Some People Say That Text Messages, Twittering and Emails Are an Accepted Part of the Language We Use in Our Everyday Lives. Other Say That They Are Destroying Our Ability to Spell and Write Properly

Some people say that text messages, twittering and emails are an accepted part of the language we use in our everyday lives. Other say that they are destroying our ability to spell and write properly In a relatively short period of tome high-tech gadgets have become integral part of our lives. Some people say they are an accepted part of our lives, other disagree. In order to have principled opinion, we need to examine both points of view.Firstly, speed is the number one advantage of these ways of communicating. Wheter you are sending your message to next street or to the other side of the planet it takes only seconds to reach its destination. Secondly, life is much simpler with it. People can save messages they received, sent or just make drafts and allways have insight into them. Finaly, it is cheap or even free.Instead of buying all those stamps people can send their messages or photos for free which is important in todays crisis. On the other side, it is impersonal. Peole are not talking face to face. Thus, there are many wrong interpretations of what is written or read. Besides, many people lose touch with reality because they spend more time in cyber space than with real people socializing. Read also Twitter Case StudyOn top of that, research made on Bristol University had shown that people who spend more time on social networks than one reading or doing other activities make forty percent more spelling mistakes while writting. To conclude, twittering and email have many benefits such as quickly delivering important messages or news. However, we have to be careful and think about internet security and what we write about. In my opinion, people should use these ways of communicating but we also have to â€Å"dose its use† because life is all about balance.

Bukowski poem †a smile to remember Essay

Analysis A smile to remember Charles Bukowski The poem is really a short story about an ordinary family with tragic problems. The child of the mother and the father, who are mentioned in the poem, is the narrator. The likely scenario is that the child in the poem represents Charles Bukowski’s childhood. In the first lines of the story, it is mentioned that the family has goldfish. We hear about a boy, whose mother keeps telling him to be happy, even though she has a miserable life because of his insane and abusive father, who beats her frequently. One day the goldfish dies and his father, being the insensible man he is, throws the goldfish to the cat, but remarkably, Henry’s mother just smiles. The first impression you get when you see the title of the poem is that this must be a ‘feel-good’- or ‘love’-poem. In the first line, the word ‘goldfish’ is mentioned. An innocent image most readers can relate to. The same goes for the line â€Å"my mother, always smiling, wanting us all to be happy†. Again, to the reader this is a good thing. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most people agree that going through life happy, is something we all try to achieve. The fifth line reads â€Å"and she was right: it’s better to be happy if you†. Then the poet does something remarkable. The line stops after â€Å"you†, while the next line, only includes one word; â€Å"can†. Bukowski made this word a line by itself to make the reader understand the undertone of desolation in the family, because they surely cannot live the happy, picture-perfect life. By writing it this way, Bukowski leave it to the reader to decide if the mother and the child are happy. But clearly the Mother acknowledges that the child is in fact never happy, since he â€Å"never smiles† as she remarks later. Line 10-11, â€Å"raging inside his 6-foot-two frame because he couldn’t understand what was attacking him from within†. We know from earlier, that Bukowski’s childhood was terribly violent and his father was abusive to his  mother and him, but in this poem Bukowski choose to look beyond this and tries to understand why his father was abusive. In this line, the reader senses immediately that something is wrong with the father and that he is fighting his own demons. Is it mental illness, substance abuse or is he just a man with temperament? Bukowski’s mother becomes the center of the stanza; â€Å"my mother, poor fish, wanting to be happy, beaten two or three times a week, telling me to be happy: ‘Henry, smile! Why don’t you ever smile?† Instead of goldfish swimming in a bowl, the goldfish now symbolize the mother (â€Å"poor fish†) who tries to show happiness even though she suffers from violence and lives in pain. However, sor row cannot be hidden, even the child knows that her happiness is not real. As the author express it â€Å"it was the saddest smile I ever saw†. In the last stanza the goldfish dies. The reader can clearly envision the dead fish â€Å"they floated on the water on their side, their eyes still open†. To return to the symbol of the fish being the mother, the reader’s viewpoint now gets completely turned upside down. It is not as simple as it looked – the poem is not about abuse. It is about a frazzled woman who tried to keep an even more broken family together. She believed in the good things in life and smiled through her pain in an attempt to raise a shelter towards the ugly reality she is confined to. Until one day, when the little part of her, still trying to fight, died and was thrown to the cat: By then she just stands there, still smiling. Perhaps she realizes that relief will also come to her some day; when death put an end to her miserable life and she can finally stop pretending that life is a happy place.

Aristotle Virtue Ethics Essay Example for Free

Aristotle Virtue Ethics Essay One basic notion in Aristotelian ethics that occupies a central significance is Aristotle’s belief in the role of man’s activities in order for one to acquire ethical knowledge. That is, for one to become virtuous or to obtain virtues one should not merely confine himself to mere studying of these virtues but rather one should, more importantly, actualize this knowledge of the virtues. Thus, for one to become good, one should do good. Aristotle further stretches his ideas by proposing the doctrine of the mean. The essence of this doctrine dwells on the basic precept that one ought to avoid the extremes and, instead, settle for the â€Å"mean†. The actions of men, more specifically, ought to be framed upon the â€Å"mean† which is the virtue. For example, the virtue of courage rests on the mean between two extremes: cowardice or the â€Å"lack† of courage, and rashness or the â€Å"excess† in courage. It can easily be observed that Aristotle suggests that one should live a life that does not border on the things that are on the â€Å"most† and the â€Å"least† levels. For example, if I were to follow Aristotle’s ethics I should always see to it that I should consistently draw myself towards the middle value and avoid slanting towards cowardice and excess. All this could have been very well except for one small thing that I cannot seem to fully comprehend. How is it possible for one to ascertain that one is actually taking the middle path? Or how is it possible for one to know that this or that is the middle value or is the virtuous action? Perhaps the key in having an understanding to the notion of the â€Å"mean† is that one should act. That is, as I continually have these ideas as to what I must do when faced with an ethical situation or, at the least, an ordinary situation, I should nonetheless take the course of action so that I will be able to obtain a qualitative understanding that what I am doing is the â€Å"excess†. On the other hand, I will be having quite a rough time in acquiring the understanding as to whether the action that I am doing is virtuous if all that I do is to theorize and never let my theory be put into practice. Aristotle’s virtue ethics reminds me of Plato’s conception of ethics. For the most part of the Republic, Plato attempts to arrive at a conception of a just life by centering on the notion that the just life or that which is good is better than living a life molded on an evil framework and one which prompts individuals to act in an evil manner. At the onset of the Republic’s Book II, a conception of the idea of â€Å"justice† is advanced as the working of an individual in accordance to the role in which one is best suited as well as the belief for non-interference in the activities of others. In essence, this principle is closely related to Plato’s perspective on acting in accordance to one’s nature or intrinsic being which results to the state or condition of being â€Å"just† or acting justly once the individual acts in line to his very nature. Otherwise, if one begins to act beyond what his nature prescribes, then the individual begins to act in an unjust manner thereby resulting to â€Å"evil† actions (Plato and Kamtekar). While Aristotle insists that one should put into action the thought that one may have so as to have an understanding of the middle value that should be taken, Plato, on the other hand, suggests that one should simply go by with one’s nature so as not to be â€Å"evil†. If I were to choose which ethical precept would be better or would fit me best, I would rather be inclined to adopt Aristotle’s virtue ethics over the other because it offers me a chance to actualize myself through my actions and be guided accordingly. Whereas for Plato, what I am seeing is that I should get to know my self first before I act so that I can be good. But this cannot be met easily essentially because I find it quite difficult to know myself if I would not act first. In the light, if all the students in a certain class would build up a virtue like that of Aristotle’s point of view, the achievement of an environment which is formidably that built on the concept of philosophical and tremendously beneficial notions in life, the attainment of the virtue of goodness is towering in the highest hopes—although it eventually does not also undermine the concept of realism. Apparently, many may not stick on this kind of perception and ought to think that it is certainly not possible to achieve a life which is way beyond the bounds of a â€Å"not-so-good† life for that instance, but with the maximum height of human rationality, such may be given enough credit for the philosophers who believed in a life where â€Å"goodness comes in deeds† (Lannstrom). Lannstrom, Anna. Loving the Fine: Virtue and Happiness in Aristotle’s Ethics. Indiana USA: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006. Plato, and R. Kamtekar. â€Å"The Conventional View of Justice Developed. † Trans. D. Lee. The Republic. 2 ed: Penguin Classics, 2003. 8-14. Aristotle Virtue Ethics. (2017, Apr 20). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Ceremonial Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ceremonial Speech - Essay Example He had constructed many historical buildings famous among them are the Robie House, Taliesin, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Unity Temple in Oak Park and many more. During early life his family was frequently shifting from one place to another. When he was 12 years old he used to spend his summer with his mother’s family in Spring Green. He was an outdoorsy child and that is why he loved the natural beauty. His love for natural beauty is prominent in his construction designs. In 1885 he graduated from Public School in Madison and got enrolled in the University of Wisconsin at Madison to study civil engineering. His father divorced his mother and thus to finance his own fees and home expenses he started working with the dean of engineering department at the University. This Experience groomed his expertise and give him fruitful growth opportunities. (Biography.com, 2015) He had achieved a lot in his career but the best of him was two the Robie House and Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. First of which is Robie House which was constructed for Mr. Robie. This house is the symbol of natural beauty in simple design it has three levels i. The ground floor with lower roof top ii. Second level which contains kitchen and adjacent servant quarters that are separated with fire places, iii. Third Level that contains bed rooms this is made in such a way that the blaze of sun if required and intended could come inside and amuse the inhabitants this building is the sign of architectural excellency and that is why nowadays are open for visitors from all over the world. (En.wikiarquitectura.com, 2015) Second building that was constructed on the request of Japanese Emperor was The Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Frank was commissioned in 1915 for this project and after seven years this great building’s construction was completed. The construction of this building became the reason for his fame after the Great Kanto Earthquake of

