Literature in contemporary societies Essay Example for Free

Literature in contemporary societies Essay The art of literature in contemporary societies has always led to more critical discussions between man and himself and between man and his neighbor. Literature pushes us to rethink our stance on normal societal norms and beliefs. Sula is such a work of art. It is the based on two women living at the Bottom in Ohio, a predominantly black community. Helen Wright is a socially conscious and quite a conservative woman. She has one daughter; Nel. Hannah Peace a beautiful flamboyant and a woman with many men at the Bottom is the mother of Sula. Sula is raised with Eva Peace, her grandmother who does not stifle her granddaughters freedom unlike Nel who comes from a restrictive household. Nel and Sula develop quite an inseparable and good friendship, a friendship that does not settle well with Helen who possesses grave misgivings due to the reputation of Sulas mother however she does not object openly after her realization that Sula is a very polite house guest. After High School these two great friends diverge ways for 10 years. Sula goes to college where she experiences a new wave of sexual promiscuity much like her mother. Nel On the other hand is married by a Bottoms resident, Jude Green. Their separation last for period of three years before Sula comes back from the college and their relationship resumes without any hindrance. However, this relationship is cut short when Nel learns of the relationship between Sula and Jude. This affair ends both the relationship between Jude and Nel as well as that of Nel as Sula who leaves the bottom for three years. Nel is forced to raise her two children alone and she doesnt communicate with Sula for the three years that she goes away. Their next meeting occurs when Sula is terribly sick and almost dying. Their last conversation before Sula dies constitutes the literary wealth of this masterpiece; it is the discussion between good and bad. She dies and is buried at the Bottom cemetery. Thereafter, Nel visits Eva Peace who is quite old and is kept in a nursing home where she tries to retell the moments she had together before Sula died. While walking home she begins to feel the loss of the relationship with the death of Sula, her single and true friend. Her judgment of Sula as bad begins to haunt her as she recalls an incident that happened when they were friends; the Chicken Little incident. Chicken little was a young boy who also lived at the Bottom. When playing on a tree, Sula lost grip and the child plunged in the river and drowned. They kept this secret for the whole of their lives. These are the memories that unsettled Nel emotionally, she begins to challenge the concepts of good and bad and the choices and sacrifices people make in life. Later on, she kills her drug addict sun as she struggles to raise his family single handedly. Sadly, we see her sitting and crying over Sulas grave at then cemetery as the story comes to an end. The story questions the decisions that people make in life; the calls for a rethinking of common societal problems. Critics mention the humor in the novel. For example the place called bottom is actually at the mountain top. The creation of binary oppositions in the novel not only makes it too interesting and informative but also lets the reader glance at the depth of common conventions in the community and the effect these societal conventions have on the lives of children who are supposed to be brought up in a comparatively free world where people are supposed to make free will. Satire as a theme is also developed in the story and it fuse well with the binary notion. The complexity of characters in the story conveys an account of human flaws in decision making and in the way we relate to other people in the community. While parents do everything in their power to ensure that their children justifiably lead a good life, little is done in ensuring that the children also get freedom. This makes the children not to acquire their own experiences in life but only proceed to copy the characters of their parents and grandparents. The fact that Sula turned out to be an exact replica of her mother and grandmother is an attestation to this fact. The book is feminine masterpiece and there is also an element of female chauvinism. This can be justified by the fact that all the major characters in the book are women and their actions are affected by men in a very little sense. Jude, Chicken Little and Nels son who became a drug addict after leaving the army are all victims of the women’s stereotyped dispositions. Shadrack being physically and emotionally scarred fro the experience of war is disowned and almost excommunicated by the community without the community fully understanding the reasons behind his behavior. Let us now give a critical analysis of Sula, the main character. Sula is the major influence on his friend Nel. Sula has been influenced by her mother leading to the passage of what can be argued to be a bad character trait through generations. Eva is a strong woman. She has endured loneliness, abject poverty but she is proud and unrelenting. Sula is quite an extraordinary woman, she is energetic but she has no suitable outlet