What is sociology, anyway? Why bother to study it?

The aspect of sociology mainly relates to the study of the human behavior, existence, and individual characteristics based on the collective perspective of the society. The importance of this field in science generally manifest in many ways varying from the views and interpretation of the person involved. In reply to the read article regarding a personal reflection towards sociology, this writer clearly understands that the author of the said article greatly appreciates the value of the aspect of sociology with its manifestation towards the said author’s life. Read also  Sociology and Social Integration. Parts of his realization are greatly inclined towards the aid of sociology for understanding the human behavior in the society and discovering the individual characteristics of each person in a collective perspective. By the inclusion of the sociological concepts, the author of the article was able to understand the individual differences in terms characteristics, behavior, intellect, and others relevant to his successful merge in his society. In agreement to the ideas presented of the author of the read article, indeed, the aspect of sociology explains that the individual differences of each person is rooted on the influence of numerous factors in the person’s development. Realizing this fact, it is important to acknowledge these factors in understanding the personal characteristics of each individual such as his or her opinion, values, perspective, behavior, and actions. Among these influential factors are the concepts of family background and culture wherein the former has changed significant in the present. Other than the traditional type of the family unit, new structure have already emerged in the present namely the extended and nuclear or modern type which also have significant influences in the personality development of the person involved in these family unit. The dominant culture existing inside the family also becomes a fundamental factor in the individual characteristic thus, should also be considered in the sociological analysis and understanding. Indeed, the factors of family background and culture significantly affect the development of individual personality and characteristics relative to understanding the differences of each person inside the collective group of their respective society. Being part of the broad field of sociology, indeed, it is important to consider this scientific field towards achieving development in the aspect of understanding social relationship and individual differences inside the organization of human society.

It’s Always Good To Tell The Truth Essay

Life is full of deception in assorted forms, ranging from the magic shows for recreational purpose to strategic consideration in wars of ancient times.As a result, some people may take telling a lie as granted due to its commonity. However, i vote for the confession as the most significant trait when it comes to handle people since keeping the truth bridges a good relationship within them by creating more senses of integrity and honesty which are core values and foundation in the relationship development. First, always showing the genuine side towards your family members can help us to build a healthy and merry family, especially given the children adoption. In the family, if the children are lied and cheated by parents-the closet people in their world, even for some minor staffs, they are more likely to feel distrust and unloved by their parents afterwards. In the long term, they may refuse to listen to the parents any more,even worse, they may hate and imitate parents to lie as well which create an intense relationship within the family. According to the statistic, most of the adolescent problems such as drug and smoke abuse, young crime commitment like steal and robbery are the results of such bad family relationship. Thereby, always acknowledging the truth amounts to the display of love and respect towards family members which correspondingly contributes to a happy ending. Secondly, always behaving honesty instead of being too adulated and sophisticated towards friends and colleges also brings us advantages more than we realized. Whether we’re in the universities and working in the companies, being frank surely help us build a trustworthy image in the public that in turn benefits in varieties ways: we’re likely to make more new friends due to the integrity we show, we’re likely to get more recognision from boss and advance our career because of our fair -mind towards all the faked and unjustified work, we’re likely to empowered more confidence and courage handling difficulties as we will become more upfront and loyal towards ourselves to respect the truth. These are the wealth beyond our realization brought by truth if we pursue and stick to. Admittedly, lying might avoid people from getting hurt or embarrassed in some  degree. For example, we might say the girl is still pretty even she’s fat to protect her pride. However, humans are not weak, in fact the protection we regard works nothing to the girl except the lies, she may continue to get fatty since no one reminds or suggests her take exercises to lose weight. Lies even with good intention safeguard nothing but the continuity of tragedy. To summarize, no legacy is so rich as honesty and truth, which worth our whole life to pursue and defend whatever relationship we’re engaged in between people.

How to Make Camias Prunes and Soap Essay

Procedure: To make candied kamias, begin by sorting fruits according to size and eliminating the spoiled or damaged ones. 1. Weigh and wash the fruits.  2. Soak them overnight in lime solution (one tablespoon lime per one liter of water). This process will firm up the fruits. Again, wash thoroughly in running water to remove lime. 3. Blanch fruits in boiling water for three to five minutes and drain. 4. Prick the bottom part of kamias with a fine toothpick and press each fruit lightly to remove some of the fruit juice. 5. Prepare syrup (2 parts sugar to one part water), boil it and strain. 6. Add the kamias to the syrup and boil them for five minutes and soak overnight. 7. Remove the fruits and add one cup sugar to the syrup and boil. Then add kamias again and heat for five minutes. 8. Soak the fruits overnight. 9. The following day, remove fruits and add some more sugar to the syrup. Then, add kamias again and boil for five minutes. 10. Allow to cool; drain and weigh. 11. Arrange kamias on a tray and dry in the solar dryer. 12. After drying, weigh again and pack in plastic bags and seal. Materials: * 1 glass Caustic Soda (NaOH) * 3 glasses water * 5 glasses cooking oil * 1/2 glass juice or extract Procedure: 1. Prepare the materials and the utensils needed. 2. Measure 1 glass of caustic soda and 3 glasses of water and pour into a plastic pail. 3. Mix well by stirring continuously using a wooden ladle or bamboo stick. Use only one direction in mixing the mixture. Stir until the caustic soda is dissolved. 4. Pour 5 glasses cooking oil into the mixture. 5. Continue stirring until a consistency of a condensed milk is achieved and add 1/2 glass of juice or extract. 6. Pour the soap mixture into desired plastic molders. Set aside and let it cool to harden. 7. After 4-5 hours,  remove the soap from the molder. 8. Allow 30 days of ageing before packing. Label the soaps. Indications: * Kamias – fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap) * Calamansi – fruit extract or juice (bleaching soap) * Cucumber – fruit extract or juice (moisturizer) * Papaya – extract from fresh leaves (bleaching/moisturizer) * Radish – extract from the stem (moisturizer) Reminder: * Caustic Soda can harm the skin upon contact. Wash immediately with vinegar or anything sour and then wash it with soap and water. * Caustic Soda is harmful to health and so, make the necessary precaution. Use mask and gloves to protect your body. Directions 1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don’t bother with processing, and just refrigerate. 2. To test for jelling Place three plates in a freezer†¦ after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate†¦ if it doesn’t try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it’s ready to be canned!

Why do many small businesses fail Research Paper

Why do many small businesses fail - Research Paper Example From these Small Businesses are considered to be the most important economical contributors with respect to their social impact, and employment and innovation opportunities. In the US especially the perception of the small business owner is tied inexplicably to the ideals of hard work leading to success and the importance of the individual. Before verifying any such claims or talking in-depth about the problems and opportunities present for this sector, one must first define ‘Small Business’. While researchers provide their own specific parameters and variables for defining the term â€Å"There is no inherent definition of a "small" business.† (Priest 2003). For the US market, any business having 500 or less employees is considered a small business, with a significant amount of these having less than 20 workers. But the advantages associated with small businesses in general like more flexibility, an innovative environment, enhancing of entrepreneurial skills etc c annot be fully realized even in the relatively smaller size of 500 workers. For the purpose of this paper, the following description coined by the Wiltshire Committee (Australia) will be considered the standard for a small business â€Å"A business in which one or two persons are required to make all the critical management decisions: finance, accounting, personnel, purchasing, processing or servicing, marketing, selling, without the aid of internal specialists and with specific knowledge in only one or two functional areas† (1971). The decision about the ideal firm size in the economy is usually determined by the relationship between managerial efficiencies (costs) and market transaction costs- if a small person team can perform efficiently in a small market while keeping their transaction costs low the small business model will be suitable to them. From an academic point of view claims about the social and economic importance have to be empirically proved before any further discussion can be built upon them. At this time, there are no clear normative grounds which substantiate the claims about the significant contribution of Small businesses to overall revenue and employment generation (Priest, 2003); at the most the contributions are equal to that provided by large conglomerates and corporations. However, the rate of failure of small businesses is still a cause of concern for academics and professionals alike because there are some specific proven benefits associated with small businesses with cannot be provided by large firms working on economies of scale and mass production. These pertain to particularized customer demands in small demand markets; a small size market with demands for personalization can only be met by smaller businesses and the society benefits from the increased welfare provided by choice. Failure of the Small business is an accepted phenomenon in the market. In a study done by  Inc.  magazine and the National Business Incubat or Association (NBIA) Statistics it was shown that  80% of new businesses fail within their first year. According to the Small Business Association In 2002, an estimated 550,100 new businesses were established in the U.S., while an estimated 584,000 closed their doors for good bringing the growth rate of small businesses to negative. From those that survive the first year, 8 out of 10 new businesses fail within the first three years. (Mason, 2012). This trend is not associated with US alone; studies in diverse nations like South Africa, Australia, UK, South East Asia have shown the same. The reasons behind these failures can be broadly categorized into External and Internal factors. External factors are those which can only be