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Memo - Essay Example However, you also asked me to consider the opinions of the employees at the plant and what they feel about working overtime. We have completed the report that you asked for and this report presents the cost differentials of the two alternatives to increase the production and manufacturing. Moreover the report analyzes both alternatives in detail and also provides recommendations after considering the cost differential as well as the responses of the employees. Summary I have analyzed that the cost per unit of overtime and if the production of additional 150 units per day is increased through overtime then it would cost $388.54 or $2.59/unit. On the other hand, the cost of production for the second shift with additional 150 units per day would be $421.08 or $2.81/unit. Therefore, it shows that the cost of production with overtime is lower if the production is 150 units and Wilderness Toys would be able to save $0.22 per unit or $32.32 for 150 additional units. However it has been foun d that most of employees are not willing to work in the long term but only for the short term. Therefore because of this reason, I would prefer Wilderness Toys to start a second shift rather than asking employees for overtime. Discussion As the demand of new lighted hiking hat has been increasing, therefore there is a need to increase the demand of the product. In order to increase the production and meet the increasing demand, the management of the company has two different alternatives; to start a new production shift or to require its employees to work overtime. The report presents the cost differentials with the two alternatives in producing the new lighted hiking hat. Table 1 shows per unit cost of production of the two alternatives available. Table 1 also shows the differences between the two alternatives and it can be seen that per unit cost difference initially is in negative as per unit overtime cost is less than per unit second shift production cost. Therefore it reveals t hat if the management plans to produce fewer units then it is preferable that they can encourage employees for overtime rather than starting a second shift. Table 1: Per Unit Cost Units  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   OT unit cost  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2nd shift unit cost   Differences 75 2.59 3.49 -0.9 150 2.59 2.81 -0.22 225 2.59 2.58 0.01 300 2.59 2.46 0.13 375 2.59 2.46 0.13 450 2.59 2.46 0.13 525 2.59 2.46 0.13 600 2.59 2.46 0.13 Figure 1 graphically shows the cost per unit of the alternatives and it can be seen that the cost per unit of second shift at 75 units is very high in comparison to per unit cost of overtime. However per unit cost of second shift has been decreasing as the production is increasing and it is visible. As the production increase, per unit cost of second shift would decrease whereas the cost per unit of overtime would remain the same irrespective of the production. Figure 1: Cost Per Unit Figure 2 shows the cost differential between the two alternatives and it can be identified from the Figure 2 that the difference is in negative initially thus, showing that per unit cost of overtime is less than the per unit cost of second shift. However, as the production

Australia study Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Australia study - Annotated Bibliography Example The book is notable in that it was written to be an aid for those who teach Aboriginal culture and languages. This Victorian-era work is a broad stroke examination of the cultural history and practices of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. It provides a quite detailed look at native languages and details specific phonological and grammatical aspects that have challenged English speakers. This venerable book presents an interesting overview of factors that aggravated the racist impulses of the ruling Anglo-Australian society. This work utilizes the work of linguists and anthropologists from around the world who have studied the demise of native languages in Australia. It pays special attention to the particular social contexts in which Aboriginal languages have been used and are used today. Languages are examined from a largely functional standpoint and from the perspective that government policies have damaged the vast majority past the point of reclamation. This seminal report is one of the most comprehensive compilations of the latest data concerning the state of Aboriginal languages. It presents a chronological account of the erosion of Aboriginal lifestyles and cultural traditions. It paints a bleak picture of the state of native languages in Australia, though it doesn’t waver from a strictly fact-based recitation. Co-written by an anthropologist and linguist, this book focuses on the close relation between the environment, culture and language. This highly academic work makes a convincing case for the preservation of native languages, explaining what is at stake in a world where more languages are at risk than ever before. The authors make the interesting point that losing native languages is wasteful in that rich scientific knowledge is lost forever. Schmidt’s disciplined academic approach to the subject includes an analysis of

Supplay chain management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Supplay chain management - Research Paper Example Any business that fails to do so is prone to failure and its survival as a going concern is in doubt. To attain the three main objectives of a business, the business needs to attain sufficient revenue and resources in the form of fixed assets and working capital (Muller, 2003: 1). Working capital include the resources used in the trading activities of a business. Working capital is important because it is the resource base that is used to attract more profits through trade. It is through profitability that a business can earn liquid resources to fund its existence. On the other hand, there is the need growth and expansion, which is characterized by the holding up of wealth in fixed assets. This is also a vital part of the growth of an organization because holding more assets enables a business to expand appropriately and remain a stronger going concern. This means that fixed assets are essential and necessary for the expansion and promotion of business. However, locking up too much o f your capital in fixed assets leads to over-capitalization and this leads to a situation where there will be limited working capital for trading purposes (Chakraborty, 2003: 2). On the other extreme, holding too much working capital leads to over-trading which stands in the way of growth and survival of the business. There is therefore the need for businesses to draw a balance between the extent of locking up capital in assets and in trading activities. Inventory or stocks is an important element of business because in most production entities, inventory represents over 50% of the cost of production (Bragg, 2004: 1). This therefore means that inventory is a major factor that determines the nature, existence and operations of a business. The elements of inventory costs include cost of purchase, cost of storage, labor to receive, checking quantity, retrieval, selection, packing, shipping and accounting for it (Muller, 20030 p2). These costs sum up to very high amounts that are materi al in the financial statements of the business. Inventory is vital in the cost structure of businesses. This is because it can be a point for the lock up of immense working capital which can affect trading as well as the capitalization of the the business. Inventory therefore has to be monitored regularly and closely to ensure that it does not become an avenue for the inefficient use of a business' wealth. The inventory must therefore be monitored and managed through various units of an organization like purchasing, production planning, inventory control, receipt and storage and distribution of inventory. (Bose, 2006: 31). This is done by the use of various techniques and skills in managing the purchase and movement of stocks. Bose (2006: 31) argues that some techniques can be used by managers to ensure the efficient use of resources for the monitoring and control of the inflow and dispatch of stocks as a component of supply chain management. These techniques include Just-in-Time (J IT), Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and Re-order Point/Point of Safety Stock. These techniques help managers to take decisions that help the management of organizations to ensure that the right levels of stocks are kept at any given point in time to ensure that production goes on without the lock up of capital. On the other hand, it enables the management to order for stocks at the right time to ensure that there are no stock-outs which leads to idle time in businesses. Re-order Point The re-order point concept

Mission, Vision, and Value Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mission, Vision, and Value Paper - Essay Example The company is a leading player in the gum and mint category too (Hershey’s Company Profile, 2009). Continuing with the legacy of Milton Hershey, the company is committed to consumers, communities and children by providing high-quality products while conducting business in environmentally sustainable manner. At workplace, the company maintains safety and wellness for the employees fostering openness and inclusiveness making it a desirable place to work. Hersheys believes in sharing knowledge so as to grow together by not only creating an environment of mutual respect but also unleashing human potential at the workplace. In marketplace, the company is committed to consumer well-being as well as fair and ethical business dealings. The company always strives for and creates a positive impact at the local community level where it operates (Listen, learn and act, 2011). Ever since Milton Hershey laid the foundation of the company, the mission, vision and value statements have worked as a guiding spirit for the growth and development of the company earning goodwill among its customers and local communities. The company is ‘open to possibilities’ in all its endeavors, always ready to embrace diversity seeking new approaches. The aim is to achieve continuous improvement in what they do. There is no doubt that the clarity of vision and values has helped the company reach to its present state. In 2011, the company had 15.6% of its sales coming from outside the U.S. and as part of global expansion strategy the company is increasing its investments outside the U.S in the countries such as Brazil, Mexico, India and China. In view of the new growth strategy, the company needs to perform environmental scanning to assess external factors that might affect the Hershey’s in the long run (Sadler, 2003 p181). Numerous risks are

Australian Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Australian Business Law - Essay Example Hence, the provisions of the TPA likewise applies to the given problem. Section 53 specifically prohibits the use of false representations about the standard, quality, grade, composition, style, model or history or particular previous use of goods: ACCC v Cadbury Schweppes Pty Ltd (2004) FCA 516. Moreover, Section 58 specifically prohibits the use of false representations about the standard, quality, value or grade of services. Furthermore, the TPA and FTA likewise prohibits the use of false representations about the the sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits of goods and services (Pinetrees Lodge Pty Ltd v Atlas International Travel Pty Ltd(1981) ATPR 40-248); the sponsorship, approval or affiliation of the corporation; and the price of goods or services: ACCC v Allens Music Group Pty Ltd (2002) FCA 1552; TPC v Cue Design Pty Ltd (1996) ATPR 41-475); the existence, exclusion or effect of any condition, warranty, guarantee, right or remedy; the place of origin of goods: ACCC V GIA Pty Ltd (2002) FCA 1298; TPC v QDSV Holdings Pty Ltd (1995) ATPR 41-371. Moreover, it violated Sections 54 of TPA and 62 of the FTA for falsely offering gifts or prizes because a corporation should not offer gifts, prizes or other free items to people buying its goods and services if it does not intend to provide them. It is also violated Sections 55A of the TPA and 64 of FTA for engaging in misleading conduct regarding the services it offers by misleading the public as to the nature, the characteristics, the suitability for their purpose or the quantity of any service: Doherty v Traveland Pty Ltd (1982) 4 ATPR 40-323. It also violated Section 56 of TPA and Section 65 of FTA as a corporation under the said Sections are prohibited from engaging in trade or commerce or advertise goods or services at a specified price where it has reasonable grounds to expect that it will not be able to comply with the advertisement. Finally and in addition to that, the corporation violated the prohibition on accepting payment without intention to supply under Sections 58 of TPA and Sections 67 of FTA specifically prohibiting a corporation from accepting payment or other consideration for the goods if at the time of acceptance it intends not to supply the goods or services or to supply goods and services materially different from the goods and services in respect of which the payment is made. It is clear from the facts that the corporation contravened Section 58 reasonable grounds exists to show that it is aware that it would not be able to supply the goods when accepting payment: Dawson v World Travel Headquarters Pty Ltd (1981) ATPR 40-240. These foregoing provisions of the TPA and the FTA as illustrated in the above- mentioned case were clearly violated because first, contrary to what was stated in its brochure, the Happiest Kangaroo was not really located in bushland but was in the centre of Kingscote, the main town on Kangaroo Island. Second, Ariel had a ground floor room which opened on to the main street and was very noisy. Third, there were no live Australian animals in the grounds of the hotel. Fourth, when Ariel complained, the staff directed her to the many cement statues of kangaroos and wallabies in the back garden of the hotel and soft toy kangaroos and koalas used in the decoration of her room.

Brand Audit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brand Audit - Research Paper Example However, with appropriate brand audit the particular brand will get more strength to retain its strong brand image within the market. Introduction: There are many cases in the industry where the business got badly affected for the major brand failures and for these factors the main reason would be the lack of initiative in brand audit process. Target is a brand which is into the retailing. It has to be remembered that a retail store sales products which are of different brands. Target retail is a chain which is selling multi branded products in their stores. In this case many brands are associated under one name and that is the reason auditing of the main brand Target is an important factor to be taken seriously to measure the ultimate output in a quantitative manner. Brand audit and background analysis of the Brand Target: The brand is the name, logo or some marks associated with the product which distinguishes the product from the other identical products (Clifton, Simmons, and Ahm ad 2009, 23). According to Martin Jelsema 1 the six major factors for the brand evaluations are brand matrices, brand positioning, market segmentations, internal strength of the brand, brand personality and differentiators which differentiate the brand from the other competing brands. The brand audit is basically the valuation of the brad in a quantitative manner. ... As an example brand equity can be stated as the strong mental association within the consumers related to the specific brand. It also can be associated with the aggregate value of the brand in the customers’ mind (Majumdar, 2009, 3). Customers are the assets of the companies and the brand identity and the brand equity relates closely towards the customer equity. The brand Target has a great brand value among the customers of Australia. There are some factors which are closely related to the evaluation of the brand Target and they are, value equity, relationship equity and the brand equity. The customer centric approach of the retail brand Target is the key of the success. The Brand Target was founded in early 1925 and from that time it is growing with a great pace and in the present time the brand operates as a subsidiary of the company named Coles Group Limited (Target Australia private Ltd.). The company has a great existence in the market as the brand name of Target and it has also created great brand equity in the country side of the Australia with the brand name of Target Country Stores. However, the mother brand Target is having more than 290 stores in all over Australia (History in the making: Target). The Target Australia Private Ltd has shown a great endeavor towards building the brand and more importantly it has got a sustainable market capitalization within the Australian consumers for many years. Brand Culture: The brand culture is a structural function which creates the identity of the brand for a long term within the organization. The proper culture shows the ultimate path for the improvement. The brand culture has got a great significance in the industry for the last few decades

Shakespeares Wicked Kings Essay Example for Free

Shakespeares Wicked Kings Essay The audience learns quite a lot about Richardss personality agenda and beliefs from the opening soliloquy that he makes.  Richard is discontent with the state of peace in which England is in at the time. In battle he may perhaps have been a formidable warrior who used to fright the souls of fearful adversaries. War may have been what he was good at, and considering he is related to King Edward he was probably a general in the Wars of the Roses. This means that now there are no more battles to be fought, and Richard has a lot of time on his hands. He has no delight to pass away the time The audience learns some shocking things about Richardss views on love and loyalty in the soliloquy. Richard is a very bitter man and because of his deformity, feels that he can not pass the time by flirting and other things to do with women. He is a very disloyal person and probably would have a bad relationship with a woman because he wants to set his brother Clarence and the king in deadly hate the one against the other so that they eliminate each other and he can take control and run things how he sees fit. He is willing to betray his own family to meet his ends. He is not much for pastimes such as strutting before a wanton ambling nymph or sportive tricks as his deformity prevents him from participating in such activities as he is lame. He has little time or respect for people that he thinks are fools, or who are better than him through having no deformity. The audience also learn that he thinks very little of his brothers as he is willing to have them be at each others throats. He also doesnt think too much of their intelligence. He had a prophecy made up which says that G of Edwards kin will kill him. He is that G, the Duke of Gloucester and the audience believe that he must think that his brothers are very stupid not to see his deliberate mistake his prophecy. He thinks very little of himself or his body as he is deformed. His deformity makes him unable to caper nimbly in a ladys chamber. He has no dignity thanks to his deformity as even dogs bark at me as I halt by them. He is unable to participate in sport, have relationships with women, or have dignity. This understandably has warped his mind and he decides that since I cannot prove a lover then he is determined to prove a villain. He does however have a high opinion of his intelligence. This apparent from his deliberate mistake and the fact that when his prophecy is made known to Edward, Clarence (whose first name is George and therefore the G in the prophecy) is almost immediately arrested.  His effect on the audience is initially one where they feel sorry for him being bitter as his deformity is causing him much grief. Later on the audience learn that he is arrogant and scheming but can back up his intelligence as it would take great organisational skill to have Clarence arrested so quickly.

How the Media Affect What People Essay Example for Free

How the Media Affect What People Essay The standard assertion in most recent empirical studies is that media affect what people think about, not what they think. The findings here indicate the media make a significant contribution to what people think—to their political preferences and evaluations—precisely by affecting what they think about. A he belief that long dominated the scholarly community is that news messages have minimal consequences (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955; Klapper, 1960). Many media scholars still endorse something close to this view (cf. McGuire, 1985; Gans, n. d. ; Neuman, 1986; also M. Robinson and Sheehan, 1983). The more popular recent view is that media influence is significant, but only in shaping the problems the public considers most important—their agendas (McCombs and Shaw, 1972). In some respects, agenda research challenges the minimal consequences view, but both approaches share a core assumption. Both assume audiences enjoy substantial autonomy in developing their political preferences. Research contradicting the notion that media have minimal consequences or only influence agendas has emerged during the 1980s (see, e. g. the pioneering yet disparate work of such authors as Bartels, 1985; Patterson, 1980; Iyengar and Kinder, 1987; and Page, Shapiro, and Dempsey, 1987; cf. Rob- The author gratefully acknowledgesfinancialsupport from the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation and the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, and thanks this journals referees and editors for useful suggestions. JOURNAL OF POLITICS, Vol. 51, No. 2, May 1 989 Portions of this article appear in DEMOCRACY WITHOUT CITIZENS: THE MEDIA AND THE DECAY OF AMERICAN POLITICS by Robert M. Entman.  © 1989 by Robert M. Entman. Used by arrangement with Oxford University Press, Inc. 348 Robert M. Entman inson and Levy, 1986). 1 But this burgeoning research has not yet generated a theory that explicitly refutes the assumption of audience autonomy and explains more fully the medias impact on public opinion. This article probes the theoretical underpinnings of the autonomy assumption and provides empirical evidence that media messages significantly influence what the public thinks by shaping what they think about. THE RESEARCH TRADITION The audience autonomy assumption provides the foundation for the minimal consequences position. The assumption is that audiences form their political opinions in relative independence from the media. There are two somewhat distinct variants of this position. The first emphasizes that audiences think about communications selectively, screening out information they do not like (Klapper, I960; cf. McGuire, 1985). The second holds that audiences pay so little attention and understand so little that the news cannot influence them (Neuman, 1986; cf. MacKuen, 1984). 2 In practice, both the selectivity hypothesis and the hypothesis of inattention and incomprehension (hereafter just inattention) hold that media messages tend only to reinforce existing preferences rather than helping to form new attitudes or change old ones. Thus the media have little net impact on politics. The central assumption of the more recent agenda setting research has been that media do exert significant influence, but only in a narrow sphere. In this view, the publics autonomy is not complete, but its susceptibility to media influence is limited to agendas. Agenda research almost always includes a sentence like this: Although a minimal effects model most accurately describes the medias ability to change opinions, recent research has shown that the media can play a much larger role in telling us what to think about, if not what to think (Lau and Erber, 1985, p. 60; almost identical assertions appear throughout the literature, e. g. , McCombs and Shaw, 1972; MacKuen, 1984, pp. 72, 386; and even radical critiques such as Parenti, 1985, p. 23; also see MacKuen and Combs, 1981; Behr and Iyengar, 1985; Miller, Erbring, and Goldenberg, 1979). 3 Agenda scholarship does not provide a comprehensive theory that explains why media influence is confined to agendas, but selecDeFleur and Ball-Rokeachs dependency theory (1982) describes an important theoretical alternative to the autonomy assumption, but that work predates most of the re cent surge in empirical evidence. 2 Neuman (1986, chap. ) grounds his argument in the lack of evidence that media can teach specific information or enhance political sophistication. The concern in this paper is with political evaluations and preferences, which do not require much information—often a simple emotional response will do (cf. Abelson et al. , 1982). A related argument cites the publics inability to recall specific stories. But the influence of a single news story or show is rarely of interest. The primary concern is the effect of repeated news messages over time (cf. Graber, 1984). But compare Iyengar and Kinder, 1987, and Protess et al. , 1987, for agenda setting research showing that media influence of agendas also shapes, respectively, the mass publics criteria of political judgment and public officials behavior. 1 How the Media Affect What People Think 349 tivity and inattention again seem to be key. In the agenda setting view, the media can overcome these bar riers in determining the issues people think about but not in shaping how they evaluate issues or candidates (the most explicit discussion is MacKuen, 1984). The problem with the agenda setting position is that the distinction between what to think and what to think about is misleading. Nobody, no force, can ever successfully tell people what to think. Short of sophisticated physical torture (brainwashing), no form of communication can compel anything more than feigned obeisance. The way to control attitudes is to provide a partial selection of information for a person to think about, or process. The only way to influence what people think is precisely to shape what they think about. No matter what the message, whether conveyed through media or in person, control over others thinking can never be complete. Influence can be exerted through selection of information, but conclusions cannot be dictated. If the media (or anyone) can affect what people think about—the information they process—the media can affect their attitudes. This perspective yields an assumption of interdependence: public opinion grows out of an interaction between media messages and what audiences make of them. I will call this the interdependence model. The competing positions, the minimal consequences and the agenda perspectives, both endorse the assumption that audiences form preferences autonomously. I will call this the autonomy model. INFORMATION PROCESSING AND MEDIA IMPACTS Combining a recognition of the interdependence of audiences and media with information-processing models developed by cognitive psychologists may offer the best foundation for a new understanding (cf. Gra ber, 1984; Kraus and Perloff, 1985). There is no consensus among those who study information processing. But a number of generalizations pertinent to the mass medias impacts can be gleaned from their work. Information-processing research shows that people have cognitive structures, called schemas,4 which organize their thinking. A persons system of schemas stores substantive beliefs, attitudes, values, and preferences (cf. Rokeach, 1973) along with rules for linking different ideas. The schemas direct attention to relevant information, guide its interpretation and evaluation, provide inferences when information is missing or ambiguous, and facilitate its retention (Fiske and Kinder, 1981, p. 73). Schemas are not filters used to select out all unfamiliar or uncomfortable information. As Bennett writes, [I]nformation processing constructs [i. e. schemas] like party identification and ideological categories should not be reScholars have used many other terms, including scripts, inferential sets, frames, and prototypes. While there are subtle differences among them, they need not concern u s here. The term schema is as good as any, and for claritys sake I use the English plural schemas instead of the awkward schemata. 4 350 Robert M. Entman garded as rigid cognitive frameworks that work infixedways to screen out unfamiliar information (Bennett, 1981, p. 91). Certainly people fail to think about much of the news, but not necessarily because they choose only congruent messages, or because they inevitably misunderstand or deliberately ignore media reports. Selectivity and inattention are stressed by the autonomy model, but that model fails to explain why many citizens do think about a great deal of the new information they encounter. Information-processing theory recognizes and helps explain how attitudes emerge from a dynamic interaction of new information with peoples existing beliefs. In Bennetts (1981, p. 92) words, political thought is data-driven by external information and conceptually-driven by internal schemas. Information-processing theory suggests that whether people ignore or pay attention to new information depends more on its salience, on whether it meshes with their interests, than on whether it conflicts with their existing beliefs (Markus and Zajonc, 1985, pp. 162 and passim; Kinder and Sears, 1985, pp. 710-12). While people may resist knowledge that challenges their fundamental values (Axelrod, 1973), most can accommodate new information and even hold a set of specific beliefs that may appear dissonant, contradictory, or illogical to an outsider (cf. Lane, 1962). The explicit model of thinking that cognitive psychologists have been putting together thus contradicts the implicit model in much of media research. Rather than resisting or ignoring most new or dissonant media reports, as the autonomy model assumes, the information-processing view predicts that people are susceptible to significant media effects. In the information-processing perspective, a person first assesses a media report for salience. If salient, the person processes the news according to routines established in the schema system. Processing may lead the person either to store the information or discard it; if stored, the information may stimulate new beliefs or change old beliefs. So selectivity and inattention are not the whole story. Often people may screen out information that contradicts their current views; but other times they think about disturbing reports they find relevant. The notion of an audience that actively resists all potentially conflicting information rests upon an assumption of a deeply involved and knowledgeable citizenry, a vision that does not apply to most people (e. g. , Converse and Markus, 1979; Kinder and Sears, 1985). Common sense suggests it takes more information and time to change the minds of strong adherents than weak ones, but sometimes even loyalists do change. When the implications are not obvious—for example when the information is contained in the form of a subtle slant to the news (see Entman, 1989, chap. )—the probability increases that even activists will store conflicting data without experiencing any immediate dissonance. And while it may take many repetitions of a media message to pierce the publics indubitable haze of neglect and distraction, this very same political indifference may enhance the likelihood that messages which do penetrate How the Media Affect What People Think 351 will have an impact. Ju st because on most matters Americans have so little knowledge and such weakly-anchored beliefs, information provided by the media can significantly shape their attitudes. Not only do the majority of audience members lack detailed, expert knowledge or strong opinions (cf. Fiske, Kinder, and Larter, 1983); sometimes there are no old attitudes to defend. Many of the most significant political contests are played out over emerging issues or leaders; audiences do not have set attitudes toward them. That clears the path for significant media influence. TESTING MEDIA INFLUENCE Identification as liberal, moderate, or conservative is a key component of the political schema system that much of the public applies to political information. Ideological leanings affect responses to specific media eports; different identifiers may read the same message differently. This is why the media, in common with all other sources of information, cannot dictate public views and why an interdependence model seems appropriate. The interdependence model predicts that media influence varies according to the way each person processes specific news messages. Instead of treating ideo logy as a tool people use to screen out reports that conflict with their liberalism or conservatism, the model sees ideology as a schema that influences the use people make of media messages in more complicated ways. The interaction between the attributes of the message and the schemas of the audience shapes the impact of the news. One element of this interdependence is message salience, which may vary among the ideological groups. Stories that interest liberals may bore conservatives; items that intrigue ideologues on either side may not interest moderates, who have few strong beliefs. Another aspect of interdependence involves whether the message is relevant to peripheral or central attitudes. The centrality of a message may vary for different groups, since liberals and conservatives appear to structure their ideas distinctively. Central to liberalism is attachment to ideals of change and equality; central to conservatism is attraction to capitalism (Conover andj^eldman, 1981). The two groups probably process some media messages^differently. This decidedly does not mean liberals, for example, screen out all material that challenges liberalism. Consider an editorial praising the ideal of capitalist markets and proposing to make the post office a private enterprise. While the message conflicts with liberal ideology, it does so peripherally, since government ownership of public utilities is not fundamental to American liberalism. The message may not only bolster conservatism among conservatives, but weaken liberals commitment to liberalism, if only at the margin. Another point of interdependence involves whether the message comes from an editorial, with its overtly persuasive intent, or from a news story that is ostensibly designed merely to inform. Conservatives may be more likely 352 Robert M. Entman o screen out editorial than news items that favor the left, since the slant of news may not be obvious. Afinalaspect of interdependence lies in how new or unfamiliar the reported topic is. All else being equal, the less familiar the object of the news, the less likely a person will respond by fitting the report into an established category and maintaining a set attitude. Where the subject of the news is unfamiliar to all sets of ideological identif iers, all will be susceptible to media influence. Four hypotheses emerge from this use of information processing theory to develop an interdependence model of media influence. They are not all the hypotheses that merit exploration, but they are the ones that can be tested with the data available, and they should provide support for the superiority of the interdependence over the autonomy model. Hypothesis #1: Editorials affect ideological identifiers more than moderates. Those identifying as liberals or conservatives are likely to find ideologically-charged editorial messages salient. Those with less-focused commitments, the moderates, may not find ideological editorials relevant. Hypothesis #2: Liberal editorials should exert a leftward push on those attitudes of conservatives not central to their ideology. Hypothesis #3: Editorial content has stronger effects on new subjects of news coverage than on long-familiar ones. Hypothesis #4: News affects beliefs among liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike. People will tend to screen out news messages less than editorials. Shaped by objectivity rules, news stories are designed to appear neutral to audiences (e. g. , Schudson, 1978; Tuchman, 1978; Molotch and Boden, 1985). The appearance of neutrality may soften the audiences defenses. DATA The dataset combines a national survey on Americans political attitudes from 1974 and 1976 with information on the political content of the newspapers read by respondents. The 1974 Michigan Content Analysis Study provides extensive information on the front page news and editorial page content of ninety-two newspapers throughout the country. The total number of news and editorial items employed here is nearly 18,000. 5 The content information (Institute for Social Research, 1978) is matched to data from a representative national survey, the University of Michigan Center for Political Studies poll of 1974. The sample analyzed consists of those who were surveyed and read  ° The study included ninety-six newspapers, of which four had incomplete data; readers of those four were excluded from the analysis. How the Media Affect What People Think 353 one of the ninety-two newspapers included in the Content Analysis Study, a total weighted sample of 1,292 persons. 6 Excluded were those who did not read a paper (approximately 30% of those surveyed) or who read papers for which no data were collected. 7 The content data were gathered for ten days during October and November, 1974. Even though the data were obtained over a short time period, a check suggests they accurately reflect the typical stands of the papers. For example, among the ninety-two newspapers, the Washington Post scores higher in editorial liberalism than the (defunct) Washington Star; the New York Daily News scores to the right of the New York Times, and so forth. 8 In any case, while far from perfect, the dataset is the most comprehensive collection linking media content to peoples attitudes. One measure of newspaper content taps diversity in news stories, the other liberalism in editorials. I expect both aspects of the newspapers message to encourage opinions to move toward more sympathy with liberal politicians, 6 The actual number of people interviewed was 1,575. The answers of some members of the sample were counted three times to make a weighted sample of 2,523. This was done in order to ensure adequate representation in the sample of sparsely populated areas of the country. Thus, the we ighted sample is the most representative. 7 The demographics of the final reader subsample closely parallel those of the 1974 national cross section as a whole. The mean education of the entire original sample, including non-readers (n = 2,523), is 11. 5 years, the mean of the sample analyzed (n = 1,292) is 12. 2; the mean income, about $11,000 versus $12,000. On other demographic and political characteristics, the two groups are virtually identical. 8 Further enhancing confidence in the validity of the content measures is their use in such important studies as Erbring, Goldenberg, and Miller, 1980. 9 Each editorial item was coded for zero, one, or two assertions favoring or opposing liberal and conservative policy stands. The editorial liberalism index is a percentage formed by first counting the number of times a paper endorsed a liberal position or opposed a conservative position, then subtracting assertions favoring conservative or derogating liberal stands. The result was divided by twice the number of editorial items, since each item was coded for up to two liberal or conservative assertions. The higher the score, the more liberal the editorial page. This index uses variables 21 and 28 in the CPS Media Content Analysis Study 1974. A second measure employed data on news (variables 27 and 34 in the CPS study). The news diversity measure taps a dimension of news slant that audiences are less likely to screen than editorial liberalism. Like most aspects of news slant, it is a subtle trait of reporting that few audience members would notice. The front page news items were coded for mention of zero, one, or two problems. For each problem mention, coders noted whether two different actors overtly disagreed with each other. Each news item was coded as having zero, one, or two instances of two actors asserting different points of view. The diversity index is the number of times two actors expressed different positions divided by twice the number of stories. The higher the score, the more diversity of news. Examples of the actors coded in this variable include Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller, Democratic Party, Republican candidates, and business leaders. Thus, a story might concern inflation and unions, and might contain opposing assertions by Gerald Ford and a Democratic Senate candidate on both the causes of inflation and the value of unions. The story would be coded 2 for one disagreement on each of the two problems. If the two actors agreed (or voiced no opinions) on unions but disagreed on inflation, the code would be 1. If they agreed on both or neither agreed nor disagreed, the code would be 0. 354 Robert M. Entman groups, and ideas. The basis for predicting that news diversity moves audiences leftward is that the majority of local newspapers appear to promote a generally Republican and conservative perspective (cf. Bagdikian, 1974; Radolf, 1984). Their editorial and perhaps news inclinations do not favor liberalism. All else being equal, I believe those papers with higher diversity probably provide more information that challenges the conservative editorial baseline. In addition, the mere presence of conflicting views in the news may convey an awareness of the diversity of the country, including its variety of races, economic classes, and viewpoints. Such consciousness may promote tolerance of change, and empathy for positions or groups that challenge the status quo. 0 Diversity may also undermine authority by conveying the impression that a range of ideas is plausible, that the existing distribution of power, wealth, and status is not immutable. As for the other content measure, while many readers no doubt skip editorial pages, Bagdikian (1974) shows that the editorial perspective tends to be mirrored in news slant. The editorial liberalism index may indirectly reflect the political tendency of news coverage. The survey incl uded feeling thermometer questions. Interviewers asked respondents to express their feelings toward several well-known groups and politicians. Respondents chose numbers ranging from 0 for the coldest feelings, through 100 for the warmest, with 50 meaning neutral or mixed feelings. I constructed five attitude indexes using factor analysis. 11 The Liberal Feelings Jndex combined ratings of Edward Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, liberals, Democrats, and unions. The Radical Feelings Index consisted of thermometer ratings of radical students, black militants, civil rights leaders, and policemen. The Poor Feelings Index tapped thermometers of poor people, blacks, and George Wallace. The Republican Feelings Index was created from ratings of Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, and Republicans. Finally, the Conservative Feelings Index rated big business, the military, and conservatives. 12 The Michigan survey also asked respondents for their stands on government guaranteed jobs; dealing with urban unrest by solving the problems of unemployment and poverty; protecting legal rights of those accused of crimes; A competing hypothesis might be that diversity challenges initial viewpoints, so that it would promote conservatism among liberals and vice versa. That idea is not borne out by the data. Diversity is consistently associated with more liberal views. 1 Surveys are described in Institute for Social Research, 1979. All feeling thermometers were classified on their face for relevance to the liberal-conservative continuum. Pertinent items received varimax factor analysis. Five factors had eigenvalues greater than 1. 0. Indexes added together scores on all feeling thermometer responses loading above . 40 on a factor. In two cases, items loaded more than . 40 on two factors; these were included on their highest loaded index. All dependent variable attitude indexes used in this paper have Cronbach Alpha reliability scores greater than . 80. 12 Policemen and Wallace loaded negatively on their respective factors. The feeling thermometer responses to each were subtracted from the sum of the other items in forming the indexes. 10 How the Media Affect What People Think 355 busing to achieve racial balance; the Equal Rights Amendment; integration of schools; government aid to minorities; and self-placement on the liberalconservative spectrum. 3 Using factor analysis again, all but one of the responses (to the ERA) were associated together and became the Policy Preferences Index. Twofinalvariables come from readers of sampled papers who participated in surveys during both 1974 and 1976. Their responses in 1976 provide an opportunity to check for media impacts on feelings toward a previously unknown presidential candidate, Jimmy Carter (Carter Index), and on presidential vote (Vote76). FINDINGS Testing the four p redicted media effects requires probing for impacts of editorial liberalism and news diversity on the seven attitudes and on presidential vote. Regression analysis enables us to see whether, with all else equal, readers of more liberal or diverse papers exhibit more liberal attitudes and voting behavior. Editorial liberalism taps the persuasive element of the newspaper, or, in agenda-setting terms, the aspect of the paper that attempts to tell people what to think. News diversity taps the putatively informational element that only tells people what to think about. The interdependence model holds that both editorials and news provide information to think about and thereby influence attitudes, whether intentionally or not. If selectivity or inattention precludes media influence, or if the effect is limited to agendas, the regressions should reveal no significant associations between attitudes and newspaper content. 14 Table 1 summarizes regression results for the impacts of newspaper content on the beliefs of the entire sample of readers. The feeling thermometers are coded from 0 to 100 so that higher scores are warmer (more favorable). The higher the policy preferences score, the more conservative the responses. Vote76 is 1 for Carter, 0 for Ford, so higher scores indicate voting for Carter. The regressions include the following additional variables to control for forces that might also influence attitudes: urban-rural place of residence; age; years of education; family income; race; region; party identification; and ideological self-identification. 15 The impacts of these non-media variables follow expecVariables 2265, 2273, 2281, 2288, 2296, 2302, and 2305 in the 1974 NES Codebook. Although partisanship and ideology are not truly interval variables, the results of the regressions suggest that it is quite reasonable to treat them as such. 15 These variables are coded as follows. Age: coded in years; non-South: 1 = North or West, 0 = South; income: coded in thousands; party i. d. : 7-point scale, 0 = strong Democrat, 3 = independent, 6 = strong Republican; urbanized: 1 = urban, suburban, 0 = rural; white race: 1 = white, 0 = nonwhite; education: coded in years; policy preferences index: adding six 7-point scales, so range is 6 = most liberal, 42 = most conservative; and ideology identification: 1 = most liberal, 4 = middle of the road or dont know, 7 = most conservative. On the latter, note 14 13 356 Robert M. Entman tations, which bolsters confidence in the validity of the attitude measures. For a full display of coefficients for all independent variables, see Entman, 1987). Multicollinearity among the independent variables is not a problem. Of the forty-five intercorrelations, only three exceed . 20. The strongest was between education and income (r = . 357). Table 1 shows that the more editorially liberal the paper, the more warmly their readers respond on the Liberal Feelings Index. This relationship suggests that editorial liberalism influences the publics evaluations of key leaders and groups associated with the liberal coalition: in this case, Hubert Humphrey, Edward Kennedy, Democrats, unions, and liberals.

