The Boston Photographs Essay Example for Free

The Boston Photographs Essay The Boston Photographs Stanley Foreman, a journalist for the Boston Herald American, captured three famous photographs of a fire rescue case which reminded me of my grandmothers tragedy, displayed the themes of tragedy and anger, parallels to the movie World Trade Center, and aligns with my opinion that Foreman published the photographs rightfully. Foreman snapped the camera thinking to take heroic shots of a brave fireman successfully rescuing a woman and a child. Little did he know, he would capture the collapse of final hope as a woman fell into the gateway to death. A fire immersed a Boston building in the 1930s. A fireman desperately attempted to save a woman and a child from the inferno, and almost came to success. However, the fire escape the three stood upon crumbled from the arm of the building just before the fireman could hoist them onto the ladder of the firetruck. The fireman managed to jump to safety onto the ladder as the ledge broke. Unfortunately, the woman could not cling tightly enough to the fireman, therefore, her and the child dropped stories high onto the solid ground. The woman died immediately from impact, but the child fell onto the cushion of her corpse and managed to survive. The treacherous scene showed on three photographs and became published in over four hundred newspapers across America. Understandably, this raised controversy as the public fired back with complaints of the gory pictures. Some argued that it contributed in, â€Å"Invading the privacy of death,† while others said it took responsibility in â€Å"Assigning the agony of a human being in terror of imminent death to the status of a side-show act† (Ephron, 658). Ephron states her opinion in this essay saying, â€Å"Death happens to be one of lifes main events. And it is irresponsible—and more than that, inaccurate—for newspapers to fail to show it † (Ephron, 662). This essay brought me back to my youth with replaying images of what I imagined the scene of my grandmothers death to look like. Honestly, it fell nothing short of a horror story, especially through the eyes of a muddled, vernal nine year old. I will not go in detail regarding the exact scene, for I find it inappropriately morbid, but I feel willingly to introduce a small, surfaced outline. A fire swallowed her house, eating from the core and dispersing to the edges like a rotting apple. She lay in mid afternoon nap when awakened from the smoky air, but the fire had managed to block almost every exit. She made her way to the only door not already inflamed, but it she could not get it open. The story does not end here, but this sums up all I feel the need to tell. The casket remained closed at the funeral, so I never saw her body again. She rested at age fifty-seven, too young to leave, and too beautiful to have her body disintegrated into ashes. Why did it have to happen like that? Nine years old and having to trust in God for strength proves a hard and strange thing to do, but a life lesson some never learn, and one I would need for the journey on. Ephron wrote this essay to bring forth the readers inner emotions as well as to show the emotion felt by the characters in the story. The themes of tragedy and anger serve as two of the major themes of the essay. The bravery and hope shown to us at the beginning of the story help accent these themes. The author gives us these points to push a sense of reality into the readers, and to present a real event as well as its repercussions. Bravery showed from the fireman who risked his live to save these people. Hope came from the woman and child trapped inside fighting with optimistic longing to make it through. Tragedy and devastation overcame as the story twisted from what looked a promising victory to a deadly reality. The pictures then became published and taken offensively by readers bringing on a strong feeling of anger. The subject of reality also carries through in this essay. It pictures as quite melancholy, and therefore brings its readers to awareness of a true story with thoughts and opinions of witnesses of the scene and readers of the numerous articles of the event. This event has parallels to the events of September 11, 2001, which has been demonstrated to us through the movie World Trade Center. The movie begins by showing the attacks of the buildings and the violence it brought to those inside. It focuses in on the firemen risking their lives to save the victims, however, as the second building crashes upon them, they become  victims themselves. The firemen demonstrate the similarities of bravery and hope to make it out of the fallen building alive, and the movie as a whole brings its viewers to the tragic reality, just as The Boston Photographs does. Personally, I felt moved by the twisted feelings and solid impact of the essay. It made me have to stop to process my thoughts, because I could not believe what I read. It hit me hard with horror and disbelief. I like essays like this that bring us to a since of reality, for I feel as if they are hardly told. Most stories today become glamorized by positive attributes as dark grueling details are masked away leaving us with what our minds desire to believe instead of the harsh truth. Joy and promise turn to need and tribulation instantaneously in reality, which this essay highlights. The catastrophic story of the photographs taken of the sudden death of a woman hit me hard with a flashback of my grandmothers death and also showed the predicament of the firefighters in World Trade Center, as both of these brought the themes of tragedy and anger to the story and farther pushed my opinion that the pictures became rightly publicized. The essay exhibits sensibility and brings the readers to actuality, therefore, I feel it may stand out to readers over other essays. Real stories like this have the ability to teach us something valuable and hit our life experiences bringing a strong impact of emotion to our thoughts, which is why I feel the pictures should have been publicized. Although it displayed a horrific accident, the scene rightfully deserved telling.