Ylindrospermopsin Alkaloids Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ylindrospermopsin Alkaloids - Research Paper Example CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The description of cylindrospermopsin alkaloids is such that they consist of three soluble water toxins that comprise of cylindrospermopsin (CYN) (1), 7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (7-deoxy-CYN) (2) and also 7-epi-cylindrospermopsin (7-epi-CYN) (3). Researchers have signaled towards certain problems related to the toxicological characteristics of these natural compounds, their existence in water and which was followed by their removal. The structural features of these alkaloids are in fact extraordinary comprising of a sulfonated tricyclic guanidine linked to a uracil ring. The beginning of this analysis centers on the isolation of these innate products followed by the investigation into the environmental impact of cylindrospermopsin alkaloids contamination. (1) Figure 1. The cylindrospermopsin alkaloids of cylindrospermopsin (1),7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (2) and 7-epi-cylindrospermopsin (3). 1.1 ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION Credited to Moore and his team usin g a combination of NMR and mass spetroscopy, the extraction of Cylindrospermopsin (1) took place in 1992 from the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. While 7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (2) was discovered in 1999, owing to the purification of cylindrospermopsin which was performed on a regular basis. It was also concluded that the derivate of cylindrospermopsin could also exist in the form of a pair of tautomers because of the fact that the uracil ring’s vinylic proton was not identified during the application of the H NMR technique as shown in figure 2. However, as every sample of 7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (2) was observed the incidence of the uracil group (4) was confirmed by examining the absorbance maximum (?max). Even... Credited to Moore and his team using a combination of NMR and mass spetroscopy, the extraction of Cylindrospermopsin (1) took place in 1992 from the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. While 7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (2) was discovered in 1999, owing to the purification of cylindrospermopsin which was performed on a regular basis. It was also concluded that the derivate of cylindrospermopsin could also exist in the form of a pair of tautomers because of the fact that the uracil ring’s vinylic proton was not identified during the application of the H NMR technique as shown in figure 2. However, as every sample of 7-deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (2) was observed the incidence of the uracil group (4) was confirmed by examining the absorbance maximum (ÃŽ »max). Even though, the measurement of approximate quantity was not possible, it was evident that as a mixture of compounds the natural material indeed existed. The discovery of the 7-epi-cylindrospermopsin took place in 20 02 and it was originally established that it was synthesized with Aphanizomenon ovalisporum. The approximation of cylindrospermopsin’s relative stereochemistry was made by considering the unusualtautomer enol presence of the uracil D ring. To explain the concept, uracil D as described in structure 6 is a intramolecularly hydrogen linked to a nitrogen terminus of the guanidine group. The NMR evidence was made to be the basis of the product correlation which understandably led the research participants to conclude that structure 7 was the most appropriate and relevant description of cylindrospermopsin (1).

Personal Growth Influences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Growth Influences - Essay Example This lifestyle, with it’s exposure to a variety of cultures and ethnicities, has been the learning experience of my lifetime and has made me very much aware of the universality and basic oneness of mankind, despite differences of race, language and religion. It has made me a true ‘citizen of the world.’ The extracurricular activity I have most enjoyed has been running track in High School. This has inculcated in me the passion to go all out to reach my goal, taught me that preparation is the key to success and has given me endurance and the hunger to win. It has also taught me to work as a member of a team towards a common objective and made me appreciate the camaraderie of a commonly motivated group and also the importance of physical fitness in life. The strongest influence of my life has been my parents. My Mother, who is a registered nurse at a retirement home, has influenced me to be sensitive to the needs of the economically and socially disadvantaged and also the aged and the ill. At her suggestion, I have been involved in a community project in which I have visited hospices for the aged over the weekends and spent some time with the inmates, reading to them (mainly the newspapers and the Bible) and helping them with their letters and other correspondence. I have come away from this experience with the certainty that society owes the aged a gift of security and inclusion. I have a deep admiration and respect for my Father, who is an International trader for a major American bank. He treats me not only as his son, but also as his confidante and friend. I am often privy to the information inputs which guide his management techniques and his responses to the various financial complexities involved in his profession. From his experiences, I have understood that the quality of life and the personal happiness of people all over the world is dependent on their financial security, particularly in the later years.

Jessica;s Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jessica;s Law - Essay Example That is why most states have passed some sort of variation of Jessicas Law in their area. However, there are still some sectors of society that argue that the law will do our children more harm than good in the long run mainly because these sexual offenders more often than not commit their acts on family members thus making the law inapplicable to the children living in the homes of these predators. They claim that Jessicas Law does nothing to protect those children (Simerman, J.). Nothing could be further from the truth, as Jessicas Law mandates that all sexual offenders be forced to register with the state and live a minimum of 2,000 feet of children. Those opposed to the law thinking that the children are not protected in their own homes obviously have the wrong idea as to how the law is applied to the offenders. The 2,000 minimum rule means that the offender would have to live practically out of state and the lifetime electronic tagging means that the police will constantly be able to monitor their movements and prevent another crime from happening to a child. â€Å"... the Proposition would not focus on the real problem—dangerous sex offenders—but would instead waste limited resources tracking persons who pose no risk. The new law would create an expensive tracking system for thousands of registrants who were convicted of minor, nonviolent offenses, perhaps years or decades ago. Law enforcement’s resources should be directed toward high risk individuals living in our neighborhoods. â€Å" The current state of predator laws in some states is so murky that a sexual offender can actually find a way around the registration law and even worse, get around the location tracking by simply not having a permanent address. Even more sickening is the fact that some probation officers even advise these dangerous criminals as to how to get around the law. There are even certain situations wherein the predator

Cultural challenges regarding Volvo entering China Essay

Cultural challenges regarding Volvo entering China - Essay Example xvi). The country’s culture will determine how the firm will respond to strategic issues, and how these issues are interpreted (Becker, 2000, p. 90). Sweden verses China – the Cultural Challenges Hofstede’s cultural dimensions will be used as a framework to explain the cultural challenges between Sweden and China. These dimensions are widely used in different contexts, where there is going to a cross-cultural challenge, and different countries will fall within these dimensions (Steenkamp, 1999). Hofstede proposed that culture has different dimensions, and that these dimensions must be taken into account whenever one is looking at cross-cultural relationships. Volvo is based in Sweden, which obviously is a Western country. China is obvioiusly an Eastern country. As such, there is bound to be many cultural challenges which might arise when these two countries merge. One of Hofstede’s dimensions is the concept that some countries are individualistic, while ot her countries are collectivist. Basically, the individualist countries are an â€Å"I† countries – the individuals are paramount, and everybody is expected to be able to go it alone. The collectivist countries, on the other hand, see that everybody is a part of a group. This group might be a family, it might be a clan, or it might be an organization. At any rate, the members of the group, if the country is a collectivist country, show unfailing loyalty to that group (Hofstede, 1984, p. 84). In individualistic cultures, individual concerns are put ahead of group concerns; in collectivist countries, this is just the opposite (Steenkamp, 1999, p. 59). What the research shows is that China is a collectivist country – they score low on the scale for individualism, while Sweden scores high on this scale. What this means is that there is bound to be culture clashes, as the Chinese workers will have loyalty to the people inside their group – research shows that, within the collectivist cultures, the members of a group are willing to share with other members of that group, and are less willing to share with members who are not in that group (Ardchivilli et al., 2006). The Chinese workers therefore might decide to bond together and not share information with the Swedish workers, and this might be the same with the management. On the other hand, the workers and management in Sweden might be reluctant to share with anybody (Ardchivilli, 2006). Another dimension is power distance. The power distance concept has to do with hierarchies. Hierarchies may either be rigid or fluid, respected or not respected. It depends on if the country has a large power distance or a small power distance. The rigid hierarchies are often found in countries that have a large power distance. The hierarchies in these countries are in place, and they are not questioned. Therefore, the members of the hierarchies know their place in the hierarchy, and this is something tha t is accepted by the members of these groups. If there is a power inequality, this does not have to be explained. However, in the case of countries with a smaller power distance, this is not the case. If there are power inequalities within these groups, there needs to an explanation for the power inequalities. Moreover, the members of the hierarchy do not accept their fate – they strive for more equality. This means that, while they might respect the hierarchy, if they are not

Contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Contract law - Essay Example â€Å"When at the desire of the promisor, the promise or any other person has done or abstained from doing, or does or abstains from doing, or promises to do or abstain from doing something, such an act or abstinence or promise is called a consideration for the promise.† â€Å"A contract is an agreement enforceable at law made between two or more persons, by which rights are acquired by one or more to acts or forbearance on the part of the other or others.† (Quoted in ReportBD.com) In the case under study, the contract between Helena and the London Theatre is unilateral one in nature, where though there is a consensus ad idem i.e. both the offerer i.e. London Theatre agrees to sell its product, and the offeree i.e. Helena agrees to pay  £500 as a consideration against the tickets offered by the theatre, yet as the theatre has offered its product to a large number of people, the contract between Helena and the theatre is unilateral one in nature. Unilateral Contract: â€Å"Unilateral contract† according to legal-dictionary, â€Å"is a contract in which only one party makes an express promise, or undertakes a performance without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the other party.† (Quoted in http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/unilateral+contract) The same is applied in the case under study, where the London Theatre has made an express promise without first securing a reciprocal agreement from the public and masses. Helena has tried to enter into the contract with the theatre according to the terms and conditions described in the advertisement made by the theatre. In addition, Helena has made her performance in a prescribed mode as well as within the time period determined by the theatre. Moreover, the offer has been made to the world at large; so it is a general offer. Hence, in the case above-mentioned, both the parties to the contract observe the situation as the court verdict announced by the court of law in the