Reinforced Concrete Walls Engineering Overview

Reinforced Concrete Walls Engineering Overview Reinforced Concrete (RC) walls are often used as coupled systems in construction of multi-story buildings because of their advantages in comparison with individual walls such as higher lateral stiffness, lower bending moments on each individual wall, and higher energy dissipation because of the inelastic deformations of coupling beams (El Tawil et al., 2010). These elements have been extensively utilized in medium-rise and high-rise building structures within the past decades. Nowadays, RC coupled shear walls are popular lateral force resisting systems, especially in high-risk seismic zones (Farhidzadeh et al., 2013). The reason behind this trend is that RC coupled walls are significantly capable of controlling the inter story drift ratio, which has been frequently used as a performance indicator in design of structures (Carrillo and Alcocer, 2012). Similarly, these structural systems are quite efficient in reducing the associated implication of non-structural elements damage. The expected energy dissipation mechanism of a ductile RC wall system under lateral deformations is flexural yielding (i.e. plastic hinges) at the base of both the cantilever and coupled wall systems, and at both ends of each coupling beam in a coupled wall system (Boivin and Paultre, 2012). Series of design provisions are specified in the current codes to confine the inelastic response at the wall base. These are aimed at ensure enough strength against undesirable modes of failure like brittle shear failure(Ghorbanirenani et al., 2012). Many researchers have conducted both experimental and analytical investigations to identify the behavior of coupled walls, and to improve the performance of these systems. The C-shaped coupled wall system (i.e. core wall) is one of the simplest and is a popular arrangement used in practice. Despite their popularity, however, there have been relatively few studies on the seismic behavior of these RC structures (Beyer et al. 2008), necessitating research on the seismic performance of C-shaped cores. One of the most important characteristics of these nonplanar wall systems is their response when the structure is subjected to torsional efforts due to the eccentricity of lateral forces. This will be more significant when the structural system is asymmetric in plan regarding the lateral stiffness and strength distribution. Such a configuration in plan of a building is prone to have large torsional response during a severe earthquake. Reports and field observations after the past earthquake s showed severe structural damages because of torsional effects (Hart, 1975; Esteva, 1987). A recent investigation by Dizhur et al. (2011) reported significant structural damages, which was apparently caused by a torsionallysensitive response, after the Christchurch earthquake in 2011. Most of the researches carried out in the past focused on the behavior of planar RC walls, including various proposed approaches for predicting their nonlinear flexure-shear interaction behavior (Colotti, 1993; Elwood, 2002; Massone et al., 2006 and 2009; Mullapudi and Ayoub, 2009; Zhang and Xu, 2009; Jiang and Kurama, 2010; Beyer et al., 2011; Panagiotou and Restrepo, 2011; Fischinger et al., 2012). These approaches were mostly based on fiber-section elements such as multiple-vertical-line-elements (MVLE) proposed by Vulcano et al. (1988). Biaxial behavior of concrete material (e.g. modified compression field theory; Vecchio and Collins, 1986) were also considered in some of these approaches. On the contrary, experimental researches on the performance of non-planar (e.g. C-shaped) RC walls subjected to lateral loads are very limited. In one of the first attempts, Ile and Reynouard (2005) examined three full scale U-shaped RC walls under thecyclic lateral loading. The purpose of the study wasto study the behavior of U-shaped walls against uniaxial and biaxial bending and shear, and to compare the design provisions required by two versions of Eurocode 8. A shell model was also developed for simulation of non-planar RC walls. Beyer et al. (2008-a) investigated the bi-directional quasi-static cyclic response of ductile U-shaped RC walls by conducting experimental tests on two half-scale specimens with different thicknesses. The tests mainly focused on the flexural behavior of walls, considering different directions of loading (two orthogonal as well as diagonal). Results showed the diagonal direction as the most critical direction, in which the maximum moment resisted by the wall was less than the corresponding value calculated by the plastic hinge analysis. Moreover, the displacement capacity of the wall in diagonal direction was found to be smaller than the other two orthogonal directions. A simplified numerical model was also developed by Beyer et al. (2008-b), and a practical approach was proposed for implementation and analysis of of U-shaped walls. The numerical approach was based on wide-column analogy, and has been shown to produce reasonable estimation of the inelastic displacement response for slender walls. Constantin and Beyer (2012) used a 3D multilayered shell element model for U-shaped walls to capture their local as well as the global behavior under diagonal loading. The model was developed using the software VecTor4 developed at the University of Toronto (Wong and Vecchio, 2003), and was found to be accurate in terms of loading capacity of the wall, but not for its displacement ductility. Lowes et al. (2013) examined three 1/3 scale C-shaped wall specimens, representing a part of a coupled RC core system, under biaxial loading protocols. Results of cyclic tests showed that bidirectional loading significantly affected the response for displacement cycles in excess of the yield displacement. At these displacement levels, bidirectional loading resulted in a significant reduction in the stiffness of the wall in the direction parallel to the web of the wall (loading activating strongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ axis bending). Recently, Lu and Panagiotou (2014) presented a three-dimensional (3D) cyclic model for non-planar RC walls, based on beam-truss analogy. The model was able to predict the effects of flexure-shear interaction, considering biaxial behavior of concrete material, and account for mesh-size effects. Although the proposed model has been revised several times and they validated the model for three reinforced concrete T-shaped, C-shaped, and I-shaped section wall specimens, the modeling approach was found to be complicated in terms of calibration of truss members and material properties (Kolozvari, 2013). The results were also sensitive for precisely tracking the displacement responses of walls in a wide-amplitude. In design of RC shear walls, the fundamental design equations are mainly based on the plane sections remain plane assumption, which is unable to capture the shear lag effects related to flexure and warping torsion. Such effects can be substantial in non-planar (C-, I- or T-shaped) wall configurations, and might affect the response of structural system in seismic excitations. A study Boivin and Paultre (2010) was shown that the seismic provisions proposed by NBCC 2005 and the CSA standard A23.3-04 (2014) for design of ductile RC shear walls buildings could considerably underestimate the shear demand, especially at the base of the shear wall system. This issue would be due to the fact that the amplification effects from the higher modes of vibration cannot be efficiently taken into account by the current capacity design methods. In seismic design of a multi-story ductile RC wall, this can produce design strength envelopes that largely underestimate the seismic force demand. Hence, more studies need to be conducted on the seismic performance of these structural systems and effectiveness of available retrofitting methods, both of which were investigated in the current study. A recent research (Pelletier, 2015) showed that the dynamic shear amplification factor newly introduced in CSA A23.3-14 (2014) allows a more realistic seismic shear force demand to be obtained for RC shear walls. This factor should be applied to prevent brittle shear failure and to account for the inelastic effects of higher modes. However, RC shear wall systems that are designed based on the CSA A23-04 need to be controlled for shear demands. Moreover, CSA A23.3-14 excludes the coupled and partially coupled walls from the clause specified for accounting for inelastic effects of higher modes. Furthermore, NBCC 2015 provides a higher mode factor Mv which is equal to 1.0 for coupled shear walls except in very occasional cases, Ta=2.0 seconds and S0.2/S5=65, in which the Mv is equal to 1.03. On th e contrary, it was found by Boivin and Paultre (2010) that the shear envelope calculated based on the capacity design method is significantly unconservative in either the cantilever or coupled wall directions. Therefore, more accurate evaluations for the future designs and retrofit options for existing building are essential.

PETA Campaign Analysis Essay -- Animal Rights

PETA, an animal rights organization, constantly receives national attention and a certain shock value using powerful and distinct images to expose their messages of animal suffering. Starting in 1980, many of their campaigns have attempted to use powerful visuals with the use of celebrities to address the issue of animal cruelty and to persuade people to convert to an animal friendly lifestyle. Their campaign, I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur, is PETA’s most recognized yet controversial anti-fur campaign. This campaign is an individual behavior change campaign that tries to change and promote behaviors that lead to improved individual or social well-being. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur campaign’s ability to convey effective messages on animal rights to the public using powerful visuals and celebrity icons. Two theories that can be used to successfully analyze this campaign are the theory of planned behavior and the social cognitive theory. Literature Review There was a combination of different literature found that easily pertains to the issue addressed in this paper. This broadly classified literature includes the history and background of PETA’s organization, an analysis of the use of celebrity icons in the anti-fur campaign and the different perspectives and criticism depicted in their messages. Historical resources A large amount of information relating to animal rights disseminates from the many websites PETA is associated with. These websites are a key factor to attract supporters and publish information that will help advance its activism. These two PETA websites that were very useful for researching this paper are www.peta.org and www.furisdead.com. These websites ... ...social controversy over fur. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 80(3), 249-276. Pace, L. (2005). Image events and PETA’s Anti-fur campaign. Women & Language, 28(2), 33-41. Ruben, R. (2006). Speak softly or carry a big stick? Comparing the approaches of the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Communication, Culture and Technology (GT-ETD), DOI: http://hdl.handle.net/1961/3731 Simonson, P. (2001). Social noise and segmented rhythms: News, entertainment, and celebrity in the crusade for animal rights. The Communication Review, 4, 399- 420. Specter, M. (April 14, 2003). The extremist: The woman behind the most successful radical group in America. The New Yorker, 14, 52-67. Vogelaar, A. (2007). The rhetoric of graphic display: PETA’s virtual reproduction of pain. Conference Papers - National Communication Association, 1-29.