to release her energies. This makes her potentially dangerous in that that she has no knowledge of wrongdoing. She does not understand that she sins when she sleeps with men and carelessly tosses them aside. Her sin is unintentional. The community, however do not understand the context of her upbringing or they simply do not care. They despise her but tolerate her. One very interesting aspect is that Sula is quite independent in her isolation, she does what she pleases and she simply does not care what everybody else does. She lives her the way it pleases her effectively earning her isolation from the community. After her death the rules shift suddenly, there is a renewed sense of acceptance, of defining right and wrong, good and bad. It is important to try and delve into the reasons why Nel and Sula united even after Sula betrayed their friendship by having an affair with Nels husband, Jude. Nel realizes that Sula was neither good nor evil; she was just indifferent to everything and everybody. Wives had to put extra effect in making sure that their husbands do not fall into bed with Sula, children were treated better so that they dont grow into adults who are indifferent and uncaring like Sula. This is good fortune to the bottom community because they were held together in the rethinking process. Remember the National Suicide day? After Sulas death the community did not have any productive outlet to channel their energies, they could not just sit and talk and so they become enraged and tear up the tunnel the result of unfocused energy. This eventual realization went a long way in ensuring that the residents of Bottom engaged in productive work for their survival. If Sula would have directed her energy to something else, maybe something a little more worthwhile would have resulted. Racial prejudice is highlighted when Jude is denied a chance to engage in the building of anew bridge, because of the color of his skin; he is denied the opportunity even though he is willing to do something productive. He stands in line for six days while the white boys get an opportunity to build the new River Road, his job at the hotel is demeaning and an insult to his masculinity. The scarcity of job opportunities remains to be the why Eva and Hannah had very little chance of gainful employment. They had to contend with the injustices being meted out on them because they were females and most importantly black. To escape the pangs of hunger in the winter, they have to prepare canned food in the summer. The life of Sula Peace, her childhood and her death in 1941is surrounded by the inability of the environment to shape her into a good woman The black community residing in Medallion; the bottom is judgmental but not in any way assisting to solve the crisis within itself. Sula’s life story shows us how the community and family can shape somebodys identity. She not only displays how children are nurtured but also her later relationship with the same community who natured her. She is a strong independent character but the community does not see her positive potentiality. To go against these societal norms she is not married and she sleeps around. The Peace family has been frowned upon by the Bottom community. This could have elicited an element of antagonism from Sula because she does not follow accepted societal conventions but in this case she is the protagonist and not the community. The novel poses her as the central character and the community constitutes only bits and pieces that seem to knit her life together in a predetermined fashion from the time of her birth to death. If change is to take place the community remains the playing field and Sula undoubtedly remains one of the players in the field. Whether she deserved to be rewarded for fearlessly instigating the rethinking process is not a matter of discussion as it is evident that her one and truly friend had in her own way knowingly or unknowingly lent credit to her stance in life by crying over her grave at the cemetery after realizing what Sula stood for. The character Sula is structure less, that any character interaction with her only invokes an element of structurelessness. This is because philosophically her evil is not her own but a reflection of what had been unknowingly imparted in her. Fortunately, her story is one where what is regarded as evil triggered change in the society. In analyzing one of the important masterpieces in the history of black American writing it is prudent to expunge on the growth of protagonism and non conformism in the society. The society’s vilification of the heroine Sula who does not fit into the society’s conformation of a heroine is a classic example of the inability of a people to look within themselves and try to solve the problems within its own structures. Works Cited Daniel Dawkins: A Character Analysis of Sula; Considering Morrisons Main Character as the Protagonist. 2008http://african-american fiction. suite101. com/article. cfm/a_character_analysis_of_sula Black Community Racism Racist Essays. http:www. 123helpme. com/preview. asp? id=87608 Solomon O. Iyasere and Marla W. Iyasere. Understanding Tony Morrisons Beloved and Sula: Selected Essays and Criticisms of the works of Nobel prize winning author. 2000

