obligation extends beyond a primary duty to secure the right to life by putting in place effective criminal law provisions to deter the commission of offences against the person backed up by law enforcement machinery for the prevention, suppression and sanctioning of breaches of such provisions’[50]. The conclusion is that Art.2, said the Court, ‘cannot, without distortion of language, be interpreted as conferring the diametrically opposite right, namely a right to die’[51]. The claim by Mrs Pretty that the suffering she faced qualified as degrading treatment under Art.3 and that the Government had a positive obligation to take steps to protect her from that suffering was rejected because as has been noted, ‘the suffering of an incurable patient cannot be considered as an inhuman or degrading treatment attributable to the State’[52]. So despite an inspired attempt, this head of claim was regarded as irrelevant by the entire judiciary involved who considered that Art.3 was not engaged at all. Art.8 was the only grounds that the Strasbourg Court was prepared to accept that preventing the applicant from exercising choice to avoid indignity and distress constituted an interference with the right to respect for private life guaranteed under Article 8.1, but it found against Mrs Pretty on Article 8.2 issues. The European Court[53] adopted the position of Lord Hope on Art.8, insomuch as â€Å"the way she passes the closing moments of her life is part of the act of living and she has a right to ask that this too must be respected†[54]. Even with this concession, his Lordship held that this did not imply a positive obligation to allow assisted suicide. Art.9 was also dismissed by both courts because Mrs Pretty’s belief in the notion of assisted suicide ‘did not involve a form of manifestation of a religion or belief through worship, teaching, practice or observance’; thus there was no breach. This opinion echoes the stance of the House of Lords Select Committee of almost a decade previously when they said ‘we gave much thought to Professor Dworkin’s opinion that, for those without religious belief, the individual is best able to decide what manner of death is fitting to the life which has been lived. Ultimately, however, we do not believe that these arguments are sufficient reason to weaken society’s prohibition of intended killing’[55]. Art.14, prohibiting discrimination, was Mrs Pretty’s final line of attack but this too failed – because although suicide is no longer a crime, there is no right to commit it, as Lord Hope was at pains to distinguish[56], and as was an influential factor in the recent failure of Lord Joffee’s Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. Irrespective of why this is maintained a complete prohibition on PAS, the current law is still an affront to many people, including many doctors. As is demonstrated at regular intervals in the courts, in practice by providing the necessary care required to terminal patients, doctors are routinely crossing into the territory of the criminal law and thereby forced to rely on the legal fiction of double effect[57]. It surely cannot be that the surreptitious circumvention of the criminal law by doctors, or the repeated occurrence of jury-equity is an acceptable long term situation; but neither is the incessant suffering of a patient who simply wishes it to be over, yet is unable to make their own way out without help. Public support for a change in the law is difficult to ascertain and opinion polls should surely not be trusted, for time and again they prove unreliable. In the UK, Mason et al comment that ‘the public can appear confused’[58]. Perhaps the (unfounded?) fear of abuse is what has driven the overwhelming majority of Americans to reject PAS, Oregon excepted. It is unfortunate, and doubtless fatal to any present attempts to implement PAS in the UK, that the Dutch have experienced poor compliance with their own regulations. Mason et al point to the widespread disregard for the legal requirements regarding euthanasia in the Netherlands[59]. They actually suggest that ‘It appears that euthanasia has been practised in many cases without the consent of the patient’[60]. If euthanasia is taking place without strict adherence to the formal regulations then ‘its exercise will inevitably become more trivial until what matters is not the grounds for wanting to die, but the want itself’[61], and suddenly we are into the territory of helping the depressed to die[62]. As noted above, what might have been considered an inconceivable next step is already being taken, where the doctor himself makes the decision and from this point there remains only one further sinister step before we find ourselves, figuratively, knocking on the door of Dr Shipman. There can be no doubt that Pretty does leave any uncertainty. Seven judges of the European Court of Human Rights, five Lords of Appeal and three judges in the Divisional Court all held without hint of dissent that the Convention does not require States to render lawful euthanasia or assisted suicide. It would be quite improper to suggest that Pretty was wrong. The European Court was not there to remedy what Liberty perceived to be a defect in the law but had a responsibility to determine the law as it is. Lord Joffee’s Bill failed, but he is presently trying again in a revised form. McCall-Smith regards this as properly a matter for ‘legislators rather than judges’[63]. However, in the absence of any parliamentary reform then the law will remain as it is, and ‘the doctor faced with a patient in extremis and asking to die will have to resort to the ‘double speak’ of purporting to relieve pain while bringing about death, making sure that the agent bringing about the death is one recognised by other doctors as a pain-reliever’[64].