Henrik Isbens A Dolls House Essay -- A Dolls House Essays

After she reveals the "dastardly deed" to her husband, he becomes understandably agitated; in his frustration he shares the outside world with her, the ignorance of the serious business world, and destroys her innocence and self-esteem. This disillusion marks the final destructive blow to her doll's house. Their ideal home including their marriage and parenting has been a fabrication for the sake of society. Nora's decision to leave this false life behind and discover for herself what is real is directly symbolic of woman's ultimate realization. Although she becomes aware of her supposed subordinateness, it is not because of this that she has the desire to take action. Nora is utterly confused, as suggested by Harold Clurman, "She is groping sadly in a maze of confused feeling toward a way of life and a destiny of which she is most uncertain (256)." The one thing she is aware of is her ignorance, and her desire to go out into the world is not to "prove herse lf" but to discover and educate herself. She must strive to find her individuality. That the perception of woman is inaccurate is also supported by the role of Torvald. Woman is believed to be subordinate to the domineering husband. Instead of being the strong supporter and protector of his family, Nora's husband is a mean and cowardly man. Worried about his reputation he cares little about his wife's feelings and fails to notice many of her needs. The popular impression of man is discarded in favor of a more realistic view, thus illustrating society's distorted views. Ibsen, through this controversial play, has an impact upon society's view of the subordinate position of women. By describing this role of woman, discussing its effects, and predicting a change in contemporary views, he stressed the importance of woman's realization of this believed inferiority. Woman should no longer be seen as the shadow of man, but a person in herself, with her own triumphs and tragedies. The exploration of Nora reveals that she is dependant upon her husband and displays no independent standing. Her progression of understanding suggests woman's future ability to comprehend their plight. Her state of shocked awareness at the end of the play is representative of the awakening of society to the changing view of the role of woman. "A Doll's House" magnificently illustrates the need f... ...le that Nora expects and the miracle that actually happens are entirely different. Nora dreams of the day that her husband will sympathize with her and cease to be the dominating figure with the "upper hand" in their relationship. She expects him to understand her struggles with the law and to be willing to take some of the blame himself. However, when he reacts to Krogstad's letter by exhibiting more dominance and control than ever before, Nora becomes more aware of her own individual needs as a woman in society. She understands that in order to be free, she must develop her own view of the world, by setting herself apart from the control and determinism that males have over her life. Therefore, Nora's decision to leave her husband and family is ironic because it proves to be the "miracle" she is waiting for, rather than the one she originally expected. Nora becomes a feminist heroine in the play by showing what women can achieve, but rarely attempt. The dete rminism that many men force on their women partners in society (in forms of control, dominance, and power) restricts the women's ability to strengthen as individuals, and gain their own self-determinism.

Cats are Better Pets than Dogs :: Cat Feline Pet

"A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent housepets. In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch! In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household. Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on. Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a last resort, of course, cats can be declawed. Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as housepets is their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours without fear. Cats are Better Pets than Dogs :: Cat Feline Pet "A dog is man's best friend." That common saying may contain some truth, but dogs are not the only animal friend whose companionship people enjoy. For many people, a cat is their best friend. Despite what dog lovers may believe, cats make excellent housepets. In the first place, people enjoy the companionship of cats. Many cats are affectionate. They will snuggle up and ask to be petted, or scratched under the chin. Who can resist a purring cat? If they're not feeling affectionate, cats are generally quite playful. They love to chase balls and feathers, or just about anything dangling from a string. They especially enjoy playing when their owners are participating in the game. Contrary to popular opinion, cats can be trained. Using rewards and punishments, just like with a dog, a cat can be trained to avoid unwanted behavior or perform tricks. Cats will even fetch! In the second place, cats are civilized members of the household. Unlike dogs, cats do not bark or make other loud noises. Most cats don't even meow very often. They generally lead a quiet existence. Cats also don't often have "accidents." Mother cats train their kittens to use the litter box, and most cats will use it without fail from that time on. Even stray cats usually understand the concept when shown the box and will use it regularly. Cats do have claws, and owners must make provision for this. A tall scratching post in a favorite cat area of the house will often keep the cat content to leave the furniture alone. As a last resort, of course, cats can be declawed. Lastly, one of the most attractive features of cats as housepets is their ease of care. Cats do not have to be walked. They get plenty of exercise in the house as they play, and they do their business in the litter box. Cleaning a litter box is a quick, painless procedure. Cats also take care of their own grooming. Bathing a cat is almost never necessary because under ordinary circumstances cats clean themselves. Cats are more particular about personal cleanliness than people are. In addition, cats can be left home alone for a few hours without fear.

Annotated Bibliography of Mark Twain Essay

Budd’s classic text, first published in 1962, explores Twain’s political, social, and philosophical views. It studies them in the context of his writings, letters, and books and probes the author’s personal evolution over time. Budd looks at Twain’s views on American politics, capitalism, women, slavery, the Civil War, and imperialism. His thesis is that Twain’s views were complex and changed over time, but that ultimately he was an old fashioned 19th century liberal who had views that would not easily be accepted in today’s world. â€Å"Though critics will concentrate on the formalized texts, recovering the full shape of Twain’s ideas requires going deeper into the gregarious socializing with many self-confident men and a few feminists. †(Budd, 14) This text is reliable because Budd used Twain’s own extensive writings and letters to articulate his philosophical views. Moreover, Budd was a lifelong historian and critic of Twain and edited a two volume collected works from the author. I will use this book to discuss Twain’s perspective on racial issues, anti-imperialism, and American politics and relate them to his novels and short stories. This book is an excellent exploration of Twain’s changing views. However, it is a relatively challenging read and is best suited for readers already familiar with the author’s work and with 19th century history. I would recommend this book to anyone who already has some knowledge of Twain’s works. Carkeet, David. â€Å"The Dialects in Huckleberry Finn. † American Literature 51. 3 (November 1979): 315-332. Academic Search Complete. TCC Library, Fort Worth, TX. October 4, 2012 David Carkeet studies Twain’s use of dialect and idiomatic speech in the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn†. In particular, he probes whether Twain in fact followed the announcement at the beginning of the book suggesting that seven dialects and variants of Southern English are spoken in the text. Carkeet’s thesis is that Twain does in fact follow to a great extent his written intention in writing the characters in different forms of English, including Southwestern, Black, and Missouri Pike County accents. For Carkeet, the dialects of the various characters are best compared to Huck’s own speech, which serves as the default standard in the story. â€Å"A detailed examination of Huckleberry Finn shows that there are differences in the way people speak that are too systematic to be accidental. †(Carkeet, 316) This source is reliable because Carkeet extensively covers the speech patterns in Huckleberry Finn and cites examples directly from the original text. He actually breaks down examples of how different characters say the same words and phrases differently. I will use this article to discuss how Twain made use of vernacular English and local speech to immerse readers in the world of Missouri and the South that he grew up with. This article is easy to understand and is an excellent complement to reading Twain’s book from a fresh perspective. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about Twain, or get a better understanding of the time. Gribben, Alan. â€Å"The Importance of Mark Twain. † American Quarterly 37. 1 (January 1985): 30-49. America: History and Life. TCC Library, Ft. Worth, TX. October17, 2012 Alan Gribben’s article discusses the reception of Mark Twain’s writings by other authors and by literary critics. It addresses Twain’s unique position as a humorist and a classic author in the American canon. The author’s thesis is that Twain had a unique comic voice in his writings that were flexible and supple enough to still resonate with modern audiences whereas many other writers from the period now sound dated. â€Å"Nevertheless, Mark Twain’s literary stature has suffered, from time to time, because of his predilection for comic forms. †(Gribben,31) This source is authoritative because Gribben is one of America’s preeminent Twain scholars. He has studied and written for decades about the author and has founded a society for the appreciation of Twain’s writings. This article will serve my discussion of Twain’s writing style and unique idiom in my essay. Gribben’s paper is extremely easy to understand and is articulate. I would recommend this article to anyone that wants a better insight of Twain and the time. As well a better perspective of the time, some of Twains perspectives come as more Humor than racism. Moore, Olin Harris. â€Å"Mark Twain and Don Quixote. † PMLA 37. 2 (June 1922): 324-346. TCC Library, Ft. Worth, TX. October 2, 2012. Moore suggests in this article that Twain’s writings were deeply influenced by the Spanish author Cervantes. He expresses disagreement with the then prevalent view that Twain was a purely American writer and instead describes how indebted he was to European literature. â€Å" What genuine American humor! What a true picture of American boyhood! Nothing of Europe in Mark Twain! Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are real Americans! †(Moore,324) The thesis is that Twain’s novels were shaped by Cervantes’ classic â€Å"Don Quixote† and that in particular, Tom Sawyer was modeled after the protagonist of the Spanish novel. This source is relatively authoritative because it relies upon Twain’s own writings, the record of what books he read and when, as well as Cervantes’ text. However, it may be undermined by more recent scholarship since when it was published in 1922 many of Twain’s writings and correspondence were not available to scholars. I plan to use this article to discuss different interpretations of Twain’s major works, especially â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†. The article is useful and easy to read. I would recommend this to anyone that wants gain a better perspective of Twain and his works. By being easy to read this would allow readers to easily understand the work. Powers, Ron. Mark Twain: A Life. New York Free Press, 2005. Powers’ book is an extensive investigation of Twain’s life examining not just his major novels and short stories, but his thousands of letters, political essays, and newspaper articles. Moreover, by using what he calls â€Å"interpretive portraiture†, Powers probes into the details of Twain’s personal life, relationships, and views on issues concerning woman, race, and American politics. The basic thesis of the book is that Twain is indeed worthy of the fame and popularity he has enjoyed among generations of readers. Powers defends Twain’s writings against his fiercest detractors, many of whom see his novels and stories as roughly and in artfully written or alternatively as racist or misogynistic, and argues that while flawed, they at times rise to greatness. The authority of the source is that Powers is a long-time journalist, author and historian. He has won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and has written extensively before on Twain and other topics such as the Second World War and Civil War. In addition, the authenticity of the source comes from the primary sources, including books and correspondence that it relies upon. I would use this book to flesh out the details of Twain’s life and situate his writing into the context of events in the late 19th century. The book is an excellent, if voluminous introduction to Twain. It is also well written and easy to understand. Railton, Stephen. â€Å"Mark Twain in his Times. † University of Virginia Library. 2012. October 2012. http://twain. lib. virginia. edu/index2. html. Stephen Railton at the University of Virginia has compiled a comprehensive online database of original writings and materials related to Twain’s works. The website has unpublished drafts of Twain’s major works, period advertisements, illustrations, sales prospectus, period reviews, and essays addressing topical issues related to the books. There is no thesis per se in this website because it is intended to primarily serve as a collection of primary sources on Twain’s writings. The authority of this site derives most of all from the primary sources it gathers together, many of which are rare and obscure. In addition, Railton is a professional historian and literary expert on Twain and 19th century American literature. I will use this site to look at Twain’s writing process as he wrote Huckleberry Finn and other books. I will also study the marketing techniques Twain used and the critical reception he received at the time, as recorded in reviews on the site. This website is easy to read but somewhat difficult to navigate. It is so extensive that it is not entirely user friendly and probably has its layout updated. Tucker, Jeffrey A. â€Å"Mark Twain’s Radical Liberalism. † Ludvig Von Mises Institute. January 27, 2010. November 2012. Jeffrey Tucker in this online article writes about the much debated nature of Mark Twain’s political views. Twain’s politics seem difficult to classify, Tucker observes, only because the ideology he subscribed to is no longer fashionable. â€Å"Part of the difficulty of understanding Mark Twain’s political outlook is due to the terminology and the tendency of politics to corrupt the meaning of everything. †(Tucker, 1) Tucker situates Twain’s anti-slavery, anti-imperialist, anti-government, and pro-capitalist views in terms of 19th century classical liberalism. It is Tucker’s thesis that Twain was essentially a liberal of the old, small government and pro market variety. The authority of this source comes from Tucker’s study of Twain’s writings, which are quoted from and cited in the text. In addition, the author is a major scholar of libertarian politics and economics which are relevant to his interpretation of Twain’s views. I intend to use this online piece to show how Twain could hold points of view that today seem incompatible, such as being anti-war and pro-business. This is a very accessible source and should be of value even for those who disagree with Tucker’s libertarian agenda. I would recommend this article to anyone that has a point of view on Twain.

