Contact :: essays research papers

The movie Contact, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, is a fascinating journey through the human mind that attempts to answer the questions that humans have been asking since the dawn of time, “Are we alone in the Universe?'; Ellie Arroway (portrayed by Jodie Foster), the main character of the movie refers to the historic event upon which the movie is based, contact with an alien civilization, as one of the most significant events in human history, and rightly so. This film explores the religious implications of such an event as well as the faith that one has to have afterwards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Arroway’s journey indeed resembles that of the “hero’s quest.'; Of course Ellie being the hero, is faced with something the world has yet to encounter: contact from aliens. She then voluntarily sacrifices herself for what seems to be ‘a greater good’.....to be the first human to converse with an extra-terrestrial existence, only to be disregarded because of her beliefs. That was one hurdle she had to overcome. The religious extremist was a ‘demonic adversary’ that, for a moment in the movie, appeared to have terminally halted the entire project. Then ‘the wise counselor,’ the man with cancer, emerged with his purpose: to lead Arroway on the right path. Faced again with taking the journey that could only be taken alone, she of course had to find a reason that would make it harder to leave, the ‘companion’ (Matthew McConaughtey’s character). This was another hurdle she had to overcome. She takes the journey to come out a changed person, for the better, as the movie evidently is implying. And in the end, the hero is reunited with the one she loves, her ‘companion.’   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This movie bridges the gap between science and religion. How else can you explain the moving ending of an agnostic scientist trying to explain what just happened to her without the benefit of one shred of proof?

Images of Addiction :: English Literature

Images of Addiction 'Addiction', 'craving', 'dependence', 'enslavement', 'habit', 'obsession' these are some of the many ways of describing a persons need for something or someone. Addiction and the way it's presented is the main focus of two books, 'Junk' by Melvin Burgess a contempary novel written in 1996 and 'The Man With The Twisted Lip' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a short story from the Sherlock Holmes series written in 1892. I will be comparing the two similarly themed stories and discuss how they show images of addiction. Both of the books use many different techniques to make the story as realistic and believable as possible. In Junk each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character in the 1st person narrative. This style of writing gives the story a lot of credibility and often involves different characters telling the same event but from a completely different perspective. This is not just very interesting for the reader: it also gives you the chance to get deep into the characters heads and to find out what they are thinking. You can also formulate your own opinions of characters as many of them, particularly Gemma, really involve the reader and try to talk them round to their points of view. In contrast 'The Man With The Twisted Lip' is very formal and written throughout by the same character, Dr Watson. The details are very precisely written like a report of what has happened with constant references to street names and timings to give the effect that everything in the story has really happened one example is 'found herself exactly at 4:35 walking through Swandom Lane on her way back to the station'. Another method the authors use to convey a sense of realism is the language. In 'Junk' there is a lot of teenage slang and swearing both in the dialogue and the text itself, which adds a sense that you are getting the full truth however disturbing it may be, not a sugar coated version. I also thought that the way the story was written as if the characters were talking to you worked really well because you felt the characters were telling you, not just writing it down. Another important aspect of creating realism from the language was the way the characters began to use 'junkie slang', drug terminology, unheard of at the beginning of the novel but common place by the end. This really helped to show how the lives of the main characters had really changed as the book progressed. Cultural references are also important because they help people to relate to the story and put the

Henry Fleming In Red Badge Of Courage Essay -- Red Badge Of Courage

Henry Fleming in Red Badge of Courage The Civil War forced many young boys out of childhood and into adulthood. Most of these young boys were not prepared for war, and Henry Fleming was one of these boys. Henry Fleming's life in New York was routine. He had his normal share of friends and lived on a farm. When Henry got up in the mornings, he always knew exactly what the day had in store for him. This simple and boring life drove Henry to enlist. Henry wanted some excitement and to be seen by everyone as a hero. He wanted to be a man. However, his mother was strictly against his joining the Union Army. She thought that the Army was for rough and uncivilized heathens. His mother's greatest fear was that these heathens would influence Henry to start drinking and swearing. Despite his mother's concerns, Henry enlisted in the Army. But being in the Army wasn't enough, Henry was anxious to go to battle. All along the way to his station he and his fellow recruits were treated kindly. Old men patted them on their backs and young boys admired them when they stopped for rest. This warm feeling faded when they reached the camp. Here life was boring for Henry. The only thing his company did was drill day in and day out. All of the experienced soldiers told war stories every night by the campfire. Henry could only listen because he was still 'wet behind the ears'. He felt left out and often sat alone wondering about battle. War was like an illusion to him....