Advantages and disadvantages of Specialisation

Advantages and disadvantages of Specialisation Introduction International trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity flows are the two primary methods in which international business occurs and are amongst the most substantial drivers of present time globalisation. With consecutive rounds of multilateral dialogues at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), barriers to trade globally, have been done away with significantly. Likewise, the relaxation and liberalisation of developed countries capital markets during the 1980s has brought about a brand-new age of global capital mobility whereby Foreign Direct Investment is a primary and vital facet to trade globally. Both experiential and theoretical frameworks have incidentally thrived to explicate and predict these patterns in international business, as well as the determinatives and affects of International Trade and FDI flows for both the host and home countries. International Trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories (dictionary.reference.com). FDI Foreign direct investment refers to the long-term engagement of a nation A into nation B for example. It normally requires involvement in expertise, know-how, joint-venture, management and transfer of technology, etc. There are two forms of Foreign Direct Investment: inbound FDI and outbound FDI, bringing about either a positive or negative net FDI inflow and stock of FDI equities, which is the total figure for a given period of time. It is important to note, however, that direct investment does not include investments made by means of purchasing shares. Specialisation Specialisation is the focus of labour in specified, limited duties and functions. It is the name ascribed to the prevalent system of economic consumption, production, and interlinked socio-economic progression and processes, in most industrialised nations ever since the late twentieth century. In fact, trade exists as a result of specialisation and the division of labour, where most workers focus on a limited facet of production and trading, during the process, for different trade goods. Trade exists between various nations and trading blocs because different industries in diverse countries and regions globally have a comparative advantage in the manufacturing/production of certain tradable commodities/goods, or because different countries sizes permit for the benefits of mass production. Intrinsically, trade at market prices amongst different countries/regions benefits both partners involved in the trade exchange. International Trade Theory Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a prominent Scottish economist and political thinker whose famed work Wealth of Nations (1776) set the pitch for work on economics and politics for many individuals and institutions even today. This was, as a matter of fact, the first extensive attempt to examine the nature of capital, the development of industry and the effects of large-scale commerce in Europe. Adam Smiths fundamental argumentation was that people should be free and able to engage in their own private economic interests as much as possible just as long as they do not break the rudimentary rules of justice. In this manner, Smith believed, they would do far more good to advance and promote the publics welfare and interests, more than if the same people were to attempt to assist the public on purpose. Smith named this the invisible hand of the market, though everyone is performing in their own self-interest, they are led to accomplish the good for all like an invisible hand of economic powers. Hence, outside intervention will unavoidably induce calamity. This later became renowned as laissez faire economic policy (economyprofessor.com). Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations) reasoned that economic specialisation could be beneficial to countries as to corporations, back in 1776. Due to the division of labour being limited by the market size, he argued that nations with access to bigger markets will be capable of splitting labour more productively and hence become more efficient in the long run. Smith however, failed to realise that the division of labour is also intrinsically limited by the technology in production coordination (Yu, Zhihao, 2005). The theory of Absolute Advantage was introduced Adam Smith and is apparent between trade counterparts when a country is able to produce more of a commodity/product, with the same resources, than its partner can; it is therefore said to hold a position of Absolute Advantage in the production of that end product. If, however, the other country has an Absolute Advantage in producing a commodity/product that the its partner needs, each will be fortunate if they specialise and trade. Trade is normally mutually advantageous even if one country holds an absolute advantage over its partner country, in the production of both goods being traded. The Heckscher-Ohlin (HO) model was first formed by Eli Heckscher (1919) and Bertil Ohlin, two Swedish economists. Elis Heckschers own student, Bertil Ohlin formulated and detailed the Factor Endowment Theory. He was not just a economics professor in Stockholm, but also a leading political figure in Sweden at the time. Fundamental concepts were further formulated and added subsequently by Ronald Jones and Paul Samuelson amongst others. Due to the difficulty of forecasting the trade of goods pattern in a globe with an abundance of goods, as an alternative to the Heckscher-Ohlin Model, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theorem that prognosticates the factor capacity of trade has acquired attention in recent years (econ.iastate.edu). The Heckscher-Ohlin Model explicated that countries of the same factor endowments would still trade due to the differences in technology, as this would induce specialisation and thus trade, in precisely the same manner as in the Ricardian Model. Another theory that attempts to predict the patterns of trade is that of the Law of Comparative Advantage (David Ricardo) in the goods with the lower opportunity cost. David Ricardo (1772-1823), during the early 19th century, saw that the theory of Absolute Advantage was a moderate and restricted instance of a more dynamically broad theory. Ricardo, in essence, was sort of a replacement and continuation to Adam Smiths prominent position in British economics. His work went on to shape and influence the aims and methods of the discipline all through the nineteenth century. In spite of his personal substantial work experience, his written material can sometimes come across as being very abstract and often hard to understand. His main stress was on the principles of diminishing returns linked to land rental, which he thought also regulated capital profits. He tried to derive a theory of value from labour application, but found it hard to separate the effects of changes in technology from changes in distribution. The scarceness of natural resources globally, one of the more fundamental concepts of economics, requires that there be tradeoffs, and these tradeoffs lead to an opportunity cost. Whilst the price of a good or service is often-times thought of in terms of currency, the opportunity cost of taking a decision is based on what good or service must be forgone, which would be the next best option, as a consequence of taking the decision. Decisions that require having to choose between two or more options are said to have an opportunity cost. The Law of Comparative Advantage explicates how nations can take advantage of and exploit specialisation and trade. Given any two goods/commodities, the nation manufacturing the good/commodity with the lower opportunity cost is said to have a comparative advantage. In simple terms, it is the capability of a nation to produce a product at a lower cost than others can produce it. Specialising provides that nation with a comparative advantage vis-Ã  -vis other trade players. The basis of trade activities must be directed in a way where each country cuts the opportunity costs of the goods being swapped in their trade exchanges. Heckscher and Ohlins theory, adapted from Ricardos comparative advantage model, suggested that different costs were the result not only of dissimilar labour endowments between countries, but also of different capital and land endowments. For example, a country like Saudi Arabia is much more amply endowed with oil than say France. France, on the other hand, has a rich abundance of skilled labour and capital equipment in the defence industry. Hence the theory would suggest that Saudi Arabia would specialise in producing oil, France in producing defence equipment and that the two countries will trade one product for the other (Anderton, Alain, 2004). Advantages of International Trade and Specialisation Some advantages of International Trade include monetary benefits to the respective countries participating in trade, it can also improve relations between countries and allow for a great cultural exchange. It also allows for more of a choice and assortments of goods that are affordable (value for money) and readily acquirable for consumers, better quality goods, enhanced and increased competition both at the global and national level, closer links and affiliations amongst countries globally, more of an exchange of technical expertise, technology and synergistic know-how, producers locally will endeavour to better the quality of their products, as well as an increase in employment nationally. In the same way domestic trade encourages economic development and prosperity, so does International Trade. International commerce gives rise to specialisation, where a producer produces the good at the lowest cost of opportunity and production to them and thereafter trades for goods that are produced at a higher opportunity or production to them. Not only does International Trade lead to shared benefits by permitting various nations to specialise their industries of those products/commodities they produce at top-quality, but it also lets them import products that international producers are inclined to provide at a lower cost than national producers are willing. Resources do vary between nations and provide certain nations with an advantage of producing certain goods over other ones and turn out to be more profit-making and beneficial to all. By permitting for International Trade, nations can specialise in those products that they can produce efficiently and at the lowest cost and then supply them to consumers at a low-cost, more inexpensive, and more economic price. Additionally, by importing those products from other nations and then exporting goods to those nations, both partners, involved in the trade exchange, benefit in a win-win state of affairs. It is crucial to take note, however, the case of absolute advantage. As mentioned before, absolute advantage is a scenario where a country, due to its natural endowments and or prior experiences, can manufacture more of a product/commodity, with the same quantity of resources, than another country can. However, this does not imply that only because one country has an absolute advantage, the countries trading with this nation will not benefit from the trade. Yes, they still can benefit, in point of fact, that is, conditional upon the relative production costs varying. Advantages of specialisation include increasing rewards and profit returns due to economies of scale, gains from exploiting an absolute or comparative advantage, through which specialisation is explained, more efficiency and productivity as well as focus for producers, less cost to the producer as well as the consumer, better quality end products and a wider range of choice for the consumer, and last but not least, through specialisation in production, countries can increase their income, as well as expand and develop their economies. A strong argument put forward in favour of the concept of free trade would be that it is rather clear and apparent that free trade is beneficial to all partners involved. It helps nations attain a comparative advantage and corporations/industries to focus on specialisation, both of which result in economic benefits, growth, and prosperity. Furthermore, these two concept are big revolutionary contributors to the sophisticated and progressive state of the globes nations in the present time. Without them, we would be decades behind in various ways, particularly from a technological standpoint. Participating in these activities proves beneficial for all trade partners and results in economic prosperity and wealth, therefore, improving peoples standards of living (Rose, Phantom, 2009). Disadvantages of International Trade and Specialisation Some disadvantages of trade include a heavy reliance on a particular nation, national production may also be hindered as national industries may be excelled and eclipsed by their international competitors, affluent nations may have more powers in influencing political issues in other nations and acquire control over weaker ones, and what is more, ideological clashes may come about amongst trading partner countries regarding the processes in trade activities for example. Specialisation in itself, however, can hinder trade. For example, if a nation is too reliant on one specific industry and the prices dip in that industry, then unemployment will take place dramatically. This is an occurrence in several developing nations and is also applicable, for example, to the West Midlands, UK, a region that is heavily reliant on the auto industry. Factors of productions cannot be easily shifted from one area to another, this is known as factor immobility. For instance, if after International Trade, country/company A would diminish the production of product B, then the labour producing product B cannot easily be shifted and re-trained to produce an additional product C, therefore, unemployment will take place. International trade can also pose as a harm to birth industries in the home nation as well, due to their production costs being high in the infant, early stages. Over-specialisation may have devastating effects if, for example, a war breaks out in a country and imports/exports cease. Therefore, the nation never specialises wholly due to political/strategic factors. In addition, if imports exceed exports, the balance of trade payments would be in the red (negative territory), which, in turn, will harm the home countrys economy and may also result in the devaluation of its currency. Word Count: 2,250

Finding G Using Simple Pendulum Experiment

Finding G Using Simple Pendulum Experiment Abstract This report shows how to find an approximate of ‘g’ using the simple pendulum experiment. There are many variables we could see into, some of them are displacement, angle, damping, mass of the bob and more. However the most interesting variable is, the length of the swinging pendulum. The relationship between the length and the time for one swing (the period) has been researched for many years, and has allowed the famous physicists like Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei to get an accurate value for the gravitational acceleration ‘g’. In this report, we will replicate their experiment, and will find an accurate value for ‘g’. Finally it will be compared with the commonly accepted value of 9.806 m/s2 . Contents Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. i List of figures tables and graphs †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. iii List of Symbols †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. iii Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1 Equipment and method †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 Data Collected †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Conclusion and Evaluation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Futher Imporvements †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 List of figures, Tables and Graphs Figure 1 Set up of simple pendulum experiment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Table 1 – Data for the time of 10 swings and length of string †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Table 2 – Data for average time, % Uncertainty, and length †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Table 3 – Data for T2, % Uncertainty, Absolute uncertainty, Length †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Graph 1 – Period against Length †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Graph 2 – T2 against length †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 List of Symbols Introduction A simple pendulum performs simple harmonic motion, i.e its periodic motion is defined by an acceleration that is proportional to its displacement and directed towards the Centre of motion. Equation 1 shows that the period T of the swinging pendulum is proportional to the square root of the length l of the pendulum: With T the period in seconds, l the length in metres and g the gravitational acceleration in m/s2. Our raw data should give us a square-root relationship between the period and the length. Furthermore, to find an accurate value for ‘g’, we will also graph T2 versus the length (l) of the pendulum. This way, we will be able to obtain a straight-line graph, with a gradient equal to 4Ï€2g-1 . Equipment and Method For this investigation, limited resources like, clamps, stands, a metre ruler, a stopwatch, a metal ball (bob), and some string were used. The experimental set-up was equal to the diagram, shown in figure 1. In this investigation, the length of the pendulum was varied (our independent variable) to observe a change in the period (our dependent variable). In order to reduce possible random errors in the time measurements, we repeated the measurement of the period three times for each of the ten lengths. We also measured the time for ten successive swings to further reduce the errors. The length of our original pendulum was set at 100 cm and for each of the following measurements, we reduced the length by 10 cm. Figure 1 As stated earlier, it was decided to measure the time for ten complete swings, in order to reduce the random errors. These measurements would be repeated two more times, and in total ten successive lengths were used, starting from one metre, and decreasing by 10 cm for each following measurement. A metre ruler was used to determine the length of the string. One added difficulty in determining the length of the pendulum was the relative big uncertainty in finding the exact length, since the metal bob added less than a centimeter to our string length, measured from the bob’s centre. This resulted in an uncertainty in length that was higher than one would normally expect. The table clamp was used to secure the position of the tripod stand, while the pendulum was swinging. After the required measurements, one experiment was carried out to find the degree of damping in our set-up. Damping always occurs when there is friction, but exactly how significant the degree of damping in our experimental set-up was, remained uncertain. Depending on the degree of damping, it may or may not have a significant effect on our measurements. All measurements were taken under the same conditions, using the same metal bob, the same ruler, in the same room, and at approximately 26 degrees Celsius. Data Collected Table 1 In table 1 the  ±o.46 sec uncertainty in time was obtained by comparing the spread for the different measurements. The time measurement for the 0.50 metre length, had the largest spread ( ±0.4 seconds), and was therefore used as the uncertainty in the time measurement. In table 1 the theoretical uncertainty in the length measurement would be 0.05 cm (a metre ruler was used). However, in the experimental set-up, the two end points (the one tied to the clamp, and the one tied to the metal bob) gave rise to a bigger uncertainty, as the exact end-points could not be precisely determined. We estimated the uncertainty in length to be 0.5 cm, or 0.005 metres. These data in table 1 need to be processed, before we can continue our analysis. First of all, the average of the three trials need to be found, which will reduce our error. Secondly, the time for one swing (or one period) must be found, which will reduce our absolute error, but not our percentage error. It should also be noted, that for all the measurements, a constant, and small, angle of maximum displacement (amplitude) was used. The angle was kept between 5 ° to 7 °, small enough to ignore the friction present in our experimental set-up. Apart from these measurements, one more experiment was done to see how much damping was present in our set-up. It took, on average, between 100 and 150 swings, before the motion had seemed to stop. This showed that there was damping present, but this did not significantly affect the measurement of just ten swings. Table 2 shows the processed data and the uncertainties. While drawing the graph for the data in table 2, the relationship between the variables used is clearly not a linear one. The suggested square-root relationship shows it, and to linearise this curve, it must be interchanged and the axis must be modified. (the graph is shown in Graph 1) Table 3 Based on the theory of Simple Harmonic Motion and equation 1, it should be a linear relationship between T2 and Length. When graphing these two modified variables, the regression line must be linear, passing through point (0,0) and with a gradient equal, or close to 4Ï€2g-1 . Graph 2 Conclusion and Evaluation Graphing the length against T2 clearly shows a linear relationship, in agreement with the theory. The actual line of best fit does not go through (0,0) which suggests a systematic error in our experiment. But when graphing a line of best fit, with the condition it should pass through (0,0), we find a line with a gradient of 4.128 and a correlation coefficient of 0.993, which further suggests a very strong linear correlation between our chosen variables. The value for ‘g’ can be calculated by dividing 4Ï€2 with the gradient of the line of best fit; The uncertainty in this value was found, by taking half the difference of the lowest possible value for ‘g’ and the highest possible value for ‘g’: Comparing our calculated value for the gravitational acceleration ‘g’ with the accepted theoretical value gives us an error of 2.5%, well within the error margins that we calculated. This is a reasonable result, given the equipment and the time constraints that we faced. Looking at our graph, we cannot identify any outliers. However, our data values suggest a line of best fit that does not pass through (0,0). When we do fit a linear regression onto our data values, that passes (0,0), we see that the line does not ‘hit’ all the horizontal error bars (the uncertainty in the length). This may suggest a systematic error in the measurement of the length of our pendulum. Further Improvements To reduce the systematic error in the length measurements, one should take accurate measurements of the diameter of the metal bob used. In this experiment, it looks as if we systematically used a length for the pendulum that was too short. If 1 cm was added to our data, we would get a value for ‘g’ that is equal to the theoretical value of 9.806 m/s2 . The theoretical value used, is the average value for ‘g’ on Earth, and may be slightly different from the one that was measured. Instead of three measurements, taking five measurements would be better, as it would not take too much extra time, and this would further reduce our uncertainty in the measurement of the period of swing. Alternatively, measuring the time for 20 swings, instead of 10 swings, would also reduce the uncertainty in time. Lastly, a photogate could be used in the future, to measure the period with higher precision. A nice extension to this experiment would be the use of different metal bobs, of different diameter and/or mass. This would allow us to calculate the effect of air resistance on this experiment. References http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/cuu/Value?gn http://www.practicalphysics.org/go/Experiment_480.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_harmonic_motion#Mass_on_a_spring http://www.phys.utk.edu/labs /simplependulum.pdf

Essay on the Flying Motif in Song of Solomon :: Song Solomon essays

Importance of the Flying Motif in Song of Solomon    Throughout literature it has been common for authors to use allusions to complement recurrent motifs in their work. In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon, Milkman learns that his desire to fly has been passed down to him from his ancestor Solomon. As Milkman is figuring out the puzzle of his ancestry, he realizes that when Solomon tried to take his youngest son, Jake, flying with him, he dropped him and Jake never arrived with his father to their destination.    It seems quite probable that Morrison drew from the Daedalus/Icarus Greek myth. Daedalus was a well-known architect and engineer in Athens. King Mines invited Daedalus to Crete to build him a labyrinth, and when it was completed, Mines jailed him within it. In order to escape, Daedalus built two sets of wings - one pair for himself, and the other for his son, Icarus- using wax and feathers, which they used to fly off from Crete. On their journey to Athens, Icarus decided to try to challenge the sun, even though his father had warned him that if he got too near to the sea his wings would dampen and fall apart, or if he got too close to the sun, the wax in his wings would melt, and he would lose the ability to fly. Ignoring Daedalus' warnings, Icarus flew too high and the sun melted the wax that held his wings together. Icarus fell into the Aegean Sea and died.    Solomon, a slave, had been a leader when he worked in the cotton fields in the South. One day he decided to fly back to Africa with his youngest son, Jake, leaving behind his wife Ryna and their twenty other children. Black lady fell down on the ground Come booba yalle, come booma tambee Threw her body all around Come konka yalle, come konka tambee...(303).    This verse of the popular children's song which Milkman heard in Shalimar, Virginia, was referring to Ryna's sobbing, an event which also led to the naming of Ryna's Gulch where it is rumored that Ryna's spirit moaned night and day alike for Solomon's return. When Solomon is flying, however, he drops Jake- also the name of Milkman's grandfather- and unlike Icarus in Greek mythology, Jake survives his fall.    Milkman's desire to fly mirrors one of the foremost fantasies of any child or dreamer.