Employee Benefit and Google Essay Example for Free

Employee Benefit and Google Essay Google, Inc. was ranked by Fortune magazine as the best place in the U.S. to work in 2009, and it has reached another zenith by becoming the most popular Web site. Google, Inc.’s goal of providing benefits and rewards is to â€Å"strip away everything that gets in our employees’ way† (Google, 2009). Google, Inc. provides a standard package of fringe benefits, but on top of that are first-class dining facilities, gyms, laundry rooms, massage rooms, haircuts, carwashes, dry cleaning, commuting buses – just about anything a hardworking employee might want. Schmitt states, â€Å"Let’s face it: programmers want to program, they don’t want to do their laundry. So we make it easy for them to do both† (Google, 2009). Google believes in providing both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. They understand that many humans are not motivated by pay incentives alone. Google Inc. believes in administering rewards and that good company culture is vital to company success, therefore, Google hired a Culture Czar. Google, Inc.’s CCO, Chief Culture Czar, Stacy Sullivan, is devoted to one thing—make Googlers happy. One way of maintaining Google, Inc.’s culture and keeping employees happy is administering the best perks and rewards (Culture, 2009). Along with its compensation and traditional extrinsic benefits such as free health and dental benefits, flex spending accounts, 401K plans, insurance, tuition reimbursement, and vacation packages, they also have very unique benefits. These unique benefits include maternity benefits up to 18 weeks off at approximately 100% pay. In addition, new mothers and fathers get Take-Out Benefits to help make things easier. They are provided with expenses up to $500 for take-out meals during the first three months that they are home with their new baby. Additionally, Google, Inc. provides back-up child care and in the Gift Matching Program, Google, Inc. matches contributions of up to $3000 per year from eligible employees to non-profit organizations. With Adoption Assistance, Google, Inc. assists their employees by offering financial assistance in the adoption of a child. Google, Inc. will reimburse employees up to $5000 to use towards legal expenses. Free lunch and dinner from gourmet chefs create a wide variety of healthy and delicious meals every day. Got the munchies? Google, Inc. also offers snacks to help satisfy you in between meals. At Google headquarters in Mountain View, California employees have the convenience of seeing a doctor on-site. Google, Inc. is pleased to provide its Mountain View employees with free shuttles to several San Francisco, East Bay and South Bay locations. At Google headquarters in Mountain View, there is on-site oil change, car wash, dry cleaning, massage therapy, gym, hair stylist, fitness classes and bike repair. Google, Inc. will reimburse an employee for buying a hybrid car, up to $5000. Google, Inc. provides other benefits, too many to list, but one can assume that their full-time culture czar is not finished inventing new ways to reward employees (Google, 2009). More than the extrinsic rewards, people who choose to come to Google, Inc. come for other reasons besides just the outward perks and rewards. They come for freedom.

Child Labour in India: Effects on Education

Child Labour in India: Effects on Education Growing up, I truly believed that every child had the same advantages I did: clothes, books, toys, food, a home, and most importantly, the chance to go to school. I remember the first time I realized this wasnt the case: I was seven years old, sneaking downstairs to watch Saturday morning T.V when I stumbled upon an infomercial urging people to donate on behalf of World Vision. I remember the commercial showing a little girl, approximately six years old and explaining how she went to work at a factory every day for little to no compensation. I was bewildered to say the least; I thought every child went to school. Naturally, this prompted several unanswered questions to my parents, and a general curiosity as to why there is this unequal divide between the affluent and those who are forced to work from as young as five years old. Child Labour is undoubtedly present in countries such as India. I am curious to research the implications on the life of a child worker in India- specifically the implications on said childs education. Child labour, