Consumer Preception Towards Online Shoping

Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. com International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 CONSUMER’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING- THE CASE OF PUNJAB Pawan Singh Rathour ABSTRACT India has more than 100 million internet users out of which one half opt for online purchases and the number is rising sharply every year. The growth in the number of online shoppers is greater than the growth in Internet users, indicating that more Internet users are becoming comfortable to shop online.The capability of purchasing without leaving your place is of great interest to many consumers. Not only does online shopping offer really good deals, but also brings optimum convenience to the consumers. Moreover, the use of Internet tools for price searching and comparison provides an additional advantage in consumers’ final decision, as they can purchase their desired products in the lowest available price. This paper focuses on the unders tanding of demographic profiles of adopters and non-adopters of online shopping.For this purpose the data from 400 respondents was collected in the form of questionnaires. The study has been conducted in 3 cities of Punjab, a sample of urban respondents were selected from the Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar The paper also analyses the various reasons for adoption and non-adoption of online shopping. KEYWORDS: Online Shopping, Consumer Perception, Factor analysis, Adopters and Non-Adopters of online shopping REVIEW OF LITERATURE Bellman et al (1999) investigated various predictors for whether an individual will purchase online.These authors concluded that demographic variables, such as income, education and age, have a modest impact on the decision of whether to buy online, whereas the most important determinant of online shopping was previous behaviour, such as earlier online purchases. Standing (1999) stated that traditionally retail travel agencies have acted as intermediaries be tween airline companies and wholesale travel companies and the consumer. The Internet and the World Wide Web provide a whole new set of challenges and opportunities for this business sector.The major threat stems from airlines and wholesale travel companies offering their products and services directly to the customer without the assistance of travel agencies. Large online agencies have gained significant attention in the travel industry and provide some evidence of a restructuring of the travel industry sector. Leong (2001) examined the marketing strategies adopted by local hotel establishments in the competitive hospitality industry. It also analyses the adoption and role of information technology in strategic marketing.It was found that most hotels seemed to have embraced the marketing concept, given the existence of extensive marketing plans. Although most hotels appeared to have successfully incorporated information technology into their marketing campaigns, the level of commit ment seemed to be insignificant. Following a brief comparison with a similar US study, the paper concludes that there are only minor differences between US and Singapore hotels in terms of their marketing practices. Parasuraman (2002) stated that the motivations for this special issue and propose a conceptual framework pertaining to the issue’s theme.Using this frameworks a backdrop, they then offer an overview of the remaining articles by segmenting them into categories and discussing their relationship to the framework. They conclude by highlighting research avenues for augmenting our understanding of marketing to and serving customers through the Internet. Sigala (2003) stated that despite the exponential growth of e-commerce on the Internet, little is still known on how the new medium is transforming marketing concepts/practices and their effectiveness.This empirical study aims to fill in this gap. This article first analyzes the Internet's capabilities and features as we ll as the new virtual market space that Internet advances have fostered. After reviewing models and strategies for Internet marketing, an Internet marketing mix is proposed based on the Internet strategies of hotels in Greece that were investigated. Know and Lee (2003) explored consumers’ concerns about payment security and its relationship to online shopping attitude and actual purchases.They observed a negative relationship between attitude towards online shopping and concerns about online payment security. Consumers with a positive attitude seem to be less concerned about payment security. Bechrer (2004) stated that Internet marketing is a field that is continuing to grow, and the online auction concept may be defining a totally new and unique distribution alternative. Very few studies have examined auction sellers and their INTRODUCTION With nearly half of the Indian population being young and net savvy, there has been an extra ordinary rise in the numbers of online shopp ers.The recent growth in the mall culture in the country has in fact made consumers more aware about different options and encouraged them to search and eventually purchase online. India has more than 100 million internet users out of which one half opt for online purchases and the number is rising sharply every year. The growth in the number of online shoppers is greater than the growth in Internet users, indicating that more Internet users are becoming comfortable to shop online.Until recently, the consumers generally visit online to reserve hotel rooms and buy air, rail or movie tickets, books and gadgets and gizmos, but now more and more offline product like clothes – saris, kurtis, T-shirts – shoes, and designer lingerie, consumer durables are being purchased online. At present the market is estimated at Rs. 46000 crore and is growing at 100 percent per year. The two most commonly cited reasons for online shopping have been convenience and price. The capability of purchasing without leaving your place is of great interest to many consumers.Not only does online shopping offer really good deals, but also brings optimum convenience to the consumers. Moreover, the use of Internet tools for price searching and comparison provides an additional advantage in consumers’ final decision, as they can purchase their desired products in the lowest available price . On the contrary, privacy and security have been the great concerns, resulting many people to browse the Internet for informational matters than for buying online. 1|Page www. ijmit. com Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. om International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 internet marketing strategies. This research examines the internet auction phenomenon as it relates to the marketing mix of online auction sellers. The data in this study indicate that, whilst there is great diversity among businesses that utilize online auctions, disti nct cost leadership and differentiation marketing strategies are both evident. These two approaches are further distinguished in terms of the internet usage strategies employed by each group.Ryan (2004) conducted a research on the mosaic of institutional issues associated with gaining credibility for internet marketing standards. Strong claims for a predominantly self-regulatory approach are reviewed in conjunction with other factors that inhibit credibility, namely: competing internet worldviews, weak moral coherency and offline ambiguity about respective institutional roles, especially as regards moral dimensions of notions of regulation and self-regulation. Wang (2006) conducted a research to examine the current use and predict future Web-based marketing activities of U. S. onvention and visitor bureaus. A survey was sent to 600 randomly selected American convention and visitor bureaus with a focus on assessing the applications included in the bureaus’ Web sites, their Web site promotion techniques, and customer relationship management programs in relation to these Web sites. The results indicate that most bureaus’ Internet marketing activities are relatively limited, focusing on providing travel information to prospective visitors. Bengtsson (2007) stated that adopting the Internet for advanced marketing operations opens up challenging opportunities for firms of all sizes.However, such adoption might destroy investments in present market channels and thus has the characteristics of radical innovation. The results of analysis show that composition of factors on which firms base their decision to adopt advanced Internet-based marketing operations varies significantly with firm size. Chin ting (2010) stated that few school or educational studies have simultaneously explored both internet marketing and organizational commitment, and of those that have, only direct effects were examined. This study clarifies the relationship between school organiz ation’s internet arketing and teachers’ organizational commitment by examining the mediating role of teachers’ job involvement and job satisfaction. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The study has been conducted to identify the consumer’s perception towards online shopping in Punjab. The specific objectives of the study are: ? ? To identify the demographic profile of adopters and non-adopters of online shopping in Punjab. To identify the various reasons for adoption and non-adoption of online shopping by the consumers of Punjab DATABASE AND METHODOLOGY The research is primarily descriptive in nature.The data was collected in the form of questionnaires. The study has been conducted in 3 cities of Punjab, a sample of urban respondents were selected from the Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar. The survey was carried out on 450 respondents. However, 31 Questionnaires were found to be incorrect or irrelevant, so a total of 50 questionnaires were deliberately rejected. Hence, the study sample was reduced to 400 respondents. The data was collected personally (and via emails) in the months of January 2012 to March 2012. The questionnaire was pretested in order to identify possible problems in terms of clarity and accuracy.Thus, several changes were made in order to improve the presentation of the items, based on comments and feedback. Apart from demographic-related questions, fivepoint Likert scale was used for all the questions concerning consumers’ expectations and perceptions about the online shopping. Most of the Respondents of the age group 36-45 years (44. 6%) were found to be adopters of online shopping (Table 1). Most of the Males (55. 3%) were the adopters as compared to females, where 53. 7% were non-adopters. The adopters were mostly post graduates (48. 9%) with monthly income in the range of Rs. 0000-Rs. 30000. The respondents those who use internet from 5 to 7 hours a day were found to be adopters of online shopping. The consumer respon ses ranked the retail websites at Number 1 with Electronics and comparison shopping websites at Number 2 and 3 respectively. Home items were ranked at Number 10 by the Punjab consumers (Table 2) Table 1 : Demographic profile of Adopters and Non Adopters Demographics Adopters No. Age: 15-25 26-35 36-45 Above 46 Gender: Female Male 84 104 44. 6% 55. 3% 114 98 53. 7% 46. 2% df=1 chi-square=53. 892 p=0. 000 34 67 84 03 18. 0% 35. 6% 44. % 1. 5% 45 72 91 04 21. 2% 33. 9% 42. 9% 1. 8% df=3 chi-square=48. 241 p=0. 000 % Non Adopters No. % Chi – square 2|Page www. ijmit. com Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. com Education: Under Graduate Graduate Post Graduate Any Other Monthly Income: Under Rs. 10000 Rs. 10000-Rs. 20000 Rs. 20000-Rs. 30000 More than Rs. 30000 Not Employed Daily usage of the Internet 1 hour and below 1-3 hours 3. 1-5 hours 5. 1-7 hours 7 hours and above 21 38 56 65 08 18 37 78 55 00 31 43 92 20 International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 6. 4% 22. 8% 48. 9% 10. 6% 56 62 86 08 26. 4% 29. 2% 40. 5% 3. 7% df=3 chi-square=72. 452 p=0. 000 9. 5% 19. 6% 41. 4% 29. 2% 0. 0% 42 51 69 45 05 19. 8% 24. 0% 32. 5% 21. 2% 2. 