A Critical Evaluation of Assisi by Norman MacCaig Essay -- Assisi Norm

A Critical Evaluation of Assisi Q: Choose a poem in which the poet has put across a definite point of view. By close reference to the poetic techniques used, show how successful the poet has been in making you share his/ her point of view. â€Å"Assisi† by Norman MacCaig is an intriguing and thought-provoking poem, which has put across a definite point of view to me which I believe is that all people should be treated equally and we should try to help those less fortunate than ourselves. In this essay I will show how successful the poet has been in making me share his point of view, with the help of literary techniques such as language, word – choice and imagery. Norman MacCaig has put across a definite point of view for me and has been successful in making me share this view by using thoughtful and intense language. The first aspect of language, which he uses is metaphor in the beginning of the poem when he is describing the dwarf sitting outside the church. He uses metaphor as he says, â€Å"The dwarf with his hands on backwards Sat, slumped like a half – filled sack On tiny twisted legs from which Sawdust might run.† The metaphor here of the dwarf sitting like a ‘half filled sack’ is describing the dwarf and how he has a deformed body. He is being compared to looking like a sack, which is slumped and half empty. This is effective as it seems as though the dwarf cannot help himself and he is sitting there waiting for help. MacCaig tells us that he is a dwarf therefore he will be very short and â€Å"hands on backwards† and â€Å"tiny twisted legs† portrays his deformity as I can envisage his legs dangling from his body. Also as he is sitting like a â€Å"half –filled sack† it seems to me that he cannot do an... ...ered after him as he scattered The grain of the Word.† This shows me MacCaig is comparing the tourists to the birds and the Priest to the sower. He does not approve of the actions as it is compared to the parable of the sower of when he scatters the grain and the birds flutter after it. He does not approve of the tourists fluttering after the word and ignoring the poor dwarf, when in actual fact they should be helping him. In conclusion, â€Å"Assisi† by Norman MacCaig is an intriguing and though-provoking poem, which has put across a definite point of view for me, which I believe is that all people should be treated equally and that we should help those less fortunate than ourselves. In this I essay I have shown how successful the poet was in making me share this view by using his thoughtful and intense language, word-choice and imagery techniques.