Public Finance and Taxation Essay

There are varying definitions of what public sector economics is and what topics it covers. In a layman’s language Public economics is the application of economics to the activities undertaken by the state. Black et al. defines public sector economics as â€Å"the field of economics which studies the nature, principles, and economic consequences of government expenditure, taxation, financing and the regulatory actions undertaken in the non-profit making government sector†. Thus it looks at the efficiency of various approaches used by government in its day to day operations. For the government uses economic policy instruments which are designed to influence economic behavior in order to achieve certain outcomes. The government has various goals which it pursues they include; i) Macro-economic stability ii) Enhanced economic growth iii) Balance of payment stability iv) Income distribution. The ultimate goal of these policies is to improve people’s welfare. As already mentioned government uses instrument of fiscal and monetary policy to achieve its goal. The use of government expenditure and taxation to influence economic outcome is referred to as fiscal policy. Fiscal policy is often outlined through the annual budget which is presented to parliament every year. The budget outlines its objectives in the budget and how these are going to be achieved. On the other Monetary policy is aimed at influencing the supply of money and consequently economic growth. The central Bank is an independent arm of the state which is mandated with running the monetary policy. In Zambia, monetary policy is the responsibility of the Bank of Zambia. In public sector economics we study the impact of instrument of fiscal policy on economic efficiency. Instruments of fiscal policy include; i) Expenditure ii) Taxation iii) Financing iv) Regulations The first two involves the procurement and spending of the government funds on various programs such as public infrastructure, education, health and public security. Example the government collects revenue using tax and spends the revenue on education, health, roads etc. in economic terms the use of these two constitutes the direct mobilization and allocation of scarce resources. In contrast, regulation entails a law or administratively proclaiming an enforceable instruction that leads to a different allocation of private sector resources than would apply in the absence of government intervention. That is allocation resources are influenced indirectly. Example the government through the Environmental Council of Zambia has put regulations to curb environmental damage; this has lead to increased investment in environmentally friendly technology by private firms. This is something the profit seeking private sector would not have done if there was no government intervention. PUBLIC FINAN CE AND IDEOLOGY Opinions on how government should function in the economic sphere are influenced by the ideological views concerning the relationship between the state and the individual. Political philosophers have distinguished two major approaches. These approaches are the organic view and the mechanistic view of government. Organic View of Government In this view society is considered as a natural organism and the government is the heart of such an organism. Society is an organic whole, just as the human body. Each individual is a constituent part of the organism just like a body part. In this view an individual has significance only as a part of the community and the good of the individual is defined with respect the good of the whole. A person’s action is seen as important if it leads to the improvement of the wellbeing of society. In Plato’s view, ‘an activity of citizen is only desirable if it leads to a just society’. In this view, the goals of society are set by the state which attempts to lead society, toward their realization. The goals of society do differ from one state to another. For example Plato conceived that the goal of government was the achievement of a golden age in which human activities would be guided by rationality. In short society strived to achieve a state in which the decisions of all individuals and the state were rational. So society was support all activities which would lead to the achievement of this goal. In Adolf Hitler’s view, the state’s goal was the achievement of social purity. He envisaged the creation of a supper race. To achieve this goal the state supported all activities which were aimed removing human impurities. They include bizarre actions such as extermination of Jews, physically disabled people and invasion of all countries to ensure that his goals are achieved over the world. The Grand Ayatollah Khomeini argued that the goal of society is to create good believers. Thus all actions of individuals and the state should be aimed at creating a cadre of believers. Closer home, Kaunda envisaged that the goal of society was the attainment of a just society. He coined the concept of human centered development or Humanism. In this ideology he argued all the actions of individuals and government should be aimed achieving a society in which all persons are equal to each other. Proponents of the organic view argue that certain goals are natural for the societal organism such as pursuit of sovereignty over some geographical area. From a policy perspective, the organic view emphasizes combating poverty and equity issues notably redistribution of income as justification for government intervention. In addition, this view tends to support existence of a large government. That is government has a large part to play in of the nation’s activities. Mechanistic View of Government In this view government is not an organistic part of society, but it is a creation of people to better achieve their individual goals. Here government is seen as a reflection of individual preferences or tastes. In short, society is a mirror of individual wants and needs. In this case, government intervention is only justifiable if it leads to individual welfare maximization. An individual will only support a government if it helps him/her to achieve their individual goals. Example government should protect individuals from violence. To do so the individuals gives government coercive power. In Adam Smith view, Government should protect society from violence and invasion from other states. This view advocates for government intervention only to correct market failures and letting the market decide who gets what. In addition, the role of government should be limited to certain public works such as roads, bridges, sewer, and airports. These are infrastructures which make society function. There are several divergent views within the mechanistic view. Some of these are; i) Libertarians View which argue against any further role in the economy beyond providing justice and protecting individual liberty. ii) Social democrats believe that sustained government intervention is need for the good of individuals. These interventions can be as diverse as safety regulations at work place, banning racial discrimination, welfare payments to the poor. In totality, the mechanistic approach focuses relatively more on the efficiency of markets and economic growth. ROLE OF THE STATE 1. Equity and Efficiency Principles Pareto Efficiency-occurs when it is not possible to improve the welfare of some people without making the welfare anyone worse. An economic system that is not Pareto efficient implies that it is possible to change resource allocation without making any one worse off. Example if an economic system is not Pareto Optimal it is possible to increase consumption by one group and reduce for others without making them feel worse off. This is known as Pareto Improvement. Pareto improvement occurs when a change to a different allocation makes at least one individual better off without making any individual worse off. To make us under this lets assume that; i) There are two individuals A and B, ii) There are two goods X and Y, iii) There are two factors of production Labor (L) and Capital (K) iv) We assume that we have a static economy such that XA+XB=X and YA+YB=Y Exchange Efficiency or efficiency in consumption Efficiency in consumption is achieved when the marginal rates of substitution are equal for all persons; MRSXYA=MRSXYB The Marginal Rate of Substitution is simply the slope of indifference curve. ∆∆Y ∆X X MRS=-∆Y∆X If you have a utility function: uX,Y=U0 totally differentiating MUxdX+MUydY=0 MRSxy=-dYdX=MUxMUy In the Edgeworth box efficiency is achieved where the indifference curves are tangent; Lets pick a point such as ‘e’. At point ‘e’ it is possible to make person A better without making person B worse off. This can be done by moving along Indifference Curve no B2 to point d. At point‘d’ the welfare of person A improves because he moves from a lower indifference curve A2 to a higher indifference curve A3. The improvement for person A continues until point ‘c’ where the indifference curves are equal. At point ‘c’ it is not possible to make any Pareto improvement. At point ‘e’ we have MRSXYA>MRSXYB This also true for point ‘d’. This outcome of Pareto efficiency is only possible under perfect competition. This is because in perfect competition all consumers face the same market prices for these goods. That is they equate the marginal rate of substitution to the same price ratio. MRSXYA=MRSXYB=PxPy Each individual maximizes their utility function subject to the budget constraint. That they maximize the following function U0=uX,Y subject to I=XPx+YPy therefore the langrangian L=UX,Y+ÃŽ »(I-XPx-YPy) First order conditions ∂L∂X=MUx-ÃŽ »Px=0 and ∂L∂Y=MUY-ÃŽ »PY=0 MUX=ÃŽ »Px and MUy=ÃŽ »Py solving simultaneously we getMUxMUy=PxPy=-dYdX=MRS Therefore, each person will equate their MRS to the price ratio. Production Efficiency Production efficiency requires that the marginal rates of technical substitution are equal in the production of good X and good Y. That is MRTSLKX=MRTSLKY In the Edgeworth box this requires this occurs where the isoquants are tangent to each other. The marginal rate of technical substitution is simply the slope of the isoquant. K L U0 ∆K Given an isoquant QL,K=Q0 totally differntiating we get MPldL+MPKdK=0 MRTSLK=-dKdL=MPlMPK Lets have a factor Edge worth box to make our illustration easier. Remember from our study of micro-economics we defined an isoquant as a curve that represent the combination of labor and capital which give the same level of output. In the diagram below production of X uses labor from point X to the right and capital from X upwards. For good Y it is the opposite of good X. All points along XPY are Pareto efficient in the sense that it is not possible to improve or increase the output of good X or good Y without reducing either of them. To under this lets pick point ‘a’ which is not along XPY. This point is not Pareto optimal because it is possible to improve the production of X without reducing the output of good Y simply by moving along the isoquant no Y2 output of good X improves/increases to X2 from X1. Pareto efficiency is only possible under a perfectly competitive market system because all produces face the same factor prices (PK and PL). Thus Pareto Optimality condition reduces to: MRTSLKX=MRTSLKY=PKPL Proof: Q0=QL,K subject to C=LPl+YPy therefore the langrangian L=QL,K+ÃŽ »(C-LPl-KPk) First order conditions ∂L∂L=MPl-ÃŽ »Pl=0 and ∂L∂K=MPk-ÃŽ »Pk=0 MPl=ÃŽ »Pl and MPK=ÃŽ »PK solving simultaneously we getMPlMPk=PlPk=-dLdK=MRTS Therefore all firms will be minimizing their costs while facing the same factor prices. OVERALL EFFICIENCY This requires that the production possibility frontier (PPF) and the social welfare function are tangent. That is; MRSXY=MRTXY. X SWF PPF Y The PPF shows the maximum quantity of good X and good Y that can be produced using the existing technology and resources. An increase in the amount of labor and capital available or an increase in the level of technology will make the PPF to move outwards to the right. All points inside the PFF are attainable but not efficient and all points the right of the PPF are not attainable. To achieve, the Marginal Rate of Substitution for society (slope of SWF) must be equal to the PxPy and the marginal rate of transformation (slope of PPF) must be equal to the MCxMCy or resources must be fully utilized. In perfect competition, P=MC. Hence it is possible to achieve the following outcome; MRSXY=PxPy=MRTXY=MCXMCY. Thus a perfectly competitive outcome results into a Pareto optimal allocation of resources. It is important to note that Pareto optimal allocation may not be the best outcome in the sense that it does not consider equity. That is there is no equity consideration. Equity is the fair d istribution of resources in sources. There are two concepts of equity used in economics horizontal and Vertical Equity. Horizontal equity means that people in similar positions/situation must be treated equally. Example if two people have HIV and the same level of CD4 count they should have equal access to ARVs. The only condition is that they are positive and have the same CD4. Vertical equity means that people in different economic situations must be treated differently from a poor person when allocating resources. This is because treating them in the same manner is not equitable. MARKET FAILURE A market failure occurs when the market fails to allocate resources according the Pareto criterion. In other words, a market failure is a situation in which the market fails to allocate resources efficiently according to the Pareto Criterion. Fundamental Theorem of Welfare Economics Welfare economics is the systematic method of evaluating the economic implications of alternative resource allocation. It answers the following questions; i) Is a given resource allocation efficient? ii) Who wins and looses under various allocations? First Fundamental Theorem of welfare Economics- It states that if there is a perfectly competitive market and consumer tastes are convex then any equilibrium will be a Pareto optimal allocation of resources. In short, the competitive market allocates resources efficiently without any need for government intervention. Further, the theorem states that the price from the perfectly competitive market induces selfish individuals independently maximizing their welfare, to bring the economy to a socially optimal state. That is prices rise in response to excess demand and they fall in response to excess supply. Normatively this theorem says that use free market system to allocate resources. The Second Fundamental Theorem of Welfare Economics states that â€Å"society can attain any Pareto optimal allocation of resources by making a suitable assignment of initial endowment of resources and then letting the people freely trade with each other as in the Edgeworth box.† To help us underst and this lets relook at the contract curve which gives the Pareto Optimal outcomes.