Good and evil Essay

Two authors of different periods wrote on the same subject. Each approaches the idea from a different direction. Anton Chekhov looks at the aspects of light as a sign of hope. Franz Kafka examines the despair that comes from darkness in humans. Despite their different approaches, both address the aspects of the human psyche that deal with good and evil. Light to Chekhov displays hope and the good in man. Kafka sees darkness as the example of human evil and despair. The use of light in The Cherry Orchard and The Metamorphosis shows the antithetical elements of good and evil and the authors’ attempts to show the human condition of the conflicting elements hope and despair. Kafka’s mind dealt in the darkness, and Chekhov’s mind dealt in light. According to human mythology, light and dark represent good and evil. Good things happen under the light; in the shadows, the human psyche does not feel comfortable. The aristocrats in Cherry Orchard exist in a changing society, with the new ways crumbling away their positions. Madame Ranevskaya, one of the main aristocrats, says upon her return from Europe, â€Å"All white, all white! Oh, my cherry orchard! After the dark and stormy autumn and the winter frosts you are young again and full of happiness† (Chekhov 28). This observation emphasizes the good that humans associate with light. The aristocrats distribute warmth and love, while coldness describes the capitalist feeling. The cherry orchard symbolizes the aristocrats, and the setting by Chekhov in the spring shows the power of good. The aristocrats with their caring fight in a symbolic battle against the capitalists who have no personal feelings in Chekhov’s play. Chekhov uses this to show that good, even when under attack, will prevail. Despite his siding with the aristocracy, Chekhov shows clean cut lines of black and white do not exist, but instead a shade of gray exists. Trofimov, a perpetual student and philosopher, says, â€Å"Your cherry orchard is a terrible thing. Possessing living souls has corrupted all of you, those who lived before and since†¦ the old bark on the trees glow dimly† (Chekhov 50). This remark of the socialist antagonist shows that even the warmth of the aristocracy has come from suffering. In reverse, cold capitalism, allows a man to become free and gain power. Without his contrasts and comparisons, the book becomes propaganda. By addressing the overlap of the pleasant as well as bad aspects of each, Chekhov shows that the human psyche has no clearly definable boundaries, and good as well as evil emerge as possible results of a man’s actions. Chekhov, by addressing the light opens up views and insights into good and evil. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka depicts the good and evil inherent in man also. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, turns into a giant bug after unsettling dreams. He slowly retreats from his old generous self as a human to become a creature that his own family reviles. Kafka writes, â€Å"The light of the electric street-lamps lay in pallid streaks on the ceiling and on the upper parts of the furniture, but underneath, where Gregor was, it was dark† (Kafka 21). This quote shows that while Gregor can achieve a better level and become a human again, he chooses to remain as a bug, by hiding from the cleansing he must go through. Throughout the novel, Gregor avoids the light and light-colored objects. When his sister brings him milk, Gregor tries it, but â€Å"he turned away from the bowl almost with repulsion† (Kafka 21). Kafka uses this technique of hiding to show that humans all have the potential for good in them, but often hide from the chance. Gregor does not wish to fight to obtain his humanity. He would rather hide from his own potential by remaining something all men despise. Gregor finds being an outcast better than the possibility of being the only good man. None of his family remains loyal to him, but instead his father abuses him without care, and his whole family conspires to eliminate the problem. Gregor’s father attacks him, and eventually hurt him, the apple thrown hard and â€Å"literally forcing its way into Gregor’s back† (Kafka 39). Kafka uses this falling away in the family to show that even though they try to love Gregor, they allow their evil natures to take over. Kafka uses Gregor’s hiding from the light to show that the human psyche includes good and bad sides. With this method, Kafka shows the mind contains multiple parts, each of which can influence the whole. According to Jung, the human psyche comprises of these parts. The brains alter ego, or shadow, tries to dominate with acts that society rarely sees. This escape into the open world results in crime and hate. Jung says that the part of man with bad motives lies there, and the drive to do good exists in the self. Gregor, after his transformation and after the attacks, gains the right to an open door to watch the family. Despite this opportunity, â€Å"Gregor found it very easy to give up the open door†¦ when it was opened he had not taken advantage of it, but instead†¦ had lain in the darkest corner of the room† (Kafka 46). His reluctance to join in a crude family circle represents his ultimate rejection of his potential for good. Kafka applies his reluctance to show that man will naturally reject good for the simpler path of evil. By not becoming a problem and dealing with his position even within his family, Gregor denies his humanity and accepts to living in the shadows of his mind. These shadows, though normally hidden behind the persona, allow evil to escape from under the tight blocks in the mind. Gregor, when he becomes a bug, loses hope. The aristocrats in Chekhov’s play despair when they lose control. Both Gregor and Madame Ranevskaya cannot continue to hope, because darkness covers their mind. Madame Ranevskaya’s friend and buyer Lopakhin says, â€Å"Last year at this time snow was falling already, if you remember; but now it’s fine and sunny† (Chekhov 81). Before Lopakhin buys the estate, the aristocrats do not have hope. When snow covers the land, humans despair, because they remain in their houses without escape, with the feeling of existing in a trap. Humans find hope with release into wide-open spaces, where their expansion can grow without impedance. When restrictions come into place, the mind loses hope. In Chekhov’s play, at the end, the weather turns fine and so Madame Ranevskaya feels more hope. Anya, her daughter, shows both her own and her mother’s beliefs in saying â€Å"Very, very happy. A new life is beginning† (Chekhov 77). When she says this, the aristocrats are preparing to leave their estate. The confinement at the estate ends, so Madame Ranevskaya and her family have sunlight illuminating them, and they hope for a better future. Gregor Samsa, Kafka’s protagonist, remains a problem to his family. His presence tries their patience, and by his inability to help, Gregor puts a greater load on his sister and parents. Gregor, when he does try to participate in a family activity, manages to drive away the boarders who rent a room. Eventually Gregor realizes that he hurts his family by staying. Gregor knows that he cannot be of service, so instead of remaining in his room by his own will; he can leave his body to go to another plane of thought and knowledge. Kafka writes â€Å"His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, firmer than his sister’s†¦ He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light† (Kafka 54). When his need to live cancels out by his thought for others, Gregor joins humanity again, and can have hope for himself. Gregor and Madame Ranevskaya both begin in their respective works as characters that have no reason for hope. Gregor becomes a bug, and because of debt, Madame Ranevskaya’s estate will go to the auction block. These situations offer little choice of resolving themselves, and the protagonists will correct them differently. The more despair grows in them, and the closer they come to their final reckoning, the less the two feel able to save themselves. In each work, the author has a different climax, at which the characters recognize their position and turn to something other than the previous life. Madame Ranevskaya moves away from her family wealth, and Gregor stops living as a human in a bug. Both character have the opportunity to gain hope. For Gregor and Madame Ranevskaya, light symbolizes what they can have, and darkness symbolizes their problems. However, where light exists there cannot also survive darkness, so hope cannot coexist with despair. By changing to a brighter outlook, the two characters show the goodness in man, and the difference from their previous state shows the darkness in man. Kafka and Chekhov both use the technique of antithetical elements to show the human condition of conflict and change.