3% df=4 chi-square=67. 453 p=0. 000 11. 1% 20. 2% 29. 7% 34. 5% 4. 2% 47 53 71 39 02 22. 1% 25. 0% 33. 4% 18. 3% 0. 94% df=4 chi-square=77. 344 p=0. 000 Table 2: Most visited category of websites: Category of Websites Retail Consumer Electronics Comparison Shopping Computer Hardware Apparel Movies Books Flowers/Gifts/Greetings Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories Home itemsRank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mean 3. 45 3. 12 2. 98 2. 87 2. 64 2. 55 2. 03 1. 76 1. 46 1. 55 Reasons for adoption or non-adoption of online shopping The factor analysis was applied on the responses provided by respondents. Factor analysis is a good way of identifying latent or underlying factors from an array of seemingly important variables. In a more general way, factor analysis is a set of techniques, which, by anal yzing correlations between variables, reduces their number into fewer factors, which explain much of the original data, more economically. (Malhotra,2002).In the present study, the factor analysis was applied in order to identify the various reasons for online shopping by the consumers, the responses obtain were put to factor analysis and the result so obtain were Table 3 : KMO and Bartlett’s test subject to Kaiser- Meyer- Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity. The approximate chi-square value is 621. 103 with df 290, which is significant at 0. 000 level. (Table 3). The value of KMO statistics (0. 783) is also large (; 0. 5). Hence, all factors are not considered equally important for Television viewing.From table 4, it is evident that the first four variables represent the 62. 092 % of variance. Therefore, only these four factors with the variance greater than 1. 0 are retained and the other factors are not included in the model. T hus, from eigen values in table 3, we extract only 4 factors from the 13 variables. 3|Page www. ijmit. com Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. com International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx.Chi-Square Degree of Freedom Significance .783 621. 103 290 . 000 Table 4: Total Variance explained Initial Eigenvalues Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total 4. 150 3. 144 2. 718 1. 411 0. 892 0. 789 0. 618 0. 601 0. 590 0. 449 0. 332 0. 217 0. 189 % of Variance 27. 823 14. 230 10. 783 9. 256 6. 068 5. 130 5. 003 4. 781 4. 350 4. 263 2. 963 2. 788 2. 562 Cumulative % 27. 823 42. 053 52. 836 62. 092 68. 160 73. 290 78. 293 83. 074 87. 424 91. 687 94. 650 97. 438 100. 00 Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Total 4. 150 3. 144 2. 718 1. 411 % of Variance 27. 823 14. 230 10. 783 9. 56 Cumulative % 27. 823 42. 053 52. 836 62. 092 Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings Total 3. 921 3. 101 2. 318 1. 290 % of Variance 27. 823 14. 230 10. 783 9. 256 Cumulative % 27. 823 42. 053 52. 836 62. 092 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis Factor loadings are simple correlations between the variables and factors. The most commonly used method is the Varimax Table 5:Rotated Component Matrix rotation procedure. This is an orthogonal method of rotation that minimizes the number of variables with high loadings of a factor, thereby enhancing the interpretability of the factors.Orthogonal rotations results in factors that are uncorrelated. Component S. No. Statements 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 I prefer to purchase online due to heavy discounts available online It is easier to buy online rather than going on to shop at store Shopping online gives you larger options to choose from It is easier to pay online through credit card or direct bank transfer The quality of products purchased online from trusted sites is very good and are available at economical pri ces Shopping online saves my time and money as I don’t have to go through heavy traffic besides saving fuel 609 . 361 . 212 . 341 . 425 . 380 .427 . 521 . 517 . 489 . 336 .379 . 389 . 412 . 656 . 316 .235 . 260 . 352 . 419 . 296 6 .552 .272 .461 4|Page www. ijmit. com Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. com 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 . 402 . 642 . 285 . 403 . 502 . 325 . 580 . 326 . 561 . 223 . 326 . 346 . 436 . 352 . 561 . 452 . 311 . 262 . 663 . 516 . 431 . 613 . 497 . 591 . 570 . 371 . 696 . 280I am a bit concerned about the security and privacy of my payments online I cannot buy all the products on discount but some selected products only There are some shipping delays in getting the product I do not use the credit card so I cannot often shop online I prefer to purchase online due to easement of online buying procedures I physically need to check the products before purchasing it I ca n read the reviews also before purchasing online which helps me to select the right product at economical pricesPrincipal Component Analysis under the rotation method (Varimax with Kaiser Normalization), rotation converged in 15 iterations. The following four components (Table 6) may be extracted: Component 1: Factor 1,5,8,13 (Price Consciousness) Component 2:Factor 2,3,6 (Convenience and Variety) Component 3:Factor 4,11 (Easy payment options) Component shopping) 4:Factor 7,9,10,12 (Challenges of online The rotated component matrix suggests presence of the four interrelated factors.Table 6: Naming of Factors Factor No. F1 Name of Dimension Price Consciousness Item No. 1 I prefer to purchase online due to heavy discounts available online Variables Factor loading . 609 5 8 13 F2 Convenience and Variety 2 3 6 F3 Easy payment options 4 11 F4 Challenges of online shopping 7 9 10 12 The quality of products purchased online from trusted sites is very good and are available at economical pr ices I cannot buy all the products on discount but some selected products only.I can read the reviews also before purchasing online which helps me to select the right product at economical prices It is easier to buy online rather than going on to shop at store Shopping online gives you larger options to choose from Shopping online saves my time and money as I don’t have to go through heavy traffic besides saving fuel It is easier to pay online through credit card or direct bank transfer I prefer to purchase online due to easement of online buying procedures. I am a bit concerned about the security and privacy of my payments online There are some shipping delays in getting the product.I do not use the credit card so I cannot often shop online I physically need to check the products before purchasing it .425 . 642 . 580 . 521 . 517 . 552 . 656 . 663 . 613 . 591 . 570 . 696 Price Consciousness: It is the most significant factor with 27. 823 percent of total variance explained. T his explains the intent of Punjab Consumers being price sensitive. Most of the consumers prefer to buy some selected products online because they will get heavy discounts in comparison to store purchases. Also, the consumers feels that there are good websites available which can be trusted for purchases. |Page www. ijmit. com Council for Innovative Research www. cirworld. com International Journal of Management & Information Technology Volume 1, No 1, May, 2012 Convenience and Variety: It is the second most significant factor with 14. 230 percent of total variance explained. The consumers perceive that shopping online gives them larger options to choose from. Shopping online is very convenient as one has to just open a laptop or PC to shop rather then getting ready and pass through rush hour traffics. Easy Payment options: It is the third most significant factor with 10. 83 percent of total variance explained. Consumers feel that carrying cash or credit cards all the way to the stor e is meaning less if one can purchase the same product from their home. Challenges of Online Shopping: It is the fourth most significant factor with 9. 256 percent of total variance explained. The only worry of consumers is regarding the trustworthiness of some websites, since they have to give their credit card details to shop online. REFERENCES ? Bechrer C. (2004). Characteristics and internet marketing strategies of online auction sellers.International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising. 24(1), 24-37 Bellman, S. , Lohse, G. and Johnson, E. (1999) ‘Predictors of online buying behaviour,’ Communications of the ACM, 42 (12), 32-38. Bengtsson M. (2007). Integrating the Internet and Marketing Operations: A Study of Antecedents in Firms of Different Size. International Small Business Journal. 25(1), 27-48 Chin ting S. (2010). The Effect of Internal Marketing on Organizational Commitment: Job Involvement and Job Satisfaction as Mediators. Educational Administrati on Quarterly. 9(4), 65-74 Know, K. and Lee, J. (2003) ‘Concerns about payment security of Internet purchases: a perspective on current on-line shoppers,’ Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 21 (4), 174-184. Leong C. (2001). Marketing practices and Internet marketing: A study of hotels in Singapore. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 7(2), 179-187 Parsuraman A. (2002). Marketing to and Serving Customers through the Internet: An Overview and Research Agenda. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 30(4), 96-105 Ryan P. (2004).Internet marketing standards: institutional coherence issues. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising. 15(4), 84103 Schiffman L. (2007) Consumer Behavior , New Delhi: Prentice Hall India Sigalla M. (2003). Developing and Benchmarking Internet Marketing Strategies in the Hotel Sector in Greece. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. 27(4), 375-401 Standing C. (1999). Internet marketing strategies used by travel agencies in Australia. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 6(1), 36-42 Wang Y. (2006).Futuring Internet Marketing Activities Using Change Propensity Analysis. Journal of Travel Research. 45(2), 158-166 ? ? ? CONCLUSIONS It was seen from the study that most of the Respondents of the age group 36-45 years were found to be adopters of online shopping. Most of the Males were the adopters as compared to females, where 53. 7% were non-adopters. The adopters were mostly post graduates with monthly income in the range of Rs. 20000-Rs. 30000. The respondents those who use internet from 5 to 7 hours a day were found to be adopters of online shopping.Further, the factor analysis was applied to understand the various reasons for adoption and non-adoption of online shopping by the respondents. The following four factors were found to be significant Price Consciousness, Convenience and Variety, Easy Payment options and Challenges of Online Shopping. Most of the consumers prefer to buy some selected products onli ne because they will get heavy discounts in comparison to store purchases. Also, the consumers feels that there are good websites available which can be trusted for purchases.The consumers perceive that shopping online gives them larger options to choose from. Shopping online is very convenient as one has to just open a laptop or PC to shop rather then getting ready and pass through rush hour traffics. Shopping online saves time and money along with lesser effort is required in comparison to store purchases. Consumers feel that carrying cash or credit cards all the way to the store is meaning less if one can purchase the same product from their home. The educated consumers are aware of the buying procedures online which they feel are pretty simple.The only worry of consumers is regarding the trustworthiness of some websites, since they have to give their credit card details to shop online. Many of the consumers are aware of the various online scams due to which they are very concern ed and reluctant while providing their credit card information online. Also the online purchases take a longer time in shipments and deliveries. The psychology of an Indian consumer is still the same of checking the product physically before purchasing it, which creates a mental hurdle for online shopping. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 6|Page www. ijmit. com

Warped Tour And better – Creative Writing

I gazed up in amazement at the enormous steel arch which made up the railway bridge, which I, together with the other thousands of fans, was shuffling under making our way towards the vast expanse of open fields that constituted the concert arena. I hoisted myself onto the metal barrier enclosing the mass of people and slowly inched my way toward the make shift box office to collect my tickets. By the time I reached the box office it was eleven thirty and it was 100à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½F. The midday sun was harsh and I could feel the heat cutting across my neck like a red hot rapier. The dust was incredible. The grass had been worn away by the thousands of shoes scouring it, causing a permanent haze of dust to envelope the crowd as they rushed into the field beyond. As I crumpled against a steel post forming a chain link fence, I peered down at my feet and noticed rivers of sweat cascading down my legs and evaporating into the haze. Every time I took a breath I felt an abrasive sensation in my throat, causing a painful scratching around my tonsils, which I eventually relieved by bringing up a ball of brown mucus which I spat out onto the dusty ground and rubbed into the earth with my foot. I got the tickets. Once past the tickets and through a series of security checks I ambled into centre of a cluster of around two hundred gazebos, all of them hung with eye catching decorations, selling a vast variety of music paraphernalia, however, I was looking for just one tent; the DRIVE-THRU RECORDS tent. Quickly I paced through serried ranks of displays until a glint of orange caught the corner of my eye and there in bold, black print were the words DRIVE-THRU RECORDS. I barged through the throng of people twisting and turning until I arrived at the stand and was greeted by my sister who had managed to obtain VIP entry to the venue. As I gazed over her shoulder I spied tables decked with musical memorabilia and perched on the edge of one of the tables was a large glass jug containing cool, clear water. Grabbing the jug I swigged the water down in two massive gulps and wiped my hand across my mouth licking the final few droplets from around my lips. Having been refreshed I continued my quest to find the stages, however it was cut short when a magnificent cheer erupted from my right. Spurred on by this roar of excitement I grabbed my friend and dragged him with me toward the noise. We burst through the line of the regimented gazebos and finally found ourselves in the crushing surge of people pressing towards the stage. Surveying the crowd we spied gaps and quickly manoeuvred our way between the bodies until we could squeeze through any further as it was just too packed. As the guitarists struck the first chords the crowd went wild, pulsating into life, jumping, waving, screaming and shrieking with delight. The atmosphere was electric injecting everyone with pure adrenaline and energy. The last note was twanged and like a switch it caused the horde of people to slowly flood out towards the tents and huddle around the stalls selling water. But not me, because, as if by magic, my sister appeared about 100 yards away. She was waving two thin slips of orange paper, trying to lure me towards her. I couldn't quite make out what the papers were, but I had a good idea. I signalled to my friend to head toward her. As we got closer the slips seemed to glow a much more vibrant orange and I knew exactly what they were; backstage passes. Like a deer, frozen in headlights, I stood in a trance as she handed us the passes to stick around our wrists. Once I was out of my own world, my sister and I snaked through the crowd towards the tour bus whilst my friend shuffled to the front of the crowd to watch the next band. As I stepped onto the tour bus (which my sister had been staying on for the last five weeks) I felt a blast of cool clean air hit my face and the bus almost felt cold as I felt the hairs on my arms prick up. My sister grabbed two bottles and chucked one to me. She introduced me to a few of the other people retreating from the heat and then we headed out. Over the last few weeks when my sister had been away whenever I spoke to her over the phone she would brag about how she was making friends with some of the famous people on tour. One of them being someone who I practically worshiped! And I was about to meet him. I stared in disbelief as a man who I have posters of on my wall waved and smiled at my sister. The man, Travis Barker, was under a gazebo (guarded by the biggest man I'd ever seen) behind the main stage. He was leant over a small box with pads which would light up and he would hit them with his drum sticks. My sister walked up to him while I followed trying to work out if it was dream. My sister introduced me to him and when he shook my hand it sent a shiver down my spine. My sister and I spoke to him for a while despite the fact I was so dumbstruck. Eventually we had to leave as he had to play so I got him to sign my hat even though I felt stupid asking and we headed back to the tour bus. The rest of the day seemed to go quickly after this in a blur of watching bands and staggering to the tour bus for replenishment. The last image I have of the day is looking back at all the people, the astonishing size of the whole field and how amazing Warped Tour had been, but it was nothing like looking down at my hat which was I was clutching in my hand.

Is God Responsible for Evil in the World? Essay

For thousands of years already the adepts of the three world’s most widespread monotheistic religions, which are Christianity, Islam and Judaism, have been arguing for whether their deity is responsible for all the evil that happens in our world. Numerous books were written on this issue, and lots of disputes took place worldwide, but the answer hadn’t been found that would satisfy both the followers of those religions and their opponents. The believers deny the assumption that their omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God is also the creator of evil, while atheists use it as the main argument in proving the ridiculousness of religious beliefs. Lots of philosophers, politicians and theologians have devoted their works to the research of this issue. Moojan Moman in his book The Phenomenon of Religion writes: â€Å"the presence of evil and suffering in the world has even been argued by some philosophers from Epicurus (341-270bce) to David Hume (1711-76ce) to cast doubt on the existence of God. Other more modern writers such as Freud and Marx sought to show that religion’s explanations of the presence of evil and suffering were based on delusion†[1]   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The adepts of monotheistic religions reject this hypothesis because it conflicts with their statement that the God loves all of his creations. In the notion of most people it’s impossible to love someone deeply, and, in the same time, to make him or her suffer. Thus, the explanation of the existence of evil in the world for the common believers is that the deity granted free will and a right to choose to all of his creations, and if people choose to commit wrong and evil deeds, it’s not his fault. But here a question arises which’s why the omnipotent deity does nothing to stop the doings that hurt the creatures he loves so much.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other religious leaders explain that all the evil in the world happens because God wants to temp his adepts, or to give them a chance to become stronger through the trials he sends them. But if we look at this question from that viewpoint, therefore the kind nature of the deity would again be questioned, as a â€Å"loving father†, as the believers sometimes call their worshipped deity, wouldn’t have made his beloved children suffer to prove their faithfulness and devotion to him, or to help them develop some of the positive moral qualities and values. It’s obvious that a loving and caring ‘parent’ would’ve given his children careful guidance to make them better. The Christians and Jewish also prefer to omit the fact that the superior creature, their God presumably is, wouldn’t have behaved himself as a capricious child, demanding Abraham’s son Isaac to be sacrificed to him in order to prove Abraham’s devotion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christians disagree with the statement that God, who’s a creator of all life in the Earth, is also the one who’s ultimately responsible for the evil that takes place in the world, even though numerous verses from the Bible, their sacred text give the evidence to support this claim, like the ones given below: Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? (Amos 3:6)[2] I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live. And I polluted them in their own gifts†¦( Ezekiel 20:25,26)[3] Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you. (Jeremiah 18:11)[4], and, finally: I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. ( Isaiah 45:7)[5] Thus it’s obvious that it’s the deity the Christians worship who created the evil that exists in the world, and it’s clearly written in their sacred text. Unfortunately, this fact doesn’t fit into the concept of kind and forgiving God the Christian theologians and church leaders have been creating throughout the ages, that’s why the theologians try to interpret this verses as the mistakes done by the numerous translators of the Bible, arguing over the meanings of the initial world that is translated as ‘evil’ in most of the existing copies of Bible worldwide. The Muslim’s have a viewpoint on the purpose of the human’s existence on this earth different from the one the Christians and Jewish hold, which dictates the differences in their understandings of God. For Muslims this world is a kind of a test center, the place where all the actions and thoughts of every man are evaluated by the superior creature, and the humans are rewarded or punished depending of their balance of their things and right doings. For them the God is not a merciful and loving father, but a strict and demanding judge who knows about every their action and thought. Regardless of the differences in interpreting the sense of life by the Muslims, Christians and Jewish, Muslims also prove that their deity isn’t the one responsible for the wrongdoings in the world. They prove that the God had granted his creations with the right to choose between the evil and good, and, moreover, it’s the sole purpose of their life on the earth. He is capable of stopping all the wrongdoings, but he doesn’t do it, as he needs them to later judge the people who committed them. Nadir Aqeel, the author of the Frequently asked questions regarding Determinism and Free Will, the article found on the Understanding Islam Website, draws the analogy with the examination hall, where the God is the supervisor. Passing near the student, the supervisor sees the student writes down an incorrect question. It’s obvious that the supervisor shouldn’t correct the mistake, as this will defeat the very purpose of the examination.[6]   But, in the same time the Quoran says that nothing happens without the Allah’s permission in this world, thus he permits all the evil to exist in the world. In the law system of most countries the non-acting while knowing that a crime takes place is punished, and the person who didn’t do anything to prevent the wrongdoing is considered to be guilty partially for the crime that took place. The adepts of Islam may, of course, say, that we shouldn’t judge the superior creature with our laws, but it’s obvious that the human laws are the only ones we have, it’s our only instrument we can use to evaluate the rightness or wrongness of any deed. The basic difference between the Christianity and Judaism is that Christians believe that the human being is born in a state of sin, while the Jews believe the child is born pure, and it’s a matter of choice for whether to dirty yourself with the wrong actions and doings or to stay pure and in harmony with the surrounding world. Different branches of Judaism, the same as of Christianity or Islam, have different views on God and his role in the existence of evil and sin on our planet. For example, Reconstructionist Jews, as Emanuel S. Goldsmith states in his article Kaplan’s Contemporary Religious Relevance: A Review of Reconstructionist Philosophy and Theology, that: â€Å"God is the Energy enabling us to conquer fear and despair, alienation and loneliness. God is what infuses our lives with confidence, courage and meaningfulness. God is life with a capital â€Å"L† and goodness with a capital â€Å"G.†[7] The other Jews personalize God, but they also believe he is not the one responsible for the wrongdoings and evil that exists in the world. They state God had given his creations free will, and it’s the matter of their choice whether to dirty themselves with the wrongdoings, or to stay clean in the eyes of God, be in harmony with the surrounding world, and make the Messianic Era closer, as the Jews believe Messiah will come to the world when it’ll become perfect. The Holocaust has provoked and still arouses numerous discussions about the origins of sin and evil, and about the reasons of their appearance. Some Jews believe, that Holocaust was provoked by the sins of the Jewish nation, thus admitting that, in their opinion, god had chosen to punish his chosen nation by murdering from six to seven millions of them by the arms of Nazi. Of course, most Jewish do not share this viewpoint, as they do not want to see claim their God is a mass murderer. As we’ve seen, neither of the researched monotheistic religion supports the viewpoint that God is responsible for the evil in the world. The Jewish, Christians and Muslims hold the belief that evil and wrongdoings is the result of the right to choose, the God had granted to his creations. They also prove that God sends people sufferings and hardships to help them become stronger and better. Most of the believers also choose to ignore the fact that if the God created everything, our world, the whole universe, it’s logical that evil is also a product of his creation. Some adepts may contradict to it saying, that this is Lucifer who created evil, but most religious leaders claim that   God is the only one who’s got power to create anything as formidable. But, using elementary logic we can see, that if the God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, he: Knows when and where an evil deed will take or takes place Doesn’t do anything to prevent it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, according to the law system used by the most countries in the world, he’s guilty of non-acting, of allowing the crime to take place, regardless of the fact that it often hearts the innocent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The researched monotheistic religions choose to ignore this fact, or try to invent numerous explanations for it, because it contradicts to their conception of the righteous and kind deity, that holds the humanity as his beloved children. Works Cited Mooman, M. The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach. Oneworld Publications, 1999 The Bible. New International Version. International Bible Society, 1984 Aqeel, N. t Frequently asked questions regarding Determinism and Free Will. Understanding Islam Website, 2004. Retrieved from URL Goldsmith, E. Kaplan’s Contemporary Religious Relevance: A Review of Reconstructionist Philosophy and Theology. Reconstructionism Today, 2001 P.S: If you have any questions or corrections please contact me immediately Luck      [1] Mooman, M. The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach. Oneworld Publications, 1999 [2] The Bible. New International Version. International Bible Society, 1984 [3] Same [4] Same [5] Same [6] Aqeel, N. t Frequently asked questions regarding Determinism and Free Will. Understanding Islam Website, 2004 [7] Goldsmith, E. Kaplan’s Contemporary Religious Relevance: A Review of Reconstructionist Philosophy and Theology. Reconstructionism Today, 2001