Oedipus Innocent Essay

In Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus relentlessly pursues the truth of his own ancestry and actions in the past, making this play a tragedy of action in which, in the end, the king goes into exile, believing that he has killed his own father and had incest with his own mother. While this latter conclusion is not debatable, it is questionable whether or not Oedipus killed his father, and he could be innocent. All the proof is that he killed his father is from the seer and prophet Tiresias. his fears and suspicions and discover the truth, which is his fate, he is doomed in doing so. â€Å"To his mother son and husband both, he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father’s blood! Go in and reflect on that, solve that, and if you feel I’ve lied from this day onward call the prophet blind† (Sophocles). All Oedipus knows is that he killed a man at a crossroads: there was no direct communication between them, and no recognition. One would think that Oedipus, however metaphorically blind he may be at this point, still has eyes enough to recognize his own father. His own obsessive seeking of the truth could also contribute to the fallacious assumption that Oedipus makes, without proof, that he has indeed killed his own father. In pursuing the answers to his own tragedy obsessively, Oedipus becomes a sympathetic figure who is blind to the possible truth, and accepts that he has killed his father without having overwhelming proof. There is still a reasonable doubt that the person at the crossroads could have been a complete stranger. But Oedipus’ will demands that he use his essential nature to fight against destiny, and this makes him somewhat blind to the facts. There is no proof beyond the shadow of a doubt that Oedipus has really killed his own father. It is simply what Oedipus believes. Sophocles (2005). Oedipus the King. Norton Anthology of Literature. New York: Norton.