International Trade and Finance Speech Essay

The purpose of this paper is to organize a speech that will be provided to a number of reporters that are not knowledgeable with economics. In this paper I will put importance on international trade and foreign exchange rates and how those affect the GDP, domestic markets, and students. I will also outline some of the benefits on goods and services that are imported from other countries and how those contribute to our economy in the United States. What happens when there is a surplus of imports brought into the US? When there is a surplus of a product imported into the US, it drives the prices of that particular product down. The reason it drives the prices down is because the owner of the product gets to a point where they need to clear out inventory so they sell it at a price lower than originally expected. These companies will go as far as taking a loss on the product just to clear the inventory. This surplus is a plus for the consumer. (Armadeo, 2013) Car dealerships are a prime example of companies that clean out old inventory at a reduced price. They run end of year specials that are hard to beat. One dealership had a Chevrolet Malibu for $22,110. The end of year pricing deal they offered was $3000 cash back or 0% interest on a 60 month loan. When deciding which offer is the best, a person must first look at what the percentage of interest is that they would be paying on top of the loan amount. (Mello, 2012) What are the effects of international trade to GDP, domestic markets and university students? The international trade effect on the GDP depends on if it is a surplus or deficit. If the imports are lower than exports this will have a positive effect on the GDP, domestic markets, and university students. A positive effect in the GDP increases the job market. This in turn increases money into the economy and increases sales in the local markets. This also helps the university student find a job to help finance their education. This also allows them to buy supplies for school cheaper, for example, the price of computers become lower when there is a positive effect on all these things. International trade increases options for the consumer to choose from, therefore the price on these items are more competitive. Negative effects will do the complete opposite. (McTeer, 2008) How do government choices in regards to tariffs and quotas affect international relations and trade? Simply put, tariffs are taxes the government imposes on imports. Quotas are numerical limits set by the same government imposed on the same imports. If the country imposing the tariffs and quotas set the tariff too high then this could cause future issues between the two countries. If a country wants to have a good relationship with a country they will impose lower tariffs. (â€Å"The Basics of Tariffs and Trade Barriers†, 2011) What are foreign exchange rates? How are they determined? A foreign exchange rate is the cost of converting different currencies. For example, if the foreign exchange rate for the euro is 100=$1 then 100 euros equals $1. If it costs 125 euros to exchange for $1, then the euro is not as profitable as the dollar. Exchange rates are generated by the volume of currencies acquired and sold. â€Å"Though they are affected in both the short term and long term by innumerable factors, currency supply and demand will always, ultimately, determine currency prices in the foreign exchange markets† (Sisson, 2012). Why doesn’t the U.S. simply restrict all goods coming in from China? Why can’t the U.S. just minimize the amount of imports coming in from all other countries? If the United States were to restrict all goods coming in from China it would negatively affect our relationship with them. The United States is majorly in debt to China. Upsetting them could cause them to call in all our loans. It will also affect the profitability of China’s investments and their supply in which American companies are operating. The United States cannot decrease the amount of goods coming in from other countries because it would have a huge impact on employment and the cost of items in this country. A variety of items cause them to have more competitive pricing. When you do not have people working, there is less money to be spent back into the economy. All of these reasons greatly impact the United States economy. The United States needs to trade with countries with more promising tariffs and quotas, and try to keep things fair between imports and exports to help promote a better GDP. References Mello, T. B. (2012). Sweet year-end deals available on some popular cars. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/sweet-year-end-deals-available-some-popular-cars-1C6750390 Armadeo, K. (2013). The US Trade Deficit. Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/tradepolicy/p/Trade_Deficit.htm McTeer, B. (2008). The Impact of Foreign Trade on the Economy. Retrieved from http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/the-impact-of-foreign-trade-on-the-economy/ The Basics of Tariffs and Trade Barriers. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/tariff-trade-barrier-basics.asp#axzz2KI2v2hAC Sisson, N. (2012). ehowmoney. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6593199_exchange-determined-markets-foreign-exchange_.html Colander, D. C. (2010). Macroeconomics. : McGraw-Hill.

Description Origins of Inflation Theory

Description Origins of Inflation Theory Inflation theory brings together ideas from quantum physics and particle physics to explore the early moments of the universe, following the big bang. According to inflation theory, the universe was created in an unstable energy state, which forced a rapid expansion of the universe in its early moments. One consequence is that the universe is vastly bigger than anticipated, far larger than the size that we can observe with our telescopes. Another consequence is that this theory predicts some traits- such as the uniform distribution of energy and the flat geometry of spacetime- which was not previously explained within the framework of the big bang theory. Developed in 1980 by particle physicist Alan Guth, inflation theory is today generally considered a widely-accepted component of the big bang theory, even though the central ideas of the big bang theory were well established for years prior to the development of inflation theory. The Origins of Inflation Theory The big bang theory had proven quite successful over the years, especially having been confirmed through the discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Despite the great success of the theory to explain most aspects of the universe which we saw, there were three major problems remaining: The homogeneity problem (or, Why was the universe so incredibly uniform just one second after the big bang?; as the question is presented in Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang)The flatness problemThe predicted overproduction of magnetic monopoles The big bang model seemed to predict a curved universe in which energy wasnt distributed at all evenly, and in which there were a lot of magnetic monopoles, none of which matched the evidence. Particle physicist Alan Guth first learned of the flatness problem in a 1978 lecture at Cornell University by Robert Dicke. Over the next couple of years, Guth applied concepts from particle physics to the situation and developed an inflation model of the early universe. Guth presented his findings at a January 23, 1980 lecture at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. His revolutionary idea was that the principles of quantum physics at the heart of particle physics could be applied to the early moments of the big bang creation. The universe would have been created with a high energy density. Thermodynamics dictate that the density of the universe would have forced it to expand extremely rapidly. For those who are interested in more detail, essentially the universe would have been created in a false vacuum with the Higgs mechanism turned off (or, put another way, the Higgs boson didnt exist). It would have gone through a process of supercooling, seeking out a stable lower-energy state (a true vacuum in which the Higgs mechanism switched on), and it was this supercooling process which drove the inflationary period of rapid expansion. How rapidly? The universe would have doubled in size every 10-35 seconds. Within 10-30 seconds, the universe would have doubled in size 100,000 times, which is more than enough expansion to explain the flatness problem. Even if the universe had curvature when it started, that much expansion would cause it to appear flat today. (Consider that the size of the Earth is large enough that it appears to us to be flat, even though we know that the surface we stand on is the curved outside of a sphere.) Similarly, energy is distributed so evenly because when it started out, we were a very small part of the universe, and that part of the universe expanded so quickly that if there were any major uneven distributions of energy, theyd be too far away for us to perceive. This is a solution to the homogeneity problem. Refining the Theory The problem with the theory, as far as Guth could tell, was that once the inflation began, it would continue forever. There seemed to be no clear shut-off mechanism in place. Also, if space was continually expanding at this rate, then a previous idea about the early universe, presented by Sidney Coleman, wouldnt work. Coleman had predicted that phase transitions in the early universe took place by the creation of tiny bubbles that coalesced together. With inflation in place, the tiny bubbles were moving away from each other too fast to ever coalesce. Fascinated by the prospect, the Russian physicist Andre Linde attacked this problem and realized there was another interpretation which took care of this problem, while on this side of the iron curtain (this was the 1980s, remember) Andreas Albrecht and Paul J. Steinhardt came up with a similar solution. This newer variant of the theory is the one that really gained traction throughout the 1980s and eventually became part of the established big bang theory. Other Names for Inflation Theory Inflation Theory goes by several other names, including: cosmological inflationcosmic inflationinflationold inflation (Guths original 1980 version of the theory)new inflation theory (the name for the version with the bubble problem fixed)slow-roll inflation (the name for the version with the bubble problem fixed) There are also two closely related variants of the theory, chaotic inflation and eternal inflation, which have some minor distinctions. In these theories, the inflation mechanism didnt just happen once immediately following the big bang, but rather happens over and over in different regions of space all of the time. They posit a rapidly-multiplying number of bubble universes as part of the multiverse. Some physicists point out that these predictions are present in all versions of inflation theory, so dont really consider them distinct theories. Being a quantum theory, there is a field interpretation of inflation theory. In this approach, the driving mechanism is the inflaton field or inflaton particle. Note: While the concept of dark energy in modern cosmological theory also accelerates the expansion of the universe, the mechanisms involved appear to be very different from those involved in inflation theory. One area of interest to cosmologists is the ways in which inflation theory might lead to insights into dark energy, or vice versa.

Asthma tops childhood illnesses essays

Asthma tops childhood illnesses essays Social class dominates our society in a gargantuan amount of ways. Its effects are felt in nearly every aspect of our lives. Its an unfortunate scenario, because an individual and his or her family seems to be measured by the house they live in or the clothes they wear. A persons income is a basis for how they are judged by others, but there are also other issues when comparing people who live in low income housing versus high income housing. Due to the large number of issues that occur in low income housing health has become a huge dilemma for everyone who is subjected to these poor conditions. Its an unfortunate occurrence, but its another problem that people with low income has to deal with it constantly. However, individuals and families who have a high income deal with some of these problems, but not on as much of a regular basis as the poorer families. The bottom line is social class affects how healthy you and your children will be. If you are part of a low social clas s it doesnt necessarily make you an unhealthy person, but the risk is much greater when you compare a person of a low social class to the risk of a person in a mid to high level social class. The research and statistics that have been acquired in these studies will prove that your social class can certainly determine the amount of health risk one has just by knowing their income level. Asthma is the most common illness among children in the New England region. It affects one out of every eight children in the northeast region known as New England. This study that was performed showed that more than 400,000 children currently have this condition in New England. The study also proved that the lower household incomes had the higher percentage of children with asthma. The poor housing proved to have many factors that brought on this disease. With everything from leaky roofs to cockroach droppings blamed for a diseas...