Couple of Questions to answer. two paragraphs for each Essay

Couple of Questions to answer. two paragraphs for each - Essay Example The shifting of power over finance from king to parliament was one of the central factors that helped in the steady extension of political liberties. Power shifted from the king to those who possessed money, but economic and political benefits were not spread uniformly to sections of the society†. (Democracy) The preliminary duty of a criminal justice system in any parliamentary democracy is to protect life and property of its citizens. It should maintain the law and order of the country. Any intrusion from inside or outside should be tackled by the criminal justice system. The culprits must be produced to the court and the court will take necessary actions against the culprits if they found guilty of doing the crime. Harvard Law Review in 1949. The fictitious case revolves around explorers who cannibalize a member of their team and the five Supreme Court judges who provide opinions on what should be done with them† (The Case of the Speluncean Explorers: Nine New Opinions) Even though the members of the explorer team did this crime in order to survive, it cannot be justified since nobody have the right to take life since they cannot give it back. This crime can be justified up to certain extent as per law since no other options were left for them and moreover they have taken the opinions of others before committing the crime. But morally their crime is not justifiable. Law and morality have a definite relationship. It is difficult for the street patrol police to do the civil order policing. The psychology of the mob will be different and hence specially trained police is required to control them. Force may not be a good weapon in controlling the agitations from the mob. Only a psychological approach can be a useful one dealing with the public protests. Street patrol police are usually trained to deal with criminal groups of smaller number. So they

Medea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medea - Essay Example Through his skills in narration, Euripides takes the reader to an imaginary world where he/she is faced with every character and every dramatic situation of the play. The dramatic setting for the plight of the protagonist and the resulting plot for revenge which develops the character of Medea is portrayed by the playwright in a way which convinced his contemporary audience and continues to do so in the modern arena. As Mary Kuntz points out â€Å"in Euripides’†¦Medea, the peculiar necessity of betrayal and loyalty that makes a woman in some sense always an exile†¦Ã¢â‚¬  clarifies the strange ways of the protagonist in taking her revenge and the reader is cleverly guided by the dramatist. (Kuntz, 119) Through the skill of narration and characterization, the dramatist keeps the legacy of Greek drama, and the plot development of the play keeps the audience in high complexity of the characters’ world. The style of writing in the play helps Euripides in reflecti ng the life in Athens which also takes the audience to the dramatic setting. â€Å"To an audience raised on Aeschyluss larger- than-life personages, the leading characters of the Medea will seem disturbingly like the chattering high-folk of imperial Athens, whose dirty linen, though washed, has been hung out to dry.† (Collier and Machemer, 6) Therefore, the writing style of the playwright of Medea proves to be the single essential factor which determines the great response to the play. The plot development of Medea has a major role in the aesthetic enjoyment of the play, and the playwright has been effective in portraying the story of the revenge of a woman betrayed by her husband. Medea’s story has every characteristic of a great plot and the writing style of Euripides adds on to the beauty of the play. To the audience of Euripides, Medea’s pride in her murderous crimes is a strange expression of her foreignness to the land, and the telling of her

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example Donald starts his argument by stating that the human race cannot only have one form of a conceptual scheme and that there are many people involved and different themes for the understanding of the notion. Donald states that religion still exists even in the monotheist people and thus showing an extended description of the conceptual scheme. He goes ahead to state that one idea can be very important in that it can assist in the development of greater ideas that would eventually lead to the rise of new concepts in the field of philosophy (Ludwig 18). David goes ahead to offer the example of the relativity theory as a product of this. In describing the theory, there is the explanation that the theory is an improved version of two different theories made by an early philosopher. The theory is a product of the theory of general relativity and special relativity. This brings about the contemporary version of the theory and thus diversifying the philosophical field of view. Further explanat ion of the concept of conceptual relativity leads to David explaining that there is always an underlying notion of confusion. This from the fact that a theme or a philosophical subject to receive acclamation as a part of a conceptual scheme, from conjoined ideas, there must exist some sort of connection prior to the combination that would show a later source of fusion in explanation. This factor has led to many rules being shunned with the statement that they do not bear the required factors for them to be schemes. David offers an analysis and example in explaining this. This is where he states that the schemes may have diverging viewpoints and thus leading to a difference in language. However, when people with different languages share similar sentiments among other factors that may show their link, they are then termed as having a conceptual scheme. However, he argues that language diversity may offer some sort of misunderstanding in terms of the fact it can bring about vague real ity. Vague reality is the form of illusion that makes the brain misunderstand or incorporate ideas in a manner that it should not. This is due to increased views from a particular language specifically brought about by different backgrounds. This in its sole entity hinders the concept of reality (Davidson 8). The ability to translate a particular language is one major factor that comes into focus when identifying whether conceptual schemes can gain diversity or it is a monotonous concept. The questioning of whether a person with completely different languages that cannot be translated between them lying in a similar manner or to a common language is a major one. The explanation offered for this is diverse among different philosophers but the conclusion made by David that it all falls down to two major notions. The first notion in relation to this theme and problem is understanding whether the lack of translation is complete. In terms of an incomplete translation, the understanding i s that only a few words in a given sentence cannot be understood while the rest of them are clearly grasped by a member of a different language group. This, David states, gains recognition as a diversified factor in terms of conceptual schemes. However, the second notion implies that if a certain language is completely misunderstood and that the member of the

Comparison of ICT and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Comparison of ICT and Education - Essay Example The interest in information and communications technology (ICT) swept the latter part of the twentieth century when technological advances grew at a massive rate. It is not, therefore, surprising that institutions like education have rushed towards technologies with open arms, and sometimes unprepared for it (Murphy, Walker and Webb, 2001). It is only until recently that challenges related to implementing ICT in education have caught the attention of researchers and academics. Studies, albeit seemingly retrospective in nature, remain promising in how it may be able to successfully make use of ICT in education. Is ICT in education effective, and if so, what makes it effective? These are the two primary questions that Skyler et al (2005) and McCarthy (2009) endeavored to answer in their research studies. The former team of researchers sought to find out if there are significant differences in student responses on a special education class that was delivered in three ways: traditional classroom, online classroom, and class-in-a-box using multimedia CD-ROMs (Skyler et al, 2005). McCarthy (2009), on the other hand, evaluated the use of WebCT in e-learning using Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom’s taxonomy is often used for evaluation of students’ learning in traditional classrooms, and McCarthy (2009) applied this concept in e-learning. Generally, both articles examine the usefulness and effectiveness of ICT in education, but this is achieved through differences in the focus of the studies, which consequently direct the type of methodology used and the data collected. It would be go od to note that Skyler’s (2005) study in 2005 was used, among others, as a springboard for the McCarthy’s study in 2009. The 2005 study by Skyler et al. used pre-test, post-test and survey questionnaires to gather to examine if there were significant changes in the achievements and satisfaction of students taught in the three different settings mentioned above.