Compare and Contrast Wilson’s and Roosevelt’s Progressivism

Advocates of progressivism had a goal of curing society’s ills by improving government and its role, but some progressives had different approaches to this reform. Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt can be used as examples of this complex reform because they both wanted to improve the economy, but had different incentives behind the programs they used to do so. Roosevelt’s program of progressive reform, New Nationalism, was created in an effort to regulate only those trusts that were â€Å"bad† for public welfare – he distinguished some trusts to be either â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad. He stressed the need for control of corporations, consumer protection, and conservation of natural resources. To illustrate, he intervened in the Anthracite Coal Strike on behalf of the workers. He threatened to nationalize mines if the corporations who owned them didn’t consent to arbitration and pay increases for the workers. The Hepburn Act of 1906 was passed to r egulate the railroads by increasing the government’s power to oversee their rates.In that same year the pure food and drug act was passed which prohibited the selling of dangerous medicines and impure foods. Along with that, the Meat Inspection Act was passed and it helped eliminate diseases caused by meat because it enforced sanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry. However, Roosevelt’s greatest success was in the conservation of the environment. The Newlands Act was passed which created a way for government to irrigate deserts. Roosevelt became an admired public figure because of his involvement in reforming society.Unlike President Roosevelt, President Wilson believed that every single monopolistic business was bad because it disrupted the economy and must be abolished as a result, so he worked towards â€Å"busting trusts. † Wilson’s reform program, New Freedom, sought to attack what Wilson called the Triple Wall of Privilege – the tarif f, banks, and trusts. After it passed, the Underwood-Simmons Bill reduced tariff rates substantial enough to bring real competition to America which helped break the power of the trusts. The Federal Reserve act was happily signed by Wilson and it directly affected the amount of currency circulation. Related article: Jamestown and Plymouth Compare and ContrastThe Federal Trade Commission Act created an authoritative agency that helped businesses become decorous in the eyes of government. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act used the Sherman Act to name certain business acts illegal. Wilson’s New Freedom was the brand of activism and progressivism that he brought to the national level that was different from others. Both Roosevelt and Wilson held leadership qualities like no other and had strong views for America although they were completely different in their approaches for changing America itself.

Computer Motherboard (Descriptive)

Computer Motherboard Motherboard acts like the arteries of a human taking the blood all over allowing the blood to travel. It has many line-like structures that are like the veins and the arteries. These lines are the wires mounted on the motherboard that keep thousandths or even millions of connection. Motherboard is a small yet powerful device inside the computer system. The motherboard has three cards on it. First, the graphics card, it is like the eyes of the computer, it acts like the eye that saw and reflects images to the screen.Second, the sound card it is the mouth of the computer, it sends sound to the speaker, it shouts what the computer says. And the third, the modem, the nose of the computer. It sniffs messages from the wires coming from the telephone lines. If there’s a blood, there’s also the heart. The processor of the computer acts as the heart of the computer. It has a square-shaped chip that has many pins. It sits on the motherboard controlling all th e cards including the motherboard.It controls, allows, and restricts information that is being disseminated into the system like the heart. It also has a heat sink and a fan keeping the processor cool. To be able to complete the system, it also has the brain. Hard disk serves as the brain of the computer. It is rectangular in shape. Inside it, there’s a mirror-like disk where all the information are stored. The disk spin at greater speed, depending on the information /data is being written into the disk.Motherboard is also consists of chips, transistors, and capacitors. It is the other component of the motherboard that acts like the organs of the system. These chips may be small as a grain of rice and bigger as a coin. Transistor is a small, black in color and rectangular in shape. It is sometimes recognizable because of its three metal legs attached on it. Transistors is consists of thousand or even million of IC (Integrated Circuit) packed in one part. And the capacitors ar e like tanks attached in the motherboard.It varies in size; it may be small, medium or large depending on the voltage and its capacitance. Motherboard is consists of millions of chips, transistors and IC’s. It acts like the body of the computer. Without it, the computer will not work. It is like the trunk of a tree. It is an amazing thing that has millions of wires attached in a small board. It is powerful and fundamental part that the computer will not work without it. Reference: * Motherboard. Retrieved from http://www. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/motherboard