Many software systems employ graphical user interface. What sorts of Essay

Many software systems employ graphical user interface. What sorts of user interface were employed before GUIs was available How - Essay Example On the other hand, liveware refers to the users i.e. human beings, who operate the systems by issuing commands to be executed by the system (Anderson 2001). However, for these users to be able to input data and commands, which instruct the system to perform various actions, there must be a way through which they can interact with the computer, which is commonly referred to as human computer interface (HCI) (Stephenson 2001). For example, if a user wants to open an already existing document, he must issue an ‘open’ command to the system through the computer interface available in his system. Currently, there are two major HCI i.e. command line (CLI) and the graphical user interfaces (GUI). Command line interfaces were the most widely used before technological advances in programming resulted to the designing of window based operating systems, which enabled users to interact with their computers through GUI. In a command driven interface, the user uses the keyboard to type commands, which are acceptable to the computer, after which the results are displayed on the screen in form of text. This type of interface came in to use in the early 1950s, an invention which was motivated by the introduction of teletypewriters, which demanded instant display of results (Stephenson 2001). Before this, batch interfaces were used, which are considered to have been non-interactive as they only required the user to input all the data in order for processing to begin, after which there was no opportunity for inputting more data until after all the data was processed and output was given (Stephenson 2001). The disc operating system (DOS) is one of the environments that make use of the command line interface. In order to be able to operate such an interface, it is a must for one to have excellent skills and understanding of the various internal and external commands, which follow predetermined syntaxes (Gookin 2004). For example, if a user intends to view files located in the hard drive i.e. the hard disk, he would have to type a command, which would order the system to display all the files as per the user’s request. The syntax in such a context would appear as follows; c:\dir after which you press enter to display the contents. To access a removable storage media named drive E, one has to type a special command designed for that purpose. This would appear as follows; c:\e: then press enter. C:\ in this case is the root directory, while e: is the destination drive. This implies that command driven interface is tedious to use as one must follow the exact syntax and path in order to get results, which may be the reason why it is widely used by programmers and other IT specialists, who are well conversant with the commands (Gookin 2004). The graphical user interface as opposed to command line interface uses images, which are event driven. This means that once the user clicks on the image, a predetermined action is triggered and as such, click ing becomes a command executor in contrary to CLI where one had to type a specific command on a command prompt (Anderson 2001). However, it is important to note that GUI enables the user to use both the keyboard and the mouse to execute commands. Images in this context are for example; radio buttons, windows, icons, menus among others, which are designed in a

Pillsbury Cookie Challenge Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pillsbury Cookie Challenge - Case Study Example The paper tells that Ivan Guillen in his role as the marketing manager of RBG faced significant challenges. Primarily he faced the challenges of developing a strategy that would lead to the ultimate improvement in the business performance of his category. The key challenges further included the poor performance of RBG over the past few years. Correspondingly, the volume growth rate of the company has dramatically fallen and at the same time household penetration has also dropped to five year low. It is crucial for Ivan to understand these challenges carefully and find out a possible solution for profitable growth of the business. Moreover, it would be vital for Ivan to conduct marketing research for ascertaining the likely variables affecting the overall performance of the business. The identification of variables affecting the business performance will facilitate Ivan to address the areas that would be requiring more concentrated effort. The key consumer’s insights available to the marketing team postulate that consumers were familiar with Pillsbury brands and products but did not understand how they were relevant in the present busy and hectic life. Consumers were changing their buying behavior due to the economic conditions as well as due to the growing craze related to health. Moreover, it has been ascertained that consumers were becoming more sensitive and were spending less money on their purchase.... The key finding was that the consumers were reluctant to use convenience products rather they were more inclined towards baking from scratch. Business can be benefitted from the customers’ insights by prudently analyzing results obtained from the research and aligning these results with the marketing strategies with consumer needs. It has also been observed that mothers in Canada liked the RBG products for its price, its convenience and the happiness it succeeded to deliver through its fun experience when baked at home (Johnson and Mauro, â€Å"Pillsbury Cookie Challenge† ; Simona, 726-731). 3. THE KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE USAGE AND ATTITUDE STUDY ON P. 6 OF THE CASE, AND KEY IMPLICATIONS ALONG WITH ACTIONS THAT SHOULD BE TAKEM BY MARKETING TEAM The research offered significant understanding regarding Pillsbury’ brand users as well as lapsed users behaviors towards cookies baking experience. The key learning from the usages and attitude study was that scratch bakin g is the dominant method off cooking in Canada. It also provided a vital understanding regarding the market differences between the two market of USA and Canada. It was observed that customers of scratch users in Canada were far bigger than in USA. The research also demonstrated that the major purchase drivers were convenience and the entertaining feature of baking with kids. It is essential for the team to gather more precise understanding of consumer’s beliefs, perceptions, preferences and feelings towards Pillsbury RBG. Moreover, it is essential that data obtained from the research are used determining the future course of action (Johnson and Mauro, â€Å"Pillsbury Cookie Challenge†). 4. REASONS BEHIND IVAN GUILLEN AND HIS TEAM CONDUCTING THE IN-HOME

Thesis Exercises Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Thesis Exercises - Assignment Example Since our real world is not single sex, it’s hard for those students who go to single sex school to adapt themselves into society. For instance a female might be afraid of conversation with other guys, or guys might not be able to ask girls on dates, which is horrible in my perspective. Therefore, same sex schools are not a good option. I should take pride in my work. It because a lot of people will judge me with the quality of my work. Doing quality consistent quality work will become a good habit helping me become successful in the future for constantly doing quality work. Volunteering is important. Having many volunteers help society and other people during their time of need making it easier for them to recover. By having many volunteers around, it makes our society more compassionate People should watch less TV. Excessive watching of TV is bad idea because it is a distraction to study. If we will watch less TV, this would mean we will have more time for studying and other more productive activities. People who responsible should be the ones allowed to drive. Being responsibility is being determined by passing the driving test which should be done both in written and practical exam. This would eliminate the irresponsible drivers and would result to fewer accidents on the

Dancing at Lughnasa Essay Example for Free

Dancing at Lughnasa Essay Dancing is significant in the play so far because it is the way the Mundy sisters can escape social boundaries and it is a form of self expression for them. Dancing is also the only way they feel satisfaction and take pleasure in life. The Mundy sisters can neither explain nor express their true feelings or desires because of their religion of catholism, therefore they use dancing to fill their desire to break free and give them strength to carry on living the way they do. Dancing also provokes many memories of better times for them, it is one of the two things Michael (narrator) remembers of that summer of 1936, therefore it is a big and reoccurring theme throughout the play so far. The Mundy sisters use dancing as a way to feel satisfaction and take pleasure in life, as soon as the radio ‘Marconi’ is switched on we see a different family in the play so far before the ‘Very fast; very heavy beat’ begins we see a religious, Catholic bound family who are unhappy and unable to express themselves but as soon as the radio this ‘sheer magic of a radio’ brings music to them they all become a happy, ecstatic, wild family in the dancing ‘Agnes, Rose, Chris and Maggie are now doing a dance’, we see the Mundy family let go and live the way the feel they should but cannot due to the strict religion of catholism. They long to dance, ’I want to dance’ but as their religion restricts them they feel embarrassed and too old ‘mature women, dancing? ’ to dance or express their feelings and desires, because of the time the play is set in 1936 they would have been seen as to old to get married and therefore we are shown that this is their life from now on. Through dance we see the battle of catholism and paganism shine through. Dancing is significant in the play because it shows us the happiness of the Mundy sisters, their desires to break free and their only way to show their true personalities. They use dancing as a form of self expression, it shows their battle between their fight to stay true to their religion and their urge to explore the pagan traditions. The significant of dancing is different to certain characters with Kate it shows her true self, and in Maggie’s case it provokes memories and reminds her of what she doesn’t have but could have if she had only left Ballybeg, and it one of the few things that Michael remembers of his summer of 1936, and links dancing with enjoyment and happiness in that tough time.

Karl Rahner And The Anonymous Christian Theology Religion Essay

Karl Rahner And The Anonymous Christian Theology Religion Essay Before we go into talking about Karl Rahners idea of the anonymous Christian, let me tell you a little bit about Karl Rahner himself. Most of my information about Karl Rahner comes from the Karl Rahner Society. When you get a chance, you should check out the website. There is a lot more information on there about his life and some of his works. Karl Rahner was born in Freiburg, Germany on March 5, 1904 and died in Innsbruck, Austria, March 30, 1984. In 1922, Rahner entered the Jesuit order and he was soon one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians in the Vatican II era. He wrote many essays that covered a broad range of topics. Most of these essays were on what concerned the Catholics from the 1940s to the 1980s. His essays provided many resources for both academic and pastoral theology. Karl Rahner was very popular in his native German-speaking countries. He became popular through his teaching, lectures, editorial labors and membership in learned societies. Rahner was published in international publications like Concilium and he had a large collection of works. Rahner also enjoyed a positive reception of his contributions by many Protestant thinkers. After Rahners service as an official papal theological expert from 1960 to 1965, his influence became more evident. The term anonymous Christian was thought up by Karl Rahner in an attempt to explain how non-Christians could still be saved by the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. To better understand how Rahner arrives at his concept of the anonymous Christian, it is important to first understand the basis of Rahners ideas. Karl Rahner was greatly influenced by Immanuel Kant and two contemporary Thomists, Joseph Marà ©chal and Pierre Rousselot. Marà ©chal and Rousselot were said to play a major role in the influence Rahners understanding of Thomas Aquinas. The basis of Rahners thoughts comes from his belief of Gods self-communication. Rahner says the self-communication of God is transcendent. It transcends all of the tangible means in history by which we have known God, such as holy people, places, and things. He says we all know God when he communicates to us. God communicates by becoming immediate to us. We recognize God as a supporter, or someone who fills an emptiness when we need help because God hears our unconscious call and fills that emptiness. Through this communication God offers people forgiveness. This thinking process is what leads Karl Rahner to the idea of the anonymous Christian. Rahners first two books were Spirit in the Word and Hearer of the Word. Through these books and in Rahners essays, it shows his way of thinking and believing. Rahner believes that God is in all things and he shows a deep devotion to Jesus and the Catholic doctrine. Rahner talks about the anonymous Christian in an interview provided to Rev. Norman Wong Cheong Sau in an article titled Karl Rahners Concepts of the Anonymous Christian an Inclusivist View of Religions; in this article, Rahner provided his personal definition of an anonymous Christian: We prefer the terminology according to which a man is called anonymous Christian who on the one hand has de facto accepted of his freedom this gracious self-offering on Gods part through faith, hope and love, while on the other he is absolutely not yet a Christian at the social level (through baptism and membership of the Church) or in the sense of having consciously objectified his Christianity to himself in his own mind (by explicit Christian faith resulting from having hearkened to the explicit message.) We might therefore, put it as follows: the anonymous Christian in our sense of the term is the pagan after the beginning of the Christian mission, who lives in the state of Christs grace through faith, hope, and love, yet who has no explicit knowledge of the fact that his life is orientated in grace-given salvation to Jesus Christ. In another interview with the State of Catholic Theology Today, Karl Rahner answers a question about his anonymous Christian idea. Interviewer: Tell us something about your ideas on what you call anonymous Christianity. Rahner: Anonymous Christianity means that a person lives in the grace of God and attains salvation outside of explicitly constituted Christianityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Let us say, a Buddhist monkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ who, because he follows his conscience, attains salvation and lives in the grace of God; of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian; if not, I would have to presuppose that there is a genuine path to salvation that really attains that goal, but that simply has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. But I cannot do that. And so, if I hold if everyone depends upon Jesus Christ for salvation, and if at the same time I hold that many live in the world who have not expressly recognized Jesus Christ, then there remains in my opinion nothing else but to