Research the event regarding the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Paper

The event regarding the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - Research Paper Example The first step to saving her life was the quick reaction of her intern, Daniel Hernandez. He rushed to her side just moments after the shooting, applied pressure to the entry wound to stem the bleeding and lifted her head up to keep her from choking on her own blood. He was called a hero for his quick thinking which played a vital role in saving her life. Gabrielle Giffords was rushed into the hospital immediately just 38 minutes of the shooting. She was conscious when she was immediately rushed to OR where trauma surgeon Peter Rhee, a former military surgeon who served in Afghanistan, worked with remarkable efficiency. The bullet hit at the back of the skull and exited at the front, travelling through the left side of the brain. The fact that the bullet went through and through, rather than staying and damaging was another reason why she survived such a fatal injury. One of her doctors believe that she was fortunate because, had she encountered a bullet in such an area which would almost prove it fatal, according to Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery said that they very quickly took her to the operating room, once in the room they performed the routine procedures for such an injury. They had to artificially protect the brain with an artificial layer. Surgeons had to remove some of her damaged tissues, but in her case the damage was not as serious. The biggest challenge that the doctors faced was that the brain may well start responding to commands like squeezing someone’s hand. The bullet of a small caliber pistol entered the back of her head and exited the front damaging the left side which controls speech. Dr Rhee told that Ms, Giffords was fortunate because the bullet stayed on the left side and did not travel through the midline which would have resulted in death. The doctors also did not have to remove so much of the dead brain tissue and bone fragments, because pieces of bones travel within the brain cause

Poaching in Zimbabwea, causes and attempts to stop sense the 1990s Essay

Poaching in Zimbabwea, causes and attempts to stop sense the 1990s - Essay Example About 1000 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2013 alone (The Citizen1). Poaching in Zimbabwe has become a great challenge to the Zimbabwean government due to the high demand of rhino and elephant horns in Asia the Greatest market being China. In Asia, the rhino horns are greatly respected and taken as a status symbol and have medicinal value (The Citizen1). The cases of poaching have dropped in Zimbabwe in recent years because the conservation authorities in Zimbabwe have adopted stern measures including conviction and jail terms for poachers. Additionally, they have also taken steps to track the animals via satellite and relocated the animals to safer sanctuaries. Poachers use various tactics to kill the animals like poisoning and shooting. According to the wildlife conservation of Zimbabwe, more than 300 elephants were poisoned using cyanide in 2013 alone. Zimbabwe has a major poaching problem caused by the outside influence of China and that of neighboring African countries. H owever, there have been efforts made by the Zimbabwean government and other organizations, like the United Nations, to stop poaching. Furthermore, due to the increasing wealth in Asian countries China Inclusive, the demand for rhino horns and ivory has gone up. This is because these goods are the status symbol of wealth, and there is a ready market by African buyers who serve as dealers to Asia. Due to the increased demand of Ivory in Asia, poaching in Africa increased in 2011 and 2013 (Hsdl.org 1). Research has shown some rogues terrorists collude with government officials in Zimbabwe to execute poaching. Consequently, ivory smuggling in Zimbabwe is executed by high confidence traffickers who use sophisticated networks to move ivory from local areas to ports of exit accelerated by corruption of the border insecurity. In Zimbabwe, these networks are related with illegitimate weapons

Destination Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Destination Management - Assignment Example This is done with the aim of improving the wealth of the experience for both tourists and locals as well as ensures sustainability of the environment and activities that promote tourism. When the content of this discussion are considered in line with the definition of sustainable tourism, it is evident that development is core in achieving the latter. According to the WTO (1981), sustainable tourism development has to do with meeting the desires and expectants of visitors and the host regions but also protecting the areas and the culture for posterity (p.89).Tourism should ideally be carried through careful resource management in such a way that aesthetic needs are met while cultural integrity and biological diversity are preserved. Stage of development According to Butler (1980), there are seven stages of tourism development â€Å"lifecycle †(1980, p. 6)and they will be discussed herein in relation to the city of Venice in an effort to understand its growth and changes in reg ard to the tourism industry. The first stages are exploitation then involve of locals in providing facilities which results in the place becoming a popular destination (Garay & Ca`noves, 2010). Venice being one of the oldest cities in the world underwent these centuries ago and kept rising and falling depending on prevailing regional political stability. In the last few decades, Italy recognized the potential of Venice as a tourist destination and made efforts to advertise it, the world has recognized it as such too and millions of visitors flood there every year. However, due to the high number of tourists, they have destabilized the lives of the locals by making the city crowded and making it so expensive that many venetians are driven to live elsewhere. This is the fourth stage currently most dominantly manifested by the city today. Tourism facilities may also likely start to fade, as indeed they are due to the impact of too heavy a flow and if no action is taken to restore the o ld Venice tourism in the region will likely stagnate. The tourism managers in Venice have clearly noticed this and much effort has been put in restoration especially after the flood of 1968, this is the sixth stage of restoration, it has to a large extent been successful thanks to the combined efforts of the stakeholders. Should restoration fail, Venice would decline and ultimate previously tourist supported systems would fail. Approach to destination management A workshop on report produced by UNESCO on tourism in Venice asserted on the need for a diversified and sustainable cultural tourism and improved tourism management so as to effectively prioritize the needs of the host community. The need for better destination management stems from, among others, the fact that despite hosting over 22 million guests, only about 4 million spend the night, ergo, this makes tourism in the city more of a free ride than a cultural experience (UNESCO, 2011). The former is however neither sustainab le nor healthy for the industry since â€Å"free riders† will rarely appreciate the sights and experiences enough to contribute to their growth by coming back An major managerial challenge facing the municipality of Venice ensuring a regular flow of visitors all year round to increase productivity as well as reduce the high costs of short

Charge of the Light Brigade and the Last of the Light Brigade Essay Example for Free

Charge of the Light Brigade and the Last of the Light Brigade Essay The themes of The Charge of the Light Brigade and The Last of the Light Brigade both have to deal with soldiers battling for their country; however, the key difference that separates the two is that the theme of The Charge of the Light Brigade has more of a positive tone than The Last of the Light Brigade The themes of both The Charge of the Light Brigade and The Last of the Light Brigade bot have to deal with soldiers battling for their country; however, the tone of the two different poems is different that differentiate the two. In The Charge of the Light Brigade, the tone of the poem has more of a positive aspect: â€Å"Boldy they rode and well,/Into the jaws of Death,/Into the mouth of Hell/Rode the six hundred,†(Paragraph 3, line 6-8). This shows how they boldly rode into battle, which is a more of a positive connotation because they are doing an act of bravery for their country. In this instance, the people in The Charge of the Light Brigade were portrayed in a more positive aspect than the latter. Another key contrast between these two poems is that the connotation and the diction they used is quite different. In The Last of the Light Brigade, they use diction that conveys the tone of melancholy and depression, whereas The Charge of the Light Brigade has a more positive aspect. â€Å"They had neither food nor money, they had neither service nor trade;/They were only shiftless soldiers, the Last of the Light Brigade,†(Lines 3-4). This gives the poem a more desolate tone by saying they did not have money or food, and that is the words that the author uses to convey the message in the poem, whereas The Charge of the Light Brigade use more positive diction that gives the reader a sense of optimism. â€Å"Storm’d at with and shot and shell,/ boldly they rode and well,†(21-22). In this aspect, it shows that the soldiers were given a more positive aspect just by the words they used compared to the Last of the Light Brigade, which is a more desolate poem due to the words they chose. Overall, the poem is very similar in many aspects, but the differences keep these poems extremely distinct from each other. They all have to do with battle, but the diction and themes in both poems causes them to be different from each other.

Extended commentary of The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy Essay Example for Free

Extended commentary of The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy Essay On the title: A thrush is a bird; plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized, often inhabiting wooded areas. They feed on the ground or eat small fruit – but aren’t famed for their songs. Examples include a robin. ‘Darkling’ is an archaic word for ‘a creature of darkness’ or ‘in the dark’. Hardy uses it in its latter sense – the bird appears in a very gloomy scene, at the end of the day, at the end of the year (and century, for that matter). It also has negative connotations as well, however – for obvious reasons. Potential other implications: ‘darkling’ is perhaps used to create a diminutive form of the thrush (like a ‘duckling’). Other critics have identified the title as explaining, or preparing the reader for the unexpected advent of the bird half way through the poem, appearing into the scene from nowhere. Perhaps Hardy was attempting to use an antiquitated word to further demonstrate the bird is bringing joy to a dark land, and that there exists an enormous time difference between the new century and the old? Overall Structure: Hardy uses four regular eight line iambic stanzas; in either ‘tetrameter’ or ‘trimeter’, depending on the length of the line. This meter creates a poetic lilt, with alternate stressed feet. It seems very out of place in such a depressing poem we must question why this is. Does it reflect the hope expressed at the end of the poem, or prepares us for it? Or does it tell of an oddity within the persona; is his negative manner actually genuine – perhaps we shouldnt accept the persona’s judgment/emotions to the same extent as hed like us to? His choice of rhyme scheme and meter along with the harsh subject fail to match up. Themes: Time (passing of century), Isolation, Man and the Natural World. Difficult Language Notes: ‘Darkling’ – discussed above. ‘Illimited’ is an archaic form of ‘unlimited’. First and Second Stanza Notes: As usual, Hardy presents us with an image, this time of a landscape – a depressing one, at that. This poem was published at the end of the century – 31st December 1900 (Hardy was one of those people who believe that a century is complete when the hundredth year is over.) It is very cold and frosty and the day is growing to a close. It really is the end of a century. And Hardy presents us with a very clear image of death – he later personifies the Century itself as being dead. The first two stanzas are full of death-language: 1. â€Å"When Frost was spectre-gray†. A clear example of ghost imagery (‘a spectre’). This line is of interest on its own, due to the obvious personification of ‘Frost’. This is a good place to make a key note about the poem itself. Throughout, we discover a distinct Hardy-esque style; the environment is unpleasant and it demonstrates his usual antics in animism. Hardy develops complex (and often deeply personal) symbolic systems which deal almost exclusively with the natural world. The reader is made personal with non-human entities like frost and birds but avoids people – even the persona is a subject avoided in great detail. 1. Back with the ‘death imagery’, â€Å"The weakening eye of day†; a comment on the darkening sky – the day is dying. 1. â€Å"All mankind that haunted nigh† – haunted is clearly a reference to death and ghosts. Hardy is commenting on the lack of human life in his scene; they â€Å"had sought their household fires†. A further indication of the low temperature. Is it a hint that the world is ending? Or is that just a little extreme? In any case, note how the rest of humanity are seeking light in an otherwise dark environment. The second stanza contains an extended metaphor involving the dead century, but we need to examine the first stanza more before moving on. Hardy’s persona is leaning upon a coppice gate – a gate into a small woods or ‘coppice’. It is a highly ambiguous persona (another thing to explore), but he leans nevertheless. The scene is wintry, indeed, along with Frost, Winter is personified equally – â€Å"Winter’s dregs made desolate/ The weakening eye of day.† The dregs of the season indicate a very cold atmosphere; one without much colour. Clearly this has emptied the scene of any colourful sight upon which the â€Å"eye of day† weakens. The day is ending; thus dusk darkens the scene. â€Å"Tangled bine-stems scored the sky/ Like strings of broken lyres†. As before mentioned, the persona is standing in woodland, thus â€Å"Bine-stems† are tree branches. Hardy’s comparison of them to broken lyres is interesting. Lyres are a) harmonious in Classical literature and b) belong only in Classical literature. Hardy is clearly stating that the scene is not ‘harmonious’ or perhaps the ‘death-lament’ later mentioned isn’t. Or is it also a reference Hardy’s romantic passion for the past, that it was somehow better than the day in which he writes? Second Stanza Notes: The first four lines of this stanza deal explicitly with Hardy’s ‘dead Century’ metaphor. He imagines the land before him as â€Å"the Century’s corpse outleant.† Quite what ‘outleant’ means, I have no idea, (The OED has confirmed that ‘outleant’ is not, nor ever has been a word) but â€Å"his crypt [becomes] the cloudy canopy† (the cloudy sky) and â€Å"the wind his death-lament†. One need not explain it in any more detail; the implications are quite explicit. Hardy’s persona clearly didn’t approve of the past century, but had yet to indicate an emotional reflection on the future. He imagines England as a rotting corpse, essentially. However, note the use of the verb ‘seems’ – is all as it seems? However, Hardy goes on to write even more damningly of his persona’s scene. ‘The ancient pulse of germ and birth’ – the regenerative power of life, following Winter’s onslaught – ‘was shrunken dry and hard’. Nothing appears to be growing back – is this another indication of the end of the world, or certainly of an era. Hardy appears to be making the simple change of an arbitrary number into something quite different, and more serious. A degeneration of life itself. Indeed, â€Å"every spirit upon earth/ Seemed fervourless than I.† Very negative. Observe how silent the description is up to this point in the poem. There is an implied sound in both the death-lament and of broken lyres, but otherwise, the sound is non-existent. That changes soon. Here comes the VOLTA. Third Stanza Notes: â€Å"At once a voice arose among The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong Of Joy illimited;† Hardy emphasizes a sudden change with the words â€Å"At once† – indeed, there are multiple changes which create this volta: * Note the sudden inclusion of sound – the thrush is singing! This breaks the poetic still (of death) which has held the poem so far. * The length of ‘sentence’ also changes. Note the semicolon at the end of these four lines above. Previously, each quatrain had completed with a full stop. Perhaps Hardy is opening up his poetic form to mirror the sudden movement in the lines themselves. The use of enjambment accentuates this. There are perhaps religious connotations with ‘evensong’. Much as Hardy may simply be again referring to the mundane fact that the bird is singing a ‘song’ and ‘eve’, we pray that the man is capable of higher minded comparisons. These vaguely religious nuances are maintained throughout the poem. The crucial fact is that the mood has changed, perhaps. â€Å"Of Joy illimited† suggests a pleasant image, which stands in stark contrast to the surrounding gloom. â€Å"An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, In blast-beruffled plume,† Yet the mood is suddenly plunged back into the red with Hardy’s following lines. The thrush, which is, admittedly, a very odd bird to chose (not famed for their song), is an elderly figure in a storm – hence the ‘blast-beruffled plume’. In this otherwise grim situation, the reader’s immediate concern is whether the bird itself is going to survive at all! The use of â€Å"frail, gaunt, and small† mirrors the ghoulish imagery used in the first two stanzas – the thrush is alive, for certain, but perhaps the persona questions for how much longer? Note how the thrush is NOT personified. Every other element of the natural world takes an animated form, but not the bird! Why does Hardy do this? â€Å"Had chosen thus to fling his soul Upon the growing gloom.† Perhaps desperation is the key word in this stanza, but also hope. There is a powerful message in the face of this ghoulish bird; that, in spite of all the darkness and death, the thrush maintains his song. Stanza Four Notes: â€Å"So little cause for carolings Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things Afar or nigh around,† Once again, Hardy’s use of enjambment allows for the lines to ‘bleed’ into each other – in a direct contrast to the poem’s former rigidity. Perhaps he is now gathering momentum for a change in mood? Yet, in terms of sense, Hardy appears to be doing the opposite. He states that the bird has no reason to be singing a joyful song amongst so much desolation. However, perhaps, by even considering such a fact, the persona’s own deep-rooted pessimism is beginning to shift away? On some key language points: * Note more religious emphasis: ‘carolings’ typically sing hymns at Christmas time. Hymns are definitely religious! * Perhaps there is an equally religious connotation which Hardy applies to his comments on the ‘terrestrial things’. If there is not any cause for singing about things on Earth, then perhaps, reciprocally, there is cause for celebrating the sky, or heaven? â€Å"That I could think there trembled through His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware.† It is a rather ambiguous ending upon which Hardy chooses to conclude, but he achieves a sense of dramatic effect through it. The persona realises the presence of (a perhaps religious) hope, in the fact of utter desperation, but it is unintelligible to him. In an odd way, the reader is forced to consider whether the persona is being entirely accurate: * Can one be unaware of something, yet still able to write about it? * Does this tell us that the persona, as a Modernist, is able to perceive such an uplifting messages but unable to interpret them in such a way as to ‘release’ himself from the ‘dark’? Hardy himself was a modernist and therefore dwells upon an odd lot of ideas. Amongst them was ‘searching for hope/meaning to darkness and cruelty’. Despite being a realist, he was deeply influenced by Romantic notions (look them up) – perhaps this exploration is one of them? * The use of ‘blessed’ again implies a deified presence within the thrush’s message. Is the persona experiencing some divine inspiration?

Changes to Crime Rates in the UK

Changes to Crime Rates in the UK Crime has devastating consequences to the economic and social dimensions of any country. Unfortunately despite increased efforts to fight crime halting it seems to be impossible. Slack (2009) points out that official crime figures indicate that the country has the worst rate essentially for all types, or categories of violent crimes when compared to the United States and other countries that appear on the list of the most dangerous countries in the world. Hicks and Allen (1999, 5) indicate that the figure of homicides which include offences of manslaughter, murder and infanticide have doubled since 1960s however, the state that recorded crime fell considerably in the 1990s. They assert that the rising trend of crime that was reported began in 1954 seemingly declining starting 1992 when reported crime peaked. Nonetheless the British Survey reports show the 1990s estimates of unreported crime as standing at fifty six percent and thus making it unclear whether there was indeed a decline in the 1990s. Additionally the rate of crime might have not reduced since statistics show that the average prison population has been increasing since 1940s to approximately sixty five thousand in 1998. Nonetheless the police insist that the crime rates have been declining over the years starting that they did peak in 1995 but have steadily reduced since especially due to government efforts. Home office (2008) statistics also indicate crime rates peaked in 1995 but have since dropped by 42 percent. In 2009 police reports show that crime decreased by five percent when compared to 2007/2008 rates while BCS reports show no significant change in the rates. NIMS (2008) are however of the idea that the overall crime rates have been decreasing over the past few years although some years have experienced slight increases in the rates. In general from the reports it can be concluded that on average the rates of crime have slightly decreased. On the most recent figures, what percentage of all crimes recorded by the police do the following constitute: Murder? Rape? Theft? Car theft? 2008/09 provisional data by the police show 648 occurrences of homicide. This is the lowest recorded figure in the last twenty years. Attempted murders, whose figure stood at 621 in 2007/2008 decreased by approximately forty six incidences or seven percent in 2008/2009. While there was a decline in the homicide offences that involved sharp instruments by approximately 18 incidents, attempted murders that involved knifes rose from approximately 245 to 271 incidents. Generally, of all crimes that the police recorded in the period 2008/09 murder accounted for less than two percent of them. Police records also show that while sexual offences recorded a 4 percent drop women rape increased by 12,000 cases which translates to five percent. Additionally car theft accounted for thirteen percent of all the crimes committed in 2008/09 (Home Office 2009, 16). On the most recent British Crime Survey figures, what is the most commonly experienced form of crime? According to Home Office (2009, 16), British Crime Survey statistics present property crime as the most common misdemeanor experienced by individuals. Property crime accounts for nearly eighty percent of the crimes that were recorded by BCS. Nevertheless this current figure is still lower since the high or peak point in 1995. What is meant by clear-up rates? Tarling (2008, 148) explains that while crime rate refers to the total figure of crimes that the police recorded per 100,000 people, clear up rate is described as the percentage of crime recorded that is solved or detected by the police. Home Office (2009, 131) clarify that the clear up rates may not be definitive indicators or measures of the police investigative performance and thus need to be evaluated or interpreted with care. Give examples of variations in clear up rates between crime categories. What reasons might be given for these variations? According to Home Office (2009, 131) just like in the previous years there was a variation in the clear up rates for the distinct crime types in 2008/09. For instance there was a 95% clear up rate for drug offences but 11% for vehicle offences. Additionally while the clear up rates for burglary stood at thirteen percent, criminal damage rates stood at 14%, robbery at 21%, fraud and offences at 28%, sexual offences 31% and violence against persons 47%. One of the main reasons that have been given for these differences is the nature of crime. For instance drug offences which record the highest rate are easy to clear since they are relatively straightforward to handle; to deal with an offender in possession of such substances a warning may simply be issued to the delinquent. However the rates are much lower in offences against vehicles or burglary since the offences typically come to light much later or days after they have been committed and the offenders have disappeared from the crime scene. Crime mix and the methods that are put into use by the police to detect the various offences can also lead to a variation in the clear up rates. What is the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and why is it important? The NCRS provides general rules and regulations for recording offenses and has been approved and adopted by police forces since 2002 in England and Wales. It requires that all incidents reports whether from witnesses, third parties or victims and whether crime linked or not need result in an incident report registration. The NCRS represents the government attempt to overcome crime recording variations and provide accuracy and consistency in data entry between police divisions and forces. It is also important since it is meant to provide reliable data that is used to measure and compare police divisions and forces performance creating room for improvements (Hallam 2009, 38-41). NCRS also allows a crime recording approach that is victim oriented allowing the forces to fairly serve the populace. Which groups in the population are most at risk of becoming victims of violent crime? The general characteristics of adults that are susceptible or are most at risk of being violent crimes victims has not changed over the years. Essentially the overall risk of one becoming a violent crime victim in the period within 2008/09 was reported as being approximately 3%. Reports also indicate that males were twice as likely as women to become victims of violent crimes. According to the BCS survey the figure for men that had fallen victim to such crimes a year before the analysis stood at about 4 percent compared to 2% for women. Therefore the risk is highest for men than women. In addition risk of facing violent crimes for men decreased as their ages increased. Risk levels were found to be less than 1% for men that were sixty five years and older while those aged between sixteen and twenty four had a risk calculated at 13%. Similar trends were observed in females although the risk rates differed, with those between sixteen and twenty four facing a risk of about 5%. The unempl oyed people risk of becoming victims to such crime stood at 7.6 percent while that of the employed people was recorded at approximately 3%. Unmarried males and females (7.6 percent), students (8.6 percent) and individuals with mixed ethnicity (7 percent) also showed a higher than average risk of becoming violent crimes victims (Home Office 2009, 47). In terms of age and gender, which groups in the population are most likely to be known as  offenders? Offenders are likely to be young and male in terms of gender. In half of the reported violent crimes the offenders were believed or found to be between sixteen and twenty four years of age. Additionally from eighty percent of the incidents male offenders were found to be the main culprits as compared to fourteen percent for their female counterparts. The probability of males committing crime was in fact higher for all crimes. As age increased it became less likely that individuals would commit an offense. While individuals between 16 and 24 had a 55% chance, those between 25 and 39 had a thirty percent chance while those that were forty years and older had a 13 percent chance of committing crime (Home Office 2009, 70). Compared with other countries, is the crime rate in England Wales high, low, or average? Reports by the United Nations and the European Union indicate that the UK has been ranked second based in terms of overall crime rates in the EU, with higher percentages of homicides than those in Italy, German, Spain and France (Slack, 2009). Furthermore the UK is fourth in burglary rates and fifth in robbery rates when compared to most of the western European countries. The UK basically records the highest absolute burglary figure in the EU actually with double the total number of offenses that are recorded in France and Germany. Moreover Britain has been named as the most violent nation in the EU. According to Slack (2009) there are 2034 offenses occurring in every 100, 000 people in the UK, Austrias figures stands at 1677, US 466, South Africa 1609 and Canada 935. The crime rate is therefore generally high when compared with the other countries (Slack, 2009). In comparison with other jurisdictions, is the use of imprisonment in England Wales low, high or average? The proportion or percentage of the population that is imprisoned in any country varies with the conviction rates, crime rates, prison sentences length and tendency to issue prison sentences as opposed to community service or fines. Despite the declining crime rates in the UK imprisonment rates have steadily increased leading to overcrowding in prison facilities. When compared to Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Austria, France, Spain and Canada the use of imprisonment in the UK is high (US BJS, 2005). Nonetheless when the compared to the United States, Singapore and Portugal, England and Wales use of imprisonment is average. According to BBC (2005) in every population of 100,000, 726 were in prison in the US, 142 in the UK and 58 in Japan in the year 2005.

herody Free Essays on Homers Odyssey - Odysseus Is Not A Hero :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Odysseus Is Not A Hero A hero is "a man noted for his special achievements" according to the dictionary, but if you ask most people what a hero is, you will get the same general response. They will probably say "someone who does something for other people out of the goodness of his heart." Odysseus, who is the main character of the book "The Odyssey" written by Homer, would fit the dictionary's definition of a hero; but if you go deeper, looking at what people feel a hero is, he doesn't even come close. In the book, Odysseus does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Even if Odysseus fought in the Trojan War, he is not a hero because he is self-centered and ignorant to other people's values and needs. There are multiple examples of Odysseus being self-centered, such as not taking people's advice. Odysseus was given advice from Circe that said not to try to fight Scylla even when she takes six of your men, but Odysseus tried to fight her and he lost three more men than the six he already lost. He also neglected to take the advice from his crew member, Eurylochus. Eurylochus told Odysseus not to send men to see what was on Circe's island and because he sent them anyway, they ended up being turned into pigs. Odysseus also neglects other people's lives when he takes action; such as when he tried to fight Scylla after strictly being told not to. Because of this ignorant action, he lost three more men on top of the other six. He also sacrificed men when he waited at the Cyclops' home for "gifts." Odysseus was very self-centered where real heroes are not. Odysseus also lacks the part of the hero profile which includes having a good heart. Odysseus definitely does not have this because he kills people without giving them a chance. Odysseus killed every one of the suitors in cold blood when most of them didn't commit a crime suitable for the death penalty. He also killed all of the maids who were raped by the suitors as if the had a choice in the matter. Odysseus also doesn't care about his crew members.

Animals are Valuable in Behavioral Research :: Behavioral Research Essays

From the dawn of time, when the first human killed an animal for food, or drove it from a fruit patch so that he could eat instead, there has been competition with animals for basic resources. Likewise, over the ages, humans have contemplated their relationship with animals. Ancestral societies worshipped the animals they used recognizing that the lives they took fueled their own lives. Further introspection on humanity's place in the world resulted in the development of codes of morality and ethics and subsequently the first modern religions. While biblical views of animals are primarily those of utility rather than of moral value, early scholars argued that animals should be treated kindly because animal cruelty represented a flawed morality and was ultimately detrimental to the moral development of humans. This view that humans may ultimately be judged based on their treatment of other lives exists to this day, and for many, is a strong argument for stewardship toward animals. Interestingly, advances in biology that began in the 1800's have provided some of the strongest arguments for imbuing animals with an enhanced moral value. By recognizing that the nervous systems of all vertebrate animals are very similar, it is assumed that activities that will cause a human pain or distress will likewise cause pain or distress to other animals. It is for this reason that current animal use regulations require the use of analgesics, anesthetics and sedatives for any procedures on animals that may cause more than momentary pain or distress. Animal experimentation is an essential component of biomedical and behavioral research, a critical part of efforts to prevent, cure, and treat a vast range of ailments. As in the past, investigators are using animals to learn about the most widespread diseases of the age, including heart disease and cancer, as well as to gain basic knowledge in genetics, physiology, and other life sciences. Animals are also needed to combat new diseases, of which AIDS is currently the most prominent example. As Miller (1985) pointed out in a trenchant defense of animal research in psychology, behavioral research on animals has laid the foundation for breakthroughs in the treatment of drug addiction, anxiety disorders, phobias, urinary incontinence, and ruminative vomiting. At the same time, behavioral researchers are drawing on animal studies to learn more about such major causes of human suffering as mental illness, and senility. Teaching machines and programmed learning have evolved out of experimental work on animals (Skinner, 1958) and are being used to increase the efficiency of instruction by the armed forces and by industry.