Vikane Gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Vikane Gas - Essay Example fectively destroys insects at all the active stages of life, whereas it has to be administered in higher doses or for longer periods of exposure to kill insect eggs. It is a highly toxic gas, which acts as a central nervous system depressant; and high concentrations can lead to respiratory failure. The odorless, colorless gas has no warning characteristics (Kamrin 1997) hence it contains the irritant chloropicrin as a warning indicator. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the properties, functions, uses, toxic effects, and various other dimensions of Vikane Gas or Sulfuryl Fluoride. The detection methods and treatment for nerve gases will also be examined. Significantly, sulfuryl fluoride is licensed for use in several countries, which is an important consideration in increasing the use of the fumigant in postharvest control technology. It is currently registered as a structural fumigant, â€Å"and may be effective as a general commodity disinfestation treatment and as a quarantine treatment† (Zettler and Arthur 2000, p.581). In food premises storing grains the fumigant is used carefully because of its toxicity. Further, it is used as a quarantine treatment for dried fruits and nuts where control of the tolerant egg stage need not be taken into consideration; as in destroying an infestation of C. pomonella on walnuts and A. transitella on almonds. Sulfuryl fluoride has the lowest boiling point of any fumigant, -55.20C, and hence is in the gaseous state under all practical fumigation conditions. The exposure routes are mainly through inhalation and through the skin. Vikane gas, a Restricted Use Pesticide is in a pressurized condition in a steel cylinder from which it is dispensed through a hose into the interior of the sealed structure. After the elapse of a period of time, when air levels of sulfuryl fluoride have lowered to 1 part per million (ppm) or less, the interior of the structure is aerated. The Hazard Evaluation Division (HED)

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 29

Economics - Essay Example At this specific combination of price and quantity, both the agents are maximizing their self interests, keeping in mind the other agent’s behavior and satisfying the condition of Pareto-Optimality (Google Docs, page 57-58). A competitive market is identified by three main characteristics: many consumers and many sellers, freedom of choice under the umbrella of perfect information, and the assumption that the agents have a rational behavior in determining their choice, which essentially maximizes their self-interests. To ensure optimality of outcome, the existence of externalities is unacceptable (Howard, 1994, page 384) The market model of a competitive market is thus based on the general assumption that industries seek to maximize their profits, and therefore are competitive. However, given the condition that a single firm is just one part of the many firms in the market, it is projected that it cannot affect the price of the commodity which in this case is ‘the rainwater tanks’. Hence an individual seller is just a price taker, it can be rightly said that it faces a flat demand curve (John and Akila, 2009, page 246) Referring to the diagram (perfect competition) below, the Supply Curve (Ms) interacts with the Demand Curve (Md) in the Industry model, to determine the equilibrium price which is P1, that will become the demand curve of an individual firm i.e. the flat line AR=MC in the Individual Firm model. The quantity supplied by the individual firm is Q1, and the quantity supplied by the overall industry would be the amount on the x-axis (Industry Output), corresponding to P1. The shaded area denoting the profit of any individual firm is an assumption based on the consideration that the supplier has an average cost below the price; However, depending upon every individual firm’s own capacity to supply rainwater tanks and the respective average costs they face, they shall determine their supply curve, and all the individual

Enron Corporation Essay Example for Free

Enron Corporation Essay I  Ã‚   The Beginning When Enron Corporation declared a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2001, it left the public especially its investors and stockholders reeling from such financial scandal and collapse.   Enron had allegedly overstated its profits by $586 million since 1997 in order to protect the firm’s balance sheet and practiced insider trading as well fraud and conspiracy. Enron had been the seventh largest company in the United States and had been one of the largest financial contributors to the Presidential elections, especially the Bush family. To the outside world, Enron portrayed a picture of success.   However, upon closure inspection on the inside, Enron was on the brink of collapse. When Enron’s stock price hit its highest at $90, the executives who allegedly knew of the offshore accounts of Enron started selling their respective shares and to encouraged the public to continue buying the said stocks.   However, the executives knew that the stock prices would not increase anymore but still reassured the public and its investors that the prices of stock would reach a high $130-140 per share. By August 2001, Enron’s stock prices had dropped from $90 to a measly $42. It became evident that the company had fraudulently induced and fooled the public, investors and stockholders to buying the company’s stocks and shares. Amidst all these, Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay continued to reassure the public to remain calm, and asked the investors to buy the company’s shares as the company will regain its profits in the succeeding months. Nonetheless, in October of 2001, the stocks plunged to $15 but the investors saw this as an opportunity to buy Enron stocks at such low prices. But the truth about the company’s financial standing became public and the stock price finally hit rock bottom at $1 per share. II   Basis of the Charges Stockholders and investors gathered and instituted a class-action suit against Enron and its officers in order to recover the millions of investment they made on Enron as result of the false representation and fraud by the company. Enron top executives specifically its Chief Executive Officers, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were charged and convicted with the collapse of the energy giant. Kenneth Lay faced seven counts of fraud and conspiracy while Skilling faced 31 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors about Enron’s financial position. In 1987, Enron auditors found out a billion-dollar oil trading scandal in its New York offices.   Traders had been engaged in this kind of practice – falsifying transactions in order to boost their volume and profit thereby fattening their bonuses as well. Although CEO Kenneth Lay knew of this, he did not fire the traders nor contacted the authorities in order to cover up their problems. But this incident did not deter the traders and six months later, competitors began to grow suspicious because if word got out, Enron’s trading partners could have demanded that the company cover its positions with cash, which the company did not have (Fowler).   Thus, the traders were fired and charged but not until they were able to transfer million of dollars into their personal accounts.   Enron for its part was able to get away by bluffing the market and reported $85 million in loss but sources claim that the loss totalled to at least $135 million. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, who joined Enron in 1990, did not care much about the expenses incurred by the company as long as the margins looked good.   He was also more concerned with the revenues increases and widening profit margins instead of the cash flows which was practiced by his predecessor. So enamoured were the top executives in increasing business profit that when a deal failed or fell apart, more effort was placed into hiding the consequences instead of rectifying and owning up to the problem.   After taking over as chief operating officer, he renewed the almost non-existent post of chief financial officer and delegated many of the management responsibilities. In theory, Enron had mechanisms that would assess risk and accurately report financial numbers. These mechanisms required that deals should be strictly analyzed which included review by the legal department of the originating unit, the corporate legal department, chief risk officer and chief accounting officer.   However, due to the insidious practice of the company, auditors and accountants were bullied to over ride the system and departments were able to determine the total value of their proposals by manipulating the long-term price of whatever product was sold or bought.   The company also used a â€Å"mark-to-market† accounting system pushed by Skilling which allows a company to report as current revenue the total value of a deal over its projected lifetime (Fowler). This system made earning appear good which in turn pumped up the stock prices and increased the value of stocks which executives received as bonuses. III Trial As the stunned investors witnessed Enron’s stock prices plunged, the government began a massive crackdown on the executives who were responsible for the collapse of the company, and would end up in the conclusion of convincing and proving to the jury that Lay and Skilling, the two top executives of the company, where guilty of massive fraud and were thus guilty. Government prosecutors were at first overwhelmed with the girth of the corporate fraud.   Nevertheless, they began to take measures to respond to these kinds of crimes and a barrage of criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions began to surface.   Thus, in 2002, the Presidential Corporate Fraud Task Force filed criminal charges against more than 900 defendants, of which 60 are chief executive or president level and successfully prosecuted or convicted 500 of them. The case against Lay and Skilling were heard by US District Judge Sim Lake and lasted nearly four months while the jury deliberated for six days.   The defense counsel initially attempted to persuade the judge to move the trial away from Houston, Enron’s hometown as they were afraid that the jury might be influenced by anger due to the resulting loss of jobs and money and would see them as a way of revenge. Kenneth Lay faced seven counts of fraud and conspiracy fraud and conspiracy while Skilling on the other hand, faced 31 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors about Enron’s financial position.   Although both asserted their innocence of the charges against them, they were convicted for a total of 29 criminal counts as well as conspiracy to hide the failing health of the company by selling boosterich optimism to Wall Street and the public (MSNBC). Lay, who was convicted to 6 counts of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud in the corporate trial and 4 counts on separate personal banking trial, surrendered his passport and posted a $5 million bond secured by the family.   His sentence also carried a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison for the corporate trial while 120 years in personal trial respectively.   Ã‚  Skilling on the other hand, was convicted by 19 counts out of the 28 charged as well as one count of insider trading while being acquitted with the remaining charges. The charges against   these Enron top executives prospered as other executives turned the table and plead guilty in their respective charges in order to receive lower sentences than that prescribed.   Among the former employees who testified against Lay and Skilling was Ben Glisan who is now serving a 5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy.   According to Glisan, both Lay and Skilling knew that the company was in deep financial trouble but tried to hide it instead. Ultimately, the jury rejected Skilling’s defense that no fraud happened at Enron save for those committed by a number of executives skimming millions in secret side deals, while bad publicity and poor market confidence resulted in the collapse of the energy giant. III. Effects of the Enron Collapse As the jurors found that these once-wealthy and powerful executives repeatedly lied to cover up the real position of the company by covering up accounting and auditing failures which eventually led to its collapse in 2001, the left a devastating effect in the business world as well as the lives of the investors and shareholders.   The demise of Enron wiped out more than $60 billion in market value, almost $2.1 billion in retirement savings and costs more than 5,600 to lose their jobs. The anger of the public over the recent corporate scandals led to the passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was designed to make company executives more accountable. Although public distrust for white-collar trial could not actually reverse the damage done to investor confidence, the Lay and Skilling trial however has become a start of a healing process for public-investor relations to be righted again. IV Timothy Belden Apart from the other key witnesses who were former Enron employees and who testified against the top two Enron officials, Timothy Belden particularly made the charges against Lay and Skilling stick, ending in their conviction.   Belden who was the first person to be charged in the manipulation of Western Energy markets, initially engaged in lengthy dance with federal officials over his plea and eventual cooperation in testifying against Lay and Skilling.   He pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy and admitted that he gave false information to California’s electrical grid operators.   Belden is also said to be the â€Å"mastermind behind the strategies described† in memos that spelled out how Enron manipulated the California market (Schreiber). Beginning in the mid-nineties, California was among the first states to deregulate electricity.   The deregulation occurred just as when companies were leaving the state in numbers thereby creating a recession. The deregulation was supposed to reduce the ten percent of the tax payers’ bill while breaking the old methods of greedy companies.   As California deregulated the wholesale side of its energy markets, it also kept price caps in the retail side. It coincided with the State’s decision to bar utilities from signing long-term cheap fixed prices which forced them to into an unpredictable market.   Thus, the utilities were made to pay exorbitant prices but were not able to pass on to their consumers the prices they incurred.   Enron promised to deliver power more efficiently and build new plants that can run on cheaper fuels. Commencing in 1998 until 2001, Belden as well as other executives from Enron devised a fraudulent scheme in order to obtain increased revenue for Enron from wholesale electricity consumers and other market participants in the State of California. The schemes perpetrated by Belden and the other Enron executives required them to submit false information to the companies supplied by Enron and misrepresented the nature of electricity which the company was supposed to supply. Despite being paid to relieve congestion, the company however, did not do so and instead imported as well as exported electricity in order to receive higher prices from the companies they supply. Of particular interest in the course of the trial is a transcript of conversation between Belden and one of the operators of the power plant wherein the two discussed shutting down one of Reliant’s power plants in California to create a shortage in order for the prices to skyrocket. As the scheme worked, causing the power prices to arrive at high and unjust levels in California, it thereby became illegal under the Federal Energy Policy Act. In his testimony, he called California’s post-deregulation power market dysfunctional and said his company bought cheap electricity in the Northwest to sell in California at a profit (Baker). This practice created the appearance among consumers that there was shortage of electricity, thereby having the need to jack up the prices. Enron was able to pocket off almost $1 billion in a period of nine months in 2000 and 2001. Belden admitted however, that he only met with Lay and Skilling once during a colleague’s party.   But nevertheless, Belden’s testimony proved to be a very crucial one as it confirmed and proved that Lay and Skilling knew of what was happening in California but turned to hide it instead. As company vice-president and head of Enron’s West Coast trading operation, Belden supervised a staff of 120 that went from $50 million in earnings in 1999 to $800 million in 2001, while Californias power markets disintegrated into panic and sky-high prices. When one of Enron’s lawyers started investigating these â€Å"irregularities† as a response to the investigation conducted by the California Public Utility Commission. The lawyers found out of Enron’s tactic of using advantage of the energy crisis and revealed through a memo that Enron created false congestion lines, transferred energy in and out of state to avoid price caps and charged for services the company never actually provided (Swartz).   And yet, inspite of the information the lawyer gave to the top executives, and traders have been told to return the money made on improper trading, the executives at Enron still decided against it despite knowing that the practice was illegal.   For Belden and the other traders, sending the money back would mean that the other companies will know what Enron was doing.   Nevertheless, Belden and Enron continued on with the practice.   Skilling, on the other hand, fully knew well of the said practice by the company in 2001 as he was already tipped by one of the executives who learned of the previous investigation. During examination, Belden admitted to US District Judge Martin Jenkins that he did it because he was trying to maximize profit for Enron. Belden claimed that he was only following Enron’s instructions as he handled his trades (CBS News).   According to Belden’s counsel, Enron knew fully well of Belden’s action but was never disciplined nor sanctioned at all. In fact, Belden may have reaped bonus for such practice as revenues from his trading unit climbed from $50 million in 1999 to $500 million in 2000 to $800 million in 2001.     When he was charged with conspiracy, Belden after a long time of dealing and negotiating with the federal government, decided to turn against Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, claiming that the two top executives knew of the practice he and other traders did as indicated by the internal company memos which described how Enron took power out of California at a time of rolling blackouts and shortages and how it sold out of state to elude price caps (CBS News).