take up this postulate of an anonymous Christianity. A non-anonymous Christian is someone who has accepted Christ into their lives. Someone who lives with the grace of Gods grace, love, hope and understanding. A person who declares themselves a Christian is someone who has been baptized and lives by Gods laws. Rahner basis his belief in the anonymous Christian as someone who lives a Christian lifestyle, but has not yet declared himself a true Christian. According to Rahner, to declare yourself a true Christian, you must be baptized, attend mass, and pray in the traditional standard way. A true Christian should live in a Christ like manner and follow Gods laws. This type of person declares themselves a Christian in every way possible: the way they talk, the way they pray, and their absolution from original sin. Think of Mother Teresa, she would be a good example of a declared Christian. She followed Gods words and teachings and accepted Jesus in her life. Rahner accepts the idea that there is more than one way to reach God. He says through Jesus is only but one way. Gandi can be an example of an anonymous Christian. Although, he did not call himself a Christian by name, he lived in a Christ like manner. Gandhi followed his religion faithfully and lived by Gods laws. On page 75 of the Rahner Reader there is a quote that describes how Gandhi could be called an anonymous Christian, The mind of even the anonymous Christian is raised to the supernatural order by the grace of Christ, philosophy is not purely secular activity. The best of modern philosophy should be considered the self-reflection of a mind to which God has revealed himself implicitly through his grace. Through Gandhis self-awareness and through his though process, he has Christian like beliefs. Though Gandhi is not a declared Christian, he would be considered an anonymous Christian because his lifestyle and beliefs brought him into the grace of God. Can just anyone become an anonymous Christian The answer is yes, but the answer to this question is also based on a persons beliefs, their way of thinking, and their supernatural salvation. God denies no man. Gods grace is open to all men, according to Rahner. Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mens salvation. Even the ones who dont realize it will still be saved. This must mean that the non-Christians who end up in heaven must have received the grace of Christ without their realizing it. Again, this is where we get the term, Anonymous Christian. This idea and thinking can cause some mind-boggling issues. Upon doing my research on this subject on the internet, I came across some other peoples point of view on the subject. The main question that really stood out to me was If I am going to be saved anyway, then why should I convert to Christianity? While this is a good question and made me do some further research. When you take a minute and actually think about the question at hand, it is a horrible way for someone to think. Yes, you will probably get into heaven anyway because Jesus already died on the cross for our sins, but wouldnt you want to convert to Christianity to give yourself an even better chance of getting into heaven And there again, it all depends on the person and their personal beliefs. The Catholic Church believes that, although Christ is the Savior of the human race, a person does not have to know him personally to be saved. I think Rahner is just trying to get that message across to people through his works and his idea of the anonymous Christian. Salvation can only come through Christ, but God makes offers of salvation to non-Christians through their culture and own religion. Those who accept this offer are these anonymous Christians. Rahner says that even though they are not aware of Christ, they are saved by accepting Gods supernatural offer of grace through Christ. I can believe in this. If someone shows that they are a good person and does good things for themselves and other people (Think back to Gandhi and Mother Teresa) then I believe they will get into heaven regardless of their religion. I believe this because God sees that they are good people and that they have accepted Gods grace (knowingly or un-knowingly) into their lives. A persons actions determine whether or no they are worthy of Gods grace. The world is full of anonymous Christians. Some are people we walk by every day. In a summary, the term anonymous Christian to Karl Rahner could refer to a person who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, but is also someone who is not associated with any organized religion. Anonymous Christian could also be a term used for someone who does not wish to reveal their religious identity. Basically Karl Rahner is keeping to the Catholic religion in his belief that ALL people have a chance to be saved because Christ is the Savior of the human race. A person does not have to know Him personally to be saved. Rahner also insists that people should not give up on all missionary efforts. A persons chances at salvation are better if that person has an understanding of the Christian offer of grace.