La Malinche Essay -- essays research papers

"La Malinche." Slave, interpreter, secretary, mistress, mother of the first "Mexican." her very name still stirs up controversy. Many Mexicans continue to revile the woman called Doà ±a Marina by the Spaniards and La Malinche by the Aztecs, labeling her a traitor and harlot for her role as the alter-ego of Cortes as he conquered Mexico. They ignore that she saved thousands of Indian lives by enabling Cortes to negotiate rather than slaughter. Her ability to communicate also enabled the Spaniards to introduce Christianity and attempt to end human sacrifice and cannibalism. Herself a convert, baptized Marina, she was an eloquent advocate for her new faith. As for the charges against her, they are in my opinion baseless. So let us visit this remarkable woman and examine the facts. All historians agree that she was the daughter of a noble Aztec family. Upon the death of her father, a chief, her mother remarried and gave birth to a son. Deciding that he rather than Marina, should rule, she turned her young daughter over to some passing traders and thereafter pro- claimed her dead. Eventually, the girl wound up as a slave of the Cacique (the military chief) of Tabasco. By the time Cortes arrived, she had learned the Mayan dialects used in the Yucatan while still understanding Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs and most Non-Mayan Indians. "La Malinche" did not choose to join Cortes. She was offered to him as a slave by the Cacique of Tabasco, along with 19 other young women. She had no voice in the matter. Up till then, Cortes had relied on a Spanish priest, Jeronimo de Aguilar, as his interpreter. Shipwrecked off Cozumel, Aguilar spoke the Mayan language as well as Spanish. But when the expedition left the Mayan-speaking area, Cortes discovered that he could not communicate with the Indians. That night he was advised that one of the women given to him in Tabasco spoke "Mexican." Doà ±a Marina now enters Mexican history. It was she who served as the interpreter at the first meetings between Cortes and the representatives of Moctezuma. At that time Marina spoke no Spanish. She translated what the Aztecs said into the Mayan dialect understood by de Aguilar and he relayed it to Cortes in Spanish. The process was then reversed, Spanish to Mayan and Mayan to Nahuatl. Bernal Diaz, author of "The Conquest of New Spain" authe... ...e was full of corpses. The dry land and stockades were piled high with the dead. We also found Mexicans lying in their own excrement, too sick to move." After the Conquest, Cortes, with a wife in Spain, arranged to have Marina married to a Castilian knight, Don Juan Xamarillo. Soon thereafter she disappeared from history. But she had borne Cortes a son, Don Mahin Cortes. While many other Indian women were impregnated by Spaniards, we have no record of their fate. Hence, if modern-day Mexicans are a blend of Spanish and Indian blood, Doà ±a Marina's son was the first "Mexican" whose career we can follow. He rose to high government position and was a "Comendador" of the Order of St. Jago. In 1548, accused of conspiring against the Viceroy, he was tortured and executed. In more recent times, the term "Malinchista" has been used by some to describe those who dislike Mexicans. But Doà ±a Marina deserves better. A fearless, loyal and determined woman, she was a heroine who helped save Mexico from its brutal, blood-thirsty rulers--and in doing so she played a major role in fashioning what is today one of the most dynamic societies in all of Latin America.

Hamlet’s Indecisiveness

Shakespeare wrote Hamlet and created his character as someone who would lead to his own tragic death. He had many flaws that lead to his eventual death, however there was one that he should have been able overcome. He could over come his indecisiveness, most people would be able to overcome it in their lives but Hamlet could not. In the play, Hamlet is supposed to be portrayed as brave and intelligent but looking deep into the play it is seen that Hamlet is more of a coward and an indecisive man through out most of the play.Hamlet doesn’t know what he is doing in his life because he can’t act upon his father’s murder. King Claudius kills Hamlet’s father, so Hamlet is in a confused as to how he will get revenge. He wants to do what it takes to avenge his father’s death. â€Å"Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder,† demands the ghost in (Act I, scene 5, line 23). The ghost tells hamlet he needs to kill King Claudius but Hamlet is to busy c onsumed in all the problems he has, that he doesn’t act at the right time.He had many chances to do something about King Claudius but didn’t because he was too indecisive about it. For example: when the King is kneeling paying Hamlet has a chance to kill him but he doesn’t. He talks himself out of murdering him, and instead makes a play to see if he is guilty. Hamlet talks to the actors of the play and decides to make them act out his father’s murder. The makes the actors act out exactly what the ghost had told him. â€Å"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue.But if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently, for in the very torrent, tempest, and whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness†(Act 3, scene 2, line 1). Hamlet decides his uncle is gui lty after seeing his reaction to the play and still doesn’t do anything about it. Hamlet never spoke up at the right time; he stayed quiet about everything.During the play, Claudius yells, â€Å"Give me some light. Away† and Hamlet was sure of his uncle's guilt (Act III, Scene 2, Line 152). Claudius was guilty and Hamlet should have taken advantage of Claudius being on the spot, but he didn’t. He went to go talk to his mother and gave time for Claudius to think what he should do. Hamlets indecisiveness cost him a lot. Most people can be decisive and make decisions when they are in favor of the person making the decision. Everyone has to make choices in their lives and they always do it in their favor.People lie and cheat to save themselves, but Hamlet cant do this. In this world everyone looks out for there own best interests and make decisions based on that. Its simple you need to be decisive to make decisions to progress in your life. Hamlet’s lack of b eing able to do this cost him his life. It not only cost him his life but others too. If Hamlet was able to act quickly he could have saved himself. In the end hamlet does get revenge but it’s at the cost of his own life, which could have been avoided.

Culture and Imperialism, a Review of Edward Said Essay

Edward Said remains one of the best selling and well known of the social and literary theorists that deal with identity and nation in the post-colonial global setting. This field is saturated with work dealing with culture and identity formation, post-modern â€Å"epistemic communities,† and most importantly, the relationship between context (ethnic, religious or economic) relative to the formation of such communities. There can be no question that the reading of Said’s book must take place within the context of the American neo-conservative drive to dominate the planet in the name of a vaporous â€Å"democracy,† or even â€Å"free markets. † And for this reason, it is important for the author to establish his view on the United States as a â€Å"conqueror† power primarily, as her early history can be reduced to the â€Å"settler mentality. † Transplants from the imperial center to the imperial hinterlands, for Said is basically the same as the slave societies functioning in the Carribean Islands, as his understanding of Austin shows. America is a slave power and a conquering power in that her development cannot be separated from the systematic pillaging of native traditions and lands. What makes America more interesting is her ability to absorb many traditions, and, from that, to create an identity in a rather counter-intuitive sort of way. Even further, the claim is that such an imperial power has the ability to create unity out of disunity; of creating an identity out of cacophony. Austria, Russia and the Ottomans are just three other examples of predatory powers creating unity out of disunity, or, even more strangely, creating the imperial idea precisely from the materials of disunity, both ethnic and religious. This kind of dialectic, i. e. identity from opposing elements, is central to Said’s concept of identity formation in the context of domination and exploitation. The central argument here is that identity formation has been poorly treated in the historiographic tradition both of the west and of the post-colonial world. Authors have tended to target the functional, â€Å"static† aspects of identity and culture, without understanding, as a whole, the nature of the social context. In other words, social and economic exploitation is as much a part of post-colonial identity as the more static elements of language. In his own ethnic identity, that of the Palestinian, Said can competently say that his own identity exists not in a vacuum, but as intrinsically part of the cultural formation deriving from Turkish, British and Jewish forms of colonial rule. Hence, there is no â€Å"Palestine,† as a cultural formula outside of the multi-ethnic scope of domination and violent colonialization. There is a culture, but it is a culture of â€Å"resistance,† a culture whose very formation exists in a matrix of humiliation. Hence, Said creates a dialectic of his own, following the more common Hegelian logical notion of the conclusion being manufactured though opposition. Identity, as a thesis, is a dialogue deriving from resistance to power. But even more, the antithesis, this identity formation derives at least in part from the â€Å"literary† (speaking broadly) production of the post-colonial center. In other words, after the experience of colonialism, the former metropole continues to dominate the subject peoples from the point of view of literature itself, in fact, a form of identity formation often overlooked in the historical literature. Lastly, as a synthesis, Said holds that a post colonial idea of identity of a formerly subject people is a creation whose final end is indeterminate, and even in general strokes, is vulnerable to critique. The synthesis here is itself an extremely pessimistic concept of identity that leaves the formerly dominated to be forever controlled by the mass-language modes of communication. Communication itself is a form of political power and colonial domination. It is a common idea, driving in modern times from Benedict Anderson and Eric Hobsbawm, that the â€Å"nation† or â€Å"ethnos† is a contrived entity. This does not negate its use as a variable in analysis, but it does show some light on the nature of â€Å"tradition† considered very broadly. In short, Anderson has famously made the argument that the ethnos is a â€Å"imagined community† where the individual envisions himself part of a heritage and a history he had no part in making, and cannot ever hope to â€Å"experience† as a single entity. It is a series of mental images rather than as a set of incontrovertible facts. Hobsbawm, for his part, holds that the ethnos or nation is the synthetic creation not merely of a series of images, but that these images are the direct creation of elites who have a specific interest in development a sense of â€Å"unity† among a formerly disunified people. Mass media, standardized language and an industrial economy are all necessary for such basic cultural standardization to take place. Hence, the idea of a nation, while still useful to the social sciences, remains an entity without actual substance; a monstrous creation rather than a natural growth (cf. 15-18). Said holds to these views, but of course, provides the reader with the more general and inclusive category of international exploitation. While this is a broad category, it remains concrete, since, given the identity of any specific ethnic group, close analysis of its history shows not a â€Å"development† of an ethnic â€Å"idea,† but rather a life of domination, exploitation and manipulation that has forced a hasty and uncritical sense of self that is itself a distortion and the worst form of image manipulation. It is â€Å"unnatural† to the extreme, and hence the global context is highly alienated, since the bulk of the human population subscribe (passively, to be sure) to a sense of self that is a mere reaction of the ethnic immune system (210).