The Trojan Horse Virus: An Overview

The Trojan Horse Virus: An Overview Another type of malware that is not technically a virus because there is usually no auto-replication is a Trojan horse program, which seems to be something useful, as a free utility, but actually contains some kind of malware. The unhappy about a Trojan program that is running the software users willingly and still do not know what is causing problems on their systems. Rootkits are a form of Trojan horse programs that can monitor the traffic from a computer, monitor keystrokes and capturing passwords. Are the most modern backdoor on one system and are between the most insidious Trojan horse software because they can mask that the system has been compromised by changing the file system and drivers needed for the normal operation of the computer. Viruses A virus is a program that spreads, replicating it in other programs or documents. Its only purpose is to interrupt the operation of your computer or network by deleting or corrupting files, disk formatting or by using large quantities of computer resources. Viruses and worms that spread through e-mail attachments were common place for years. They are simple to avoid; just dont open any attachments from emails sent by someone who you arent expecting a message. Even if you know the sender, careful; malware programs may use address book from an e-mail program to send messages, causing you to believe that the message is safe. In fact, most virus scanners detect a virus or worm contained in an e-mail message and often excludes the annex before it ever reaches your Inbox, but if the virus is very new, it cannot be detected. Worm A worm is similar to a virus that replicates automatically, but a worm does not attach to another program; indeed, it is a standalone program. Worms are now more common than viruses, because with the Internet and network connectivity, worms in general do not need help to spread. Whereas a virus requires a user to run the program that contains the virus to operate and then copy this file to spread a worm can do their work without any help and can propagate through a network connection available. Some insidious actions that a worm can commit include using the network bandwidth, deleting files, send e-mails and creating backdoors in computers. NETWORK SECURITY POLICY Without a security policy, the availability of your network can be compromised. The policy begins with the assessment of risk to network and build a team to respond. Continuation of the policy requires the practical implementation of change management and monitoring of network security for breaches of security. Finally, the review process modifies the existing policy and adapts the lessons learned. The last area of responsibility is the answer. While often network monitoring identifies a security violation, the security team members that are the real solution and fixing of such violation. Each Member of the security team should know in detail the security features provided by the equipment in its operational area. While we define the responsibilities of the team as a whole, you must define the individual roles and responsibilities of the security team members in your security policy. Approving Security Changes Security changes are defined as changes to network equipment that can have an impact on overall network security. Your security policy must identify the requirements of specific security configuration in non-technical terms. In other words, instead of setting a requirement as no outside sources FTP connections will be allowed through the firewall, set the requirement as outside connections should not be able to retrieve files from inside the network. You need to define a unique set of requirements for your organization. The security team should review the list of simple language requirements to identify issues of design requirements or specific network configuration. After the team created the network configuration changes necessary to implement the security policy, you can apply these possible future configuration changes. Although it is possible for the security team review all changes, this process enables them to only review the changes that risk sufficient to justify special treatment. We recommend that the security team to review the following types of changes: Any change in the firewall configuration. Any amendment (ACL) of access control lists. Any changes to the configuration of the simple network management protocol (SNMP). Any change or update software that differs from the list of approved software revision. We recommend that you also meet the following guidelines: Change passwords for network devices on a routine basis. To restrict access to network devices to a list of approved personnel. Ensure that the current revision levels of environments software network servers and equipment are in accordance with the security configuration requirements. Monitoring Security of Your Network Security monitoring is similar for network monitoring, except focuses on the detection of network changes that indicate a security breach. The starting point for security monitoring is to determine what constitutes a violation. Conduct a risk analysis, we identify the level of monitoring required based on the threat to the system. By adopting security changes, we identify specific threats to the network. Looking at both of these parameters, I will develop a clear picture of what you need to monitor and frequency. In risk analysis matrix, the firewall is considered a high-risk network, indicating that he should follow. In approving security changes section, youll find that you must monitor for changes to the firewall. This means that the SNMP polling agent should monitor things such as failed login attempts, unusual traffic, changes to the firewall, access granted to the firewall and configuration of connections through the firewall. Following this example, create a monitoring policy to each area identified in your risk analysis. We recommend that the equipment of low risk, medium risk equipment weekly and daily monitoring equipment high-risk per hour. If you need more rapid detection, monitor in a short time interval. Finally, your security policy should address how to notify the security team of security breaches. Often, your network monitoring software will be the first to discover the breach. It should trigger a notification to the operations centre, which in turn shall notify the security team using a pager number, if necessary.

The Debate Over Internet Censorship Essay -- Television Media TV Censo

The Debate Over Internet Censorship Many people believe the Internet has become the World’s Emancipation Proclamation. They believe that this newfound cyber-freedom will free countless generations of people. These people will be of every race, creed and color, whose lives, up until now, have been restrained by the paradigm of governments. Whether it is the United States Government, or the government of a foreign nation, the Internet will be our new Underground Railroad of cyberspace.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recently, the World Wide Web has come under fire from various forms of censorship. Singapore has been a giant of aggressiveness in regard to censorship and technology. But even with Singapore’s relentless efforts for control of the World Wide Web, the public still seeks to stay informed on every issue that concerns mankind. â€Å"As a new technology the Internet defies censorship because of characteristics such as information explosion, de-massification, convergence, computer culture, and globalization† (Kolko 424).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But is this newfound freedom man’s salvation, or the Plagues of Egypt? â€Å"Almost anything is allowed on the Internet as long as it does not violate the laws of the country in which the originator resides. But even if the law of the land is broken, it is nearly impossible to enforce criminal laws out of that country’s borders† (Kolko 426). As we move from our â€Å"own little world† of existence to a limitless arena of information in cyber space, at what cost does this newfound freedom come?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All countries, like most everything else, have evolved to their ideas, beliefs and laws, primarily based on uncontrollable circumstances. Massive mistakes, holocausts of Biblical proportions, financi... ...ce and above all— warranty (10 years or 100,000 miles—5 years or 60,000 miles, bumper to bumper). Now that is competition!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, it is my belief that there is a bright future for Singapore and every other country that allows the freedom of choice for their people. After all it is the people that make a nation, not the governing-few. The governing-few work for us, we do not work for them. And in reality, that is not only true for countries, but states, cities, companies, and industries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is my hope that Singapore will continue to prosper (at least until my warranty runs out), and that all of us can learn to agree to disagree about censorship on the Internet. We may not like what we see or hear, but we should hold in highest regard the rights of everyone to be allowed the privilege to decide for their self.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Target Markets for Different Companies Essay -- Corn Flakes, Disney Wo

Identify possible target markets for the following products: A. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes C. Disney World B. Wilsons Tennis Rackets D. Diet Pepsi A. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes: When I think about Kellogg’s target market for their classic corn flakes to me the marketing is simple. A wholesome product for your family, a breakfast staple for many homes for many years. In recent years Kellogg has marketed corn flakes to the average American family of 4 or more with middle and upper middle class income, and a busy lifestyle. A big opportunity for them has been the fact that this generation of US consumers are concerned more than ever about healthy food, we also have very hectic lives. So touting corn flakes as a healthy breakfast that is quick is a perfect way to appeal to a variety of families. In 2012 they launched a campaign geared towards reminding consumers about the simplicity of the ingredients in their oldest brands, one of them corn flakes with only 4 ingredients. Jogging the memories of consumers that they have always been a healthy, easy delicious choice for breakfast. Reiterating that this is not a new concept for Kellogg’s, but one th ey have been valuing for 100 years. Communicating to families that they know the modern family has a busy life and not much time for a healthy breakfast, corn flakes satisfies that need. The colors they use on their corn flakes box even accentuate this idea. The three colors green, red and yellow all represent different things to consumers. Green represents the environment, nature and organics. Red indicates energy, and a sense of urgency. Lastly, yellow signifies sunshine energy and happiness (Coffin, 2011). They also subtly target children with these three bright colors in a simple almos... ... a cola option that is â€Å"guilt free†. They also push the fact that it tastes the same as regular Pepsi telling them they don’t have to sacrifice taste for lower calories like most diet products. The target women is in her 20’s and 30’s single, dating age so she watches her weight. Diet Pepsi is a great option for her at the bar as well. She is middle class to upper middle class in a city, and she has no children. She dates a lot and is outgoing, she drinks and eats diet products because like all women her age she wants to look good and dreads going up a pants size. â€Æ' Works Cited AECOM. (2013). Theme Park Attendance Report for 2012. Wikipedia. Coffin, D. (2011, November 14). Color Psychology and Online Marketing. Retrieved from www.practicalecommmerce.com: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3166-Color-Psychology-and-Online-Marketing

Vertigo Essay -- essays research papers fc

VERTIGO   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a thrilling film filled with mystery and suspense. However, Hitchcock left many unsolved issues at the end of this film. In contrast, when comparing Vertigo to more recent films of similar genre’, mysteries are usually always solved and thoroughly explained by the end of the film. Ironically, Hitchcock’s failure to explain everything to the audience in Vertigo is one of the film’s best attributes. This lack of knowledge allows the viewer to use their own imagination and speculate as to what might or might not have become of certain characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vertigo boasted several different themes. However, the â€Å"Ideal Woman – Lost† theme was the most prevalent (â€Å"Handout #1†). This theme was brought on by an obsessed â€Å"everyman† type. Jimmy Stewart, otherwise known as Scottie in the film, played this â€Å"everyman† type whose personality was maliciously twisted into an overly obsessive man. His cause for obsession was a beautiful, young woman played by Kim Novak, known as both Madeleine and Judy in the film. Madeleine drew Scottie in so deep, that he literally became a different person. This film mirrored Hitchcock’s personal feelings and was considered to be his favorite film.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While there are many scenes that prove the above theme, the following are three specific scenes that clearly spell out Scottie’s obsession. The scene where Scottie was sitting in his car alone after dropping Midge off at her home is a good first example. Midge and Scottie had just spent an afternoon together researching Carlotta Valdes’ history. Before Midge got out of the car she told Scottie, much to his dismay, that she was going view Carlotta’s portrait at the museum. As soon as Midge got out of the car, Scottie pulled out his brochure from the museum and turned to the page that hosted Carlotta’s portrait. As he stared at her picture for several moments, he began to visualize Madeleine’s face. Clearly this was one of the first signs of his growing obsession. An old college buddy hired Scottie to follow his wife, Madeleine, to discover where she was â€Å"wandering† off to. However, this job was consuming his life and S cottie was developing a serious intrigue for Madeleine, a very mysterious woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another good exam... ...of a character. Hitchcock does an excellent job at relaying Scottie’s swelling obsession to his viewers. Visualizing Madeleine while Scottie was looking at the picture of Carlotta, his invasion of Madeleine’s personal space, a so-called stranger, and whispering her name, and then trying to makeover Judy into another person who is supposedly dead are all very apparent signs of obsession. These signs successfully show the viewer that Scottie is thoroughly engrossed with his subject, Madeleine, who had been â€Å"lost†. The viewer is left to assume that Scottie will be unable to return to the emotionally stable person he was before the obsession took control of his life. Alfred Hitchcock was definitely ahead of his time and paved the way for many film-makers to learn from and expand on his expertise of being able to reach an audience, capture their attention, and make the audience feel what the characters are feeling. Works Cited Handout #1: Alfred Hitchcock & Notes on Vertigo Giannetti, Louis. Understanding Movies. 8th ed. New Jersey: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Stewart, James, perf. Vertigo. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. James Steward, Kim Novak. Universal Pictures, 1958.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: American Youth Challenge Sexual Stereotypes

During the 1920s, some Americans—especially young college students—challenged traditional notions of proper behaviour. Encouraged by the decade’s prosperity, young people threw parties, drank illegal liquor, and danced new, sexually suggestive steps at jazz clubs. The 1920s saw a restless culture, spearheaded by America’s youth rebelling against the moral restrictions of past generations.After decades where a children directly married and entered adulthood the 1920s saw an emergence of a new group of people who were willing to push social norms, rebel against strict conservative values of their parents and shape culturally a relatively new society. The emergence of a youth culture was possible because of the rapid growth of sex, drugs and rock and roll; a time where conservative ideologies were imposed on liberal minds and a new rebellious youth society was born.The Sex: The flapper, one of the symbols of the 1920s, a new term used to describe a new group of young women who wore excessive makeup, drank, treated sex in a causal manner, smoke, drove automobiles and amongst everything discarded social and sexual norms. The typical flapper look was tomboyish and flamboyant: short bobbed hair; knee-length, fringed skirts, draping necklaces; and rolled stockings (Meyerowitz, 1275). The flapper’s behaviour was considered outlandish at the time, as it redefined women’s roles in society.These women began working outside of the home, thus challenging women’s traditional societal roles; they advocated for women’s rights and behaved in many circumstances like men. Although few women actually fit this image, it was used widely in journalism and advertising to represent the rebelliousness of the period. The flapper was portrayed in many Hollywood films and this new independent women attempted to empower other women to do the same. The introduction of flappers into daily life through media allowed for Americans to be int roduced to more liberal ways of thinking which allowed for the beginnings of the sexual revolution.Although all women were drawn to the rebellious ways of the flapper, many young urbanized women clung on to this new style of dress and behaviour and further questioned American social norms about sex and the role of women outside of the home. In addition with new social thinking and activities came new social conventions. Most prominently among the youth of the 1920s, sex became far less taboo than it had been previously. The sexual revolution was a social outlook that challenged traditional codes of behavior which related to sexuality and relationships between women and men.This revolution took place throughout the western world especially in the United States from the 1920s until the mid 1970s. Many of the changes brought about through the sexual revolution developed into new mainstream codes of sexual behavior. More and more of Americas youth both males and females alike were adopt ing these new sexual norms which were depicted in films and advertisements, this led to an increase in pre-marital sex and the introduction of casual dating into society.This increase in sex amongst non-married youth led naturally to the promotion of birth control, first with the condom, and secondly the birth control pill introduced in 1960 which allowed for women for the first time to choose if and when they wanted to become mothers (Tice, 153). These new methods of birth control brought with it changing ideas about women; female sexuality was less suppressed, skirt hems were worn higher, and makeup became more common.This change from a more conservative representation of women and men into a more risque depiction demonstrates a change in a societal and cultural outlook of what is acceptable. Jumping on this new more liberated bandwagon many companies depicted the new social norms in their advertisements Sex was more openly discussed and pre-marital sex more common; these new less traditional ideas about sex and sexual relationships was traveling fast across America to much dismay of the older more conservative generation.The TV, a device of ass communication along with other media outlets such as radios and magazines could broadcast information in a matter of seconds to millions of people; this large audience was broadcast ideas which transformed into social norms such as consumerism and sexual liberation. Sex and pre-marital relations were demonstrated in films, advertisements and talked about on the radio. People across the country were being introduced to these new less conservative ideas and a growing youth population was adopting these new values.Appendix A (a coke add from the 1030s) demonstrates the change in the way that women were portrayed in advertisements. The female character on the left from 1886 where she is fully clothed and proper, whereas the female character on the right from 1936, only 50 years later is dressed in only a bathing suit and is revealing much more skin. These advertisements demonstrated the change in society, through only 50 years what Americans deemed acceptable changed drastically and this is largely due to the sexual revolution started in part by America’s youth. The Drugs:Prohibition in the United States was a national ban, which made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport alcoholic beverages, went into effect from 1920 to 1933. Enforcement of prohibition, however, was sporadic, under funded and faced opposition in many northern states and cities. Bootleggers smuggled liquor from the West Indies and Canada, while â€Å"saloons† in every city provided alcohol illegally. Organized crime controlled the distribution of alcohol in major American cities, and gangsters such as Al Capone made a fortune while law enforcement officials often looked the other way.Capone’s income in 1927 was reportedly over $1 million, while the average American’s income was below $2,500 (Har ding, 1275-1276). Once again the more liberal minds of American youth along with many northerners who were apposed to this amendment refused to abide by these laws. Many southerners believed that the only behaviour associated with alcohol was mischief, fighting, gambling, and pre-marital sexual relations. The 1920s saw a growth of popular recreation, in part because of higher wages and increased leisure time.Mass circulation magazines like Readers digest and Time because hugely successful, radio rose in prominence as a source of news and entertainment, movies were an immensely popular leisure activity that children youths and adults alike all participated in and they all promoted the consumption of alcohol and tobacco (Glantz, 321). The ban on alcohol in America was lifted in part to attempt to restore economic prosperity during the great depression and in part to satisfy the desires of many liberal thinkers, northerners and youth who possessed a disregard for these constitutional a mendments.By the mid 1950s, when the consumption of alcohol was less taboo in the American society even Coca-Cola ads incorporated the use of their product with the sale and consumption of alcohol. Appendix B (coke add from the 1960s) demonstrates the willingness of Coca-Cola advertisers to associate their product with imported wines, and in later years Coca-Cola adds were associated with hard liquor stating that their product was â€Å"mixable†. The Rock & Roll: The 1920’s marked amazing changes to the already booming music industry, the introduction of the phonograph.This instrument allowed the distribution of music to flow much more freely, surpassing sales of both piano rolls and sheet music put together. The decade also marked the dawning of independent record labels which would in the latter part of the century spawn its own genre of music known as â€Å"Indy†. The two most popular form of music at the time was a typical ballroom style the bland boring son g of yesteryear, but then a sound was heard by the masses of which they never heard, it came booming from the bayou of a New Orleans and it was called jazz.Upon its first introduction to the masses jazz was a commercial success until the public found out that it was typically written and performed by African American artists. Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Duke Ellington all well known African American jazz artists preformed their upbeat melodies over the radio and in small bars giving a voice to African American culture and struggles (Aabery, 17). In and era of which racism was still rampant it was very difficult for the adult public to accept the music not for what it was but for who performed it.Alas it came down to America’s youth who finding jazz was similar in theory to their parents ballroom but with a more upbeat beat which encouraged dancing , the teens rebelled against their parents clear cut bigot beliefs and began listening to it giving jazz its true introduct ion into American homes in the late twenties. This was not the last time that teenage rebellion would give birth to new music trends . The 1960’s could easily be considered a time where rock and roll was truly born.The 1960’s bred an era of conformity men wore 3 piece suits day and night, women were stay at home mothers who’s place was in the kitchen and children were to abide my their parents wishes to the letter. A booming economy and a booming population the United States all was well though they were completely unaware that there was a pending invasion from Britain which would change their country in ways they could never imagine. The â€Å"British Invasion† began in late 1962 introducing a true rock band to American youths, The Beetles.Banned from their own country’s airwaves by their government the Beetle’s music debuted in the United States in the summer of 1962 igniting teens with a passion in which the likes would never be seen agai n. Banned in its own country and almost immediately band from every home by its adult occupants it was at first difficult to listen to until several business would play rock music in their stores to attract younger peoples business . Establishments like â€Å" Malt Shoppes† became places of congregation for teenagers looking to get a taste of their favorite drink and a bit of good old rock and roll.Soon the fandom of Americas youth became hysterical lines of screaming fans would wait all day to get a glimpse of their favorite bands, young women swooning and fainting at the mere sight of their idols who were in their parents minds the least reputable characters to ever look up to, they didn’t cut their hair, the wore strange clothes and spoke all to freely, traits which soon would be inherent in the majority of all American teens.This Also Gave birth the idea of free thinking teens who for the first time picked up an instrument and began to play because it was deemed co ol by the media, who rebelled not only against their parents particular views but the law, sit ins in parks, walk outs in schools and riots in the streets were just the beginning of what appeared to be a very long decade, until finally it all came to a boiling point in the penultimate year of the 1960’s.Until finally in 1969 it all boiled over on a 600 acre dairy farm in the town of Bethl, New York, Thousands of people flocked to see all of their favourite rock bands perform at what would come to be known as Woodstock, a festival that united for the first time in the history of the country people of every race, color, and gender all in one place for a single purpose, an event that would not be seen for nearly another 30 years (Pompper et Al, 276-279).Showing truly the power of individuality which the youth of America possessed to not survive but thrive in a sea of conformity of which their parents had built around them proving to the world that it could be changed. You would hardly be able to see a Coca-Cola add after the mid 1940s which was not directly advertised towards American youth. It was geared towards the new generation, full of liberal values and ideas of consumerism; they were for the first time in the history of America the â€Å"haves† as opposed to the â€Å"have nots†.Coca-Cola ads featured American hero’s such as baseball star Babe Ruth or boxer Jack Dempsey. Coca-Cola ads demonstrate the progression of many things throughout American life in the 20th century however evident is the transformation from a conservative adult run society to a more liberal youth orientated one. The introduction of sex, drugs and rock and roll into the American way of life by youths throughout the 2oth century has redefined social and sexual norms.