God and the Caducity of Being: Jean-Luc Marion and Edith Stein on Thinking God :: Philosophical Philosophy God Papers

God and the Caducity of Being: Jean-Luc Marion and Edith Stein on Thinking God ABSTRACT: Jean-Luc Marion claims that God must no longer be thought of in terms of the traditional metaphysical category of Being, for that reduces God to an all too human concept which he calls "Dieu." God must be conceived outside of the ontological difference and outside of the question of Being itself. Marion urges us to think of God as love. We wish to challenge Marion’s claim of the necessity to move au-delà   de l’à ªtre by arguing that Marion presents a very limited understanding of Being: he interprets the Being of God as causa sui. The thought of Edith Stein will be employed in order to bring out a fuller sense of the metaphysical notion of the Being of God. Stein offers us a rich backdrop against which we can interpret more traditional readings of God as Being, thereby challenging Marion’s claim of the caducity of Being. Traditionally, metaphysics was viewed as consisting of three distinct but related components: cosmology, ontology and theology. Cosmology dealt with the being of the natural world conceived as a universe whereas ontology dealt with the being of the particular thing in the cosmos qua its own being. Theology was the investigation of the being of God naturaliter, that is, without exclusively appealing to the truths of Revelation. In his masterful work, God Without Being, Jean-Luc Marion launches a profound challenge to the tradition of metaphysics in general, and more specifically, to the related field of metaphysical theology. Marion claims that God must no longer be thought of in terms of the traditional category "Being", for that reduces God to an all too human concept which he calls "Dieu". In a sense, a violence is done to God and our understanding of God, for we seriously delimit that which by nature is indeterminable. Drawing upon an Heideggerian-inspired notion of the phenomenol ogical Destruktion, Marion maintains that God must be thought outside the ontological difference and outside the very question of Being itself. In so doing, we free ourselves from an idolatry wherein we reduce God to our own all too narrow conceptual schemes. Marion urges us to think God in light of St. John’s pronouncement that "God is love" (1 Jn 4,8). He believes that love has not been thought through in the metaphysical tradition. Thinking ‘love’ through will lead the philosopher to a more accurate understanding of God as unlimited giver/gift.

Contemporary Diversity Issues in Communication

If there is one particularly adverse effect of globalization, that is the homogenization of culture and the subservience of minority or ethnic cultures and languages under the dominant one. It is a phenomenon that if allowed to continue unabated can lead to the extinction of minority languages and culture, which in effect can lead to the loss of the uniqueness that renders individuals with their own creative individuality. In a world that purports to celebrate diversity, it is ironic that communication seems to be leaning towards homogenization or standardization of forms.Globalization necessitates the need for the homogenization of communication because in an age of international businesses, language diversity can hinder trade relations and transactions. Using one form of communication facilitates interaction and leaves very little room for misinterpretation. Languages develop out of the user’s need to express themselves. As such, it is fair to say that all languages are equa l. This equality means that all languages, regardless of their characteristics and linguistic qualities, all meet the social and psychological needs of the users. (Crystal, 1987, p.6)They are tailor made to the unique circumstances of the people and culture that created them. In the face of unrelenting globalization, these unique languages and cultures are giving way to a standard form. The standard form imposes itself upon other languages in the form of linguistic prescription or prescriptive norms in culture, defining a standard form or ways of doing for a specific purpose or activity. Prescriptive norms serve as a controlling force that is exerted by the community over its members (Punder 2000, p. 141), and globalization imposes the homogenization of language and culture to facilitate communication and relations.While the usefulness and convenience of having a standard language or culture, particularly in a business environment, cannot be dismissed, this way of thinking brings to the table a lot of complications; not the least of which is stereotyping and its resultant complications like cultural and political discrimination. As John Fought (2007) once said, â€Å"Language has always helped to signify who we are in society, sometimes serving as a basis for exclusion. † The determination of the use of a standard language is largely a function of political and economic power, in an act of acknowledgment of a certain culture’s dominance over the rest.A standard form of language and culture will be of no use when there is no variation in the first place. There is a need to standardize because the diversity in our languages requires us to lessen the confusion and make for efficient transaction of our ordinary activities and important businesses. Because language is a fundamental aspect of culture, it is therefore only natural that we become defined or identified by our native language. Difficulties can arise if we are not fluent in the standard lan guage being used in a particular place.In such cases, when we do not know the standard form of communication, we are immediately labeled as â€Å"foreigners†, or not born native to the place, a label that carries with it an entirely new set of biases and stereotypes that limits the opportunities that would have otherwise been available to the individual. The need to conform is related to the prestige that is associated with being able to act and communicate according to