Lesson Plan Essay

â€Å"In modern times there are opposing views about the practice of education. There is no general agreement about what the young should learn either in relation to virtue or in relation to the best life; nor is it clear whether their education ought to be directed more towards the intellect than towards the character of the soul†¦. And it is not certain whether training should be directed at things useful in life, or at those conducive to virtue, or at non-essentials†¦. And there is no agreement as to what in fact does tend towards virtue. Men do not all prize most highly the same virtue, so naturally they differ also about the proper training for it. † Aristotle wrote that passage more than 2,300 years ago, and today educators are still debating the issues he raised. Different approaches to resolving these and other fundamental issues have given rise to different schools of thought in the philosophy of education. We will examine five such schools of thought: Essentialism, Progressivism, Perennialism, Existentialism, and Behaviorism. Each has many supporters in American education today. Taken together, these five schools of thought do not exhaust the list of possible educational philosophies you may adopt, but they certainly present strong frameworks from which you can create your own educational philosophy. Essentialism â€Å"Gripping and enduring interests frequently grow out of initial learning efforts that are not appealing or attractive. † William Bagley Essentialism refers to the â€Å"traditional† or â€Å"Back to the Basics† approach to education. It is so named because it strives to instill students with the â€Å"essentials† of academic knowledge and character development. The term essentialism as an educational philosophy was originally popularized in the 1930s by the American educator William Bagley (1874A1946). The philosophy itself, however, had been the dominant approach to education in America from the beginnings of American history. Early in the twentieth century, essentialism was criticized as being too rigid to prepare students adequately for adult life. But with the launching of Sputnik in 1957, interest in essentialism revived. Among modern supporters of this position are members of the President’s Commission on Excellence in Education. Their 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, mirrors essentialist concerns today. Underlying Philosophical Basis (American) essentialism is grounded in a conservative philosophy that accepts the social, political, and economic structure of American society. It contends that schools should not try to radically reshape society. Rather, essentialists argue, American schools should transmit the traditional moral values and intellectual knowledge that students need to become model citizens. Essentialists believe that teachers should instill such traditional American virtues as respect for authority, perseverance, fidelity to duty, consideration for others, and practicality. Reflecting its conservative philosophy, essentialism ten(tends to accept the philosophical views associated with the traditional, conservative elements of American society. For example, American culture traditionally has l)placed tremendous emphasis on the central importance of tile physical world and of understanding the world through scientific experimentation. As a result, to convey important knowledge about our world, essentialist educators emphasize instruction in natural science rather than non-scientific disciplines such as philosophy or comparative religion. The Essentialist Classroom Essentialists urge that the most essential or basic academic skills and knowledge be taught to all students. Traditional disciplines such as math, natural science, history, foreign language, and literature form the foundation of the essentialist curriculum. Essentialists frown upon vocational, lift-adjustment, or other courses with â€Å"watered down† academic content. Elementary students receive instruction in skills such as writing, reading, measurement, and computers. Even while learning art and music, subjects most often associated with the development of creativity, the students are required to master a body of information and basic techniques, gradually moving from less to more complex skills and detailed knowledge. Only by mastering the required material for their grade level are students promote(l to the next higher grade. Essentialist programs are academically rigorous, for both slow and fast learners. The report A Nation at Risk reflects the essentialist emphasis on rigor. It calls for more core requirements, a longer school day, a longer academic year, and more challenging textbooks. Moreover, essentialists maintain that classrooms should be oriented around the teacher, who ideally serves as an intellectual and moral role model for the students. The teachers or administrators decide what is most important for the students to learn and place little emphasis on student interests, particularly when they divert time and attention from the academic curriculum. Essentialist teachers focus heavily on achievement test scores as a means of evaluating progress. In an essentialist classroom, students are taught to be â€Å"culturally literate,† that is, to possess a working knowledge about the people, events, ideas, and institutions that have shaped American society. Reflecting the essentialist emphasis on technological literacy, A Nation at Risk recommends that all high school students complete at least one semester of computer science. Essentialists hope that when students leave school, they will possess not only basic skills and an extensive body of knowledge, but also disciplined, practical minds, capable of applying schoolhouse lessons in the real world. Progressivism We may, I think, discover certain common principles amid the variety of progressive schools now existing. To imposition from above is opposed expression and cultivation of individuality; to external discipline is opposed free activity; to learning from texts and teachers, learning through experience; to acquisition of’ isolated skills and techniques by drill is opposed acquisition of them as means of attaining ends which make direct vital appeal; to preparation for a more or less remote future is opposed making the most of the opportunities of present life; to statistics and materials is opposed acquaintance with a changing world. John Dewey Progressivism’s respect for individuality, its high regard for science, and its receptivity to change harmonized well with the American environment in which it was created. The person most responsible for the success of progressivism was John Dewey (1859-1952). Dewey entered the field of education as a liberal social reformer with a background in philosophy and psychology. In 1896, while a professor at the University of Chicago, Dewey ounded the famous Laboratory School as a testing ground for his educational ideas. Dewey’s writings and his work with the Laboratory School set the stage for the progressive education movement, which, beginning in the 1920s, has produced major lasting innovations in American education. The progressivist movement stimulated schools to broaden their curricula, making education more relevant to the needs and interests of students. Its influence waned during the 1950s, particularly after the 1957 launching of Sputnik by the Soviets prompted schools to emphasize traditional instruction in math, science, foreign languages, and other defense-related subjects. In the late 1960s and 1970s, under the guise of citizenship education and educational relevance, many of Dewey’s ideas enjoyed a renewed popularity that decreased again during the education reform movement of the 1980s.

Utilitarianism and Happiness

The philosophical theory that I choose to do is called â€Å"utilitarianism†. In a brief sentence, utilitarianism means the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Basically what this means is, doing the right thing is based on how many people your action benefits rather than how much it benefits you. According to the Oxford American Dictionary utility means â€Å"the state of being useful, profitable, or beneficial†(oxford dictionary,2013). The whole theory is all about how much it benefits and how useful or profitable an action or an idea is. For example: if killing one criminal brings forth happiness to a hundred people, then killing that one criminal is not a bad idea. Simply because it makes one hundred people happy. According to utilitarian’s the ultimate goal or the most important part of life is to seek happiness. But the happiness that you seek must not only benefit you, but it has to benefit a large sum of the people. This is called the â€Å"greatest happiness principle†(Wikipedia, Feb, 11,2013). Now this is the main idea of utilitarianism, but it does branch out in the different direction due to many philosophers that thought of this theory. Utilitarianism is not discovered by just one person, it’s made up of many ideas from many different philosophers. Although many people believe that utilitarianism started with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, there were philosophers that came up with similar ideas as utilitarianism. Before we talk about the authors of this theory, we must really understand the history of utilitarianism and how it came to be. Way back in history when humans invented writing in the Sumerian Civilization of the Old Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian people wrote a poem/story called the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh† about a friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In this story there’s a character by the name of Siduri that tells Gilgamesh â€Å"Fill your belly. Day and night make merry. Let days be full of joy. Dance and make music day and night†(Wikipedia, Feb, 3, 2013). This quote dates back to the very first advocacy of hedonistic philosophy in the human civilization. It is believed to be written during 2500 – 2000 B. C. A little forward in time and we come to meet Aristippus of Cyrene (435 – 356 BC). Aristippus is a student of one of the greatest philosophers to ever oam the planet, the father of philosophy, Socrates. Though Aristippus didn’t follow in the footsteps of his teacher, he had his own ideas and own theories of philosophy, one of them being hedonism. Aristippus idea of hedonism is that all people have the right to do anything to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure. For example: if drinking and doing drugs bring you the greatest amount of pleasure and happiness, then there is nothing wrong in doing so. You may be asking yourself, why I am telling you about the history of hedonism. So let me explain, in the 18th – 19th century. The British philosopher’s by the name of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill came up with the theory of utilitarianism by taking hedonism of Aristippus and adding the â€Å"greatest happiness principle† (Kerby Anderson, 2012). The hedonistic theory of doing anything to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure turned into doing anything to achieve the â€Å"greatest good for the greatest number of people† which is now called utilitarianism, this philosophical theory is basically an innovation of hedonism. Though many philosophers had part in its discovery, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill brought utilitarianism to its true glory, if they didn’t explain their philosophy in the way they did. Perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this essay right now. So the ones to be credited for utilitarianism is Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. But its not to say that this theory doesn’t have its advantages and disadvantages. Like all things in life, there are benefits and there are hindrances. The Advantage of utilitarianism is simply the happiness that you gain from doing something, whether the happiness is for you or someone you care about. In the end, someone is happy. If you’re in confusion on a certain decision and don’t know what to do, you can simply apply the greatest happiness theory and make your decision based on that. That way, you don’t seem selfish only thinking about your happiness and people will respect that choice and someday repay your kindness by sacrificing their happiness for yours. By sacrificing your happiness for someone else already makes you good human being. Its fits to show that our actions have consequences. If someone cares only about his/her actions alone, he/she wouldn’t have many friends ue to the lack to affection and concerns that he/she shows towards others. Another important advantage of utilitarianism is when you’re faced with a challenging and difficult task; it gives you the methodology of choosing the right path, the one that will benefit the most people. Instead of questioning how beneficial it will be for you. You begin to value other peopleâ⠂¬â„¢s happiness over your own. Therefore giving you the best possible option. Though it is good to put other before you, utilitarianism has its disadvantages as well. This particular philosophical theory has many disadvantages, but the one that matters to me is. Utilitarian’s only care about happiness, whatever brings the greatest amount of people the greatest amount of happiness. Sure, happiness is good, but what about people who don’t get that happiness. For example: out of 50 people, 35 of them get happiness. What happens to the other 15 people? Are we to just ignore how they feel? They are humans too, they have feelings as well. We can’t abandon them just because the other 35 people are happy. Secondly, if we care about others more than we care about ourselves. How can we possibly be able to live with ourselves? We can’t always be looking out for other people. We have to take care of ourselves as well. In the end, it’s our life. We have to look out for ourselves and make the decisions based on how well our life is going to be. There’s a saying in the famous movie pirate of the Caribbean â€Å"Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a wrong decision†(Jonathan Pryce, 2003) So, I strongly believe that when it comes to making life changing decisions, we must always put ourselves before others.

Rhodes Personal Statement Essay

Soaked in sweat, I sat deep in thought on the small mound of sand and broken rocks in northern Kenya, where 1.7 million years ago a desperately ill Homo erectus woman had died. Her death had entranced me for years. KNM-ER 1808 had died of Hypervitaminosis A, wherein an overdose of Vitamin A causes extensive hemorrhaging throughout the skeleton and excruciating pain. Yet a thick rind of diseased bone all over her skeleton—ossified blood clots—tells that 1808 lived for weeks, even months, immobilized by pain and in the middle of the African bush. As noted in The Wisdom of the Bones, by Walker and Shipman, that means that someone had cared for her, brought her water, food, and kept away predators. At 1.7 million years of age, 1808’s mere pile of bones is a breathtaking, poignant glimpse of how people have struggled with disease over the ages. Since that moment two summers ago, I’ve been fascinated by humans’ relationship with disease. I want to research paleopathology, the study of ancient diseases, in relation to human culture, specifically sex and gender. At first glance my education doesn’t quite reflect my passion for paleopathology. I am often asked how bachelor’s degrees in Women’s Studies and Anthropology coadunate. Women’s Studies and my related community service have honed my analytical skills, led me to the idea of studying sex and gender in relation to disease, and given my life and work a social conscience. I had participated in activism before college, yet my undergraduate experiences radically altered how I viewed the world and its potential for social change. Travel, conversation partnering, activism, and classes in Anthropology, African American, and Women’s Studies taught me to think critically about human culture and behavior. Meanwhile, gender-equity organizing and assaults in the local community showed me the need for activism against sexual assault. I’ve focused on prevention, fueled by a strong personal need to make the world a less painful place. Most inspiring was organizing the â€Å"Outrage Rally against Sexual Assault,† which attempted to raise awareness about and de-stigmatize assault in response to a series of assaults on the Mythic University campus. This rally had a positive impact in empowering survivors, evidenced by subsequent increased reporting of assault rates. Organizing has also taught me successful leadership and teamwork skills, applicable to academic and social settings.  I’ve learned the subtleties of integrating multiple perspectives into a shared vision and a success through networking with University administrators, Police Departments, nationally recognized activists, Congress persons, fellow students, and the general public. As head organizer for Mythic University’s 20xx â€Å"Take Back the Night,† attended by more than 500 people, I headed a seven-committee, twenty-person organizing team. In addition to recognition, as with the 20xx Service Award—Mythic University’s highest undergraduate award for good citizenry and academics—organizing has honed my critical thinking skills and prepared me for performing innovative and multidisciplinary graduate research. I want to study the relationship between human pathology and culture, looking specifically at disease in the context of sex and gender in non-modern European These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/ populations. My field of interest is new in paleopathology, so I will integrate paleoepidemiology and paleodemography—the studies of ancient disease processes and population dynamics—with gender and cultural studies and European history, contextualizing disease historically and culturally. My goal is to look at what health and disease can tell us macrocosmically and individually about social and sexual inequity, socioeconomic class, and gender-related quality of life. Research experiences, such as working as a research assistant in a craniofacial morphometrics lab, studying skulls, and doing field work in Pennsylvania, Kenya, the Orkney Islands, West Virginia, and South Dakota, have prepared me well for graduate school. I’ve conducted ethnographic, paleontological, demographic, archaeological, cultural, and osteological research. I am currently co-authoring an article on the implications of Forager’s mating and marriage practices for sociobiological theory, while working on a research paper on craniofacial morphology in Medieval Denmark. I also completed a senior thesis on Amerindian women’s culturally influenced reproductive health issues. With confidence, I want to proceed with graduate work at Oxford to gain a higher degree and greater research opportunities in the midst of British culture. My work this year at the Smithsonian  Institute’s National Museum of Natural History has galvanized and confirmed my devotion to paleopathology. An anthropological fantasy realized: I am surrounded by invaluable research opportunities and constant, stimulating dialogue with future colleagues, and vast and exotic collections including cave bear skulls, dinosaurs, and the renowned Terry skeletal Collection. Volunteer work cataloguing the Bab edh-Dra skeletal collection and independent research exploring metabolic diseases’ effects on the skull using CT imaging technology have taught me the reality of professional research. Concurrently, this year has allowed me to further realize my personal interests. I practice fine arts, read extensively, love to travel, and have a whirlwind tour of Western Europe planned for December. I am hiking and backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, playing rugby, running, and I am training my four-year-old horse for jumping and cross-country riding and competitions. I believe that my personal interests, experiences, and social conscience would contribute as much as my research skills to Oxford’s social and intellectual culture. Oxford offers me an opportunity to pursue a Master’s in European Archaeology while taking supplementary courses in pathology, anatomy, modern European History, and social and cultural anthropology. Equally, I could have research guidance from staff in Biological Anthropology and the Human Sciences program, where human culture, biology, and behavior in response to disease are being actively studied. At Oxford, I could nurture and share a unique set of social experiences, nurture and explore my research interests, and contribute an innovative, informative, and multidisciplinary new approach to my field. Ensconcing myself in British culture, intellectual environment, and vigorous research at Oxford is the chance of a lifetime. I hope to be able to seize it. These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/ Sample Rhodes Scholarship Personal Statement—Student #2 Personal Statement by Janet Lerner for the Rhodes Scholarship I have found my mentor, and I’d like to tell you who it is and how this has come about. I have not yet met him face-to-face, but he has already taught me how to begin  this essay with his words. Professor Anthony D. Nuttall, writing in his book Openings, tells us, â€Å"†¦All good openings are somehow naturally rooted, more or less remote, of an original creative act: in medias res, as against ‘In the beginning’.† Nuttall describes the importance of an opening by demonstrating the difference between the actual opening lines and the first sense of action, which will become the plot. The â€Å"original creative act† to which he refers applies as well to young scholars. I recognize now that I am in the process of becoming the scholar I will always be becoming. This process currently involves research that is the basis for my senior honors thesis: investigating two British poets’ incorporation of classical Greek and Roman mythology into their poetry. I have begun studying Geoffrey Chaucer and Alfred Lord Tennyson, both of whom make active use of myth in their works. The philosophy of intertextuality, a specific interest of Professor Nuttall’s, is apparent in his research on the influence of Roman and Greek classics on British poets, the very topic I have chosen for my honors thesis. While I am learning from reading Professor Nuttall’s books, specifically his A Common Sky: Philosophy and the Literary Imagination, the opportunity to work with him would inspire me to pursue further research in this field and enrich my understanding of literature and its critical theories. My interest in British poets and their use of classical literature evolves from a paper I presented at the 20xx Novus Et Antiquus Conference. I had the privilege of being selected as one of five undergraduates to attend this faculty conference, where I presented my work on classical mythology’s influence on the medieval author Geoffrey Chaucer’s poems The Knight’s Tale and The Parliament of Fowls. There Chaucer uses the Roman gods and goddesses to orchestrate the fates of the two female characters. Through the intervention of these deities, Chaucer shows compassion for women and grants mercy to both females. My experience as a college junior presenting a paper at a faculty conference proved gratifying on another level as well: I was pleased to receive guidance from the professors, and also to be complimented on my pronunciation of Middle English quotations. I came to Chaucer only after reading Chrà ©tien de Troyes’ Lancelot. In this  Arthurian romance, Chrà ©tien represents Lancelot as conflicted—the kind of chivalrous knight whom one expects to find only in myth, yet, in violation of the code of honor, desirous of his lord’s queen. I began thinking of the tales of the Arthurian knights as more than legendary—as potentially credible historical accounts. I wrote a paper on Gawain’s rhetoric as a means to elicit specific responses in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain’s rhetorical strategies and their manipulations ultimately led him to a These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/  deeper personal recognition and self-acceptance. This early exercise alerted me to strategies of language in the Middle Ages.  A post-graduate education at Oxford based on personal tutorials and independent research is precisely the type of program I now need to pursue. Through several independent study courses in my undergraduate curriculum, I have become even more self-motivated and have been gratified to discover that discussion between teacher and student has helped me develop my best work. Professor Nuttall is a Fellow of Oxford’s New College, the ideal place to continue my studies in medieval literature because it was built at the height of the medieval period, the era on which I plan to focus in my graduate study. I was pleased to discover that New College is also one of only four colleges that participate in the Oxford Access Scheme, a program that reaches out to inner-city students and encourages them to seek a higher education. This program provides all students with an equal opportunity to apply to a university as prestigious as Oxford. In participating in this program, New College seeks qualified students who may not have the socio-economic ability or confidence to apply to and attend Oxford. I would like to become involved in this program because I have worked with students in similar situations from the Boys and Girls Club near my hometown, and have found supporting these students to be very rewarding. My reasons for applying for a Rhodes Scholarship to work with Professor Nuttall have roots in a study I undertook in 20xx. While reading Shakespeare’s The Tempest, I found a single line in which the allegorical unicorn becomes a link between  the medieval era and the Renaissance. I became interested in the villain Sebastian’s professed disbelief in the unicorn, that imaginary animal symbolic of Jesus Christ in medieval bestiaries. My research on the historical symbolism of the unicorn in medieval literature led me to conclude that in rejecting the unicorn, Sebastian implies that he also rejects Christianity. An interesting aspect of The Tempest that I have not yet pursued is the masque, in which the Roman goddesses Iris, Ceres, and Juno descend upon the island in preparation for Miranda and Ferdinand’s wedding. My earlier interest in Shakespeare’s use of the allegorical unicorn will create a focus for study when combined with the masque of the Roman goddesses in The Tempest. Shakespeare’s integration of Christianity and classical mythology is yet another area I would like to explore with Professor Nuttall, for not only has he published on philosophy; he has also written Two Concepts of Allegory: A Study of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the Logic of Allegorical Expression. The adventure of Sir Gawain—which leads him to a deeper understanding of self—is not unlike the journey I have undertaken, a journey I hope will lead me to Oxford University, its Bodleian Library, and study with Anthony Nuttall and other mentors. Oxford will provide me the opportunity to learn directly from authorities in my field who will help guide me in my quest to become a scholar. Like Gawain, I am striving to realize my potential through my own adventure. These pages were downloaded from Writing Personal Statements Online, available at https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/