the dominant language or culture. (Abrams et al 2005, p. 120) Related to the issue of race is the issue of social class.There are some people who have more linguistic powers at their disposal and are able to use this fluency to their advantage. (Bonfiglio, 2002, p. 12) Fluency in language often connotes good breeding and education. Conversely, if you have difficulties in the standard language, other people will consider it as a statement of weakness or lack of social status. Of course it should also be said th at the bias also goes the other way. In most third-world countries, those who speak a foreign language or have foreign accents are considered first class citizens and are given preferential treatment in all aspects of their functional activities.What we speak and how we speak, reflects our history as an individual. How we speak makes a statement about who we are as a person and a measure of who we could be Either way, these stereotyping based on one’s communication style is very counter-productive and corrosive to the individual. Aside from discrimination and stereotyping, homogenization of communication is also adversely affecting the rich diversity of our world’s languages, particularly on dialects.As prescriptive norms of standardized communication forms threaten the extinction of minority languages and dialects, it also slows language change. Language change is a natural process in the evolution of our languages. Language is constantly in flux, ever adapting to the needs and realities of the times. It ever-changing and shifting its form, evolving in a process that is very much akin to natural selection. Language change is not so much a preference over one language variant, but the removal of a language that is socially inappropriate or no longer useful, for some reason or another.  (Lippi-Green, 1997, p. 173)With the presence of a homogenized form of communication and culture, the normal evolution that should have taken place to strengthen local languages and make them constantly relevant has been forcefully suppressed by the imposition of a uniform language or code that is universal to all situations. In light of this, language change becomes almost unnecessary because the homogenized form of communication has removed the necessity for the local language to adapt because the change has been imposed artificially by the dominant culture.Globalization presupposes the interaction of various cultures. Over man’s collective history, cultu re exchange has resulted in the constant evolution of cultures as it gets constantly exposed to another culture. This is a two-way process that enriches the culture of all those involved. In a process called acculturation, a certain group of people imbibe new ways of doing without necessarily changing their distinct identity. Acculturation represents the adaptation of a certain culture to change but keeping their culture uniquely their own.However, in this age of homogenization, acculturation has come to mean the slow erosion and subservience of the ethnic culture under the dominant one. (Castro 2003, p. 19) Thus, acculturation can be considered as a process of culture change where the foreigners or minorities must adapt in order to survive. In other words, this refers to the homogenization of communication and culture in order to flourish in a global community. This discourse does not mean to present language and cultural homogenization in a bad light.In some cases, such homogeniza tion is truly necessary to facilitate communication and exchange similar to what a standard currency will do. What is important to remember is that a standard form of communication can be learned without having to sacrifice our own native languages and culture. Our ability to learn a language is elastic, and we can speak as many variations without necessarily affecting the other. To learn one form of language does not necessarily mean that we have to supplant the old one..In an era of globalization where the language of trade becomes the dominant form, the ability to communicate in the standard language is a definite advantage. However with that being said, the value of the mother tongue should never be forgotten. The respect that we have for our own cultural heritage renders us with our own unique identities. And in an era of globalization, where everything is being homogenized we need to hang on to that identity or stand to lose everything about ourselves that makes us special, an d thus indispensible to our community.

School Daze

School Daze is a film that was directed, produced, written, and starred in by the legendary filmmaker Spike Lee. Spike Lee was once again trying to make America conscience and aware of racial issues, but this time it was focused on internalized racism at historical black colleges and universities (HBCU). Lee explored an issue that is still prominent in today's society, light-skinned versus dark-skinned African Americans, good hair versus bad hair, and the Greeks versus the Afro-centric students.School Daze is a very enlightening film, but it took a lot of different elements to complete a film of this magnitude to make others aware of this racial issue. School Daze is a film about internalized racism amongst the African American community at a fictitious historical black college called Mission College. The student body has divided itself into groups that are the epidemy of groupthink.In a newspaper called the Journal-Gazette by author Greg Braxton mentioned the battle between good hai r versus bad hair among African American women, by mentioning the 1988 film School Daze were Spike Lee staged a musical production number in a beauty salon, and two warring female college cliques battled over this topic (2009).In a newspaper called the Journal-Gazette author Greg Braxton mentioned the battle between good hair versus bad hair among African American women, by mentioning the 1988 film School Daze were Spike Lee staged a musical production number in a beauty salon, and two warring female college cliques battled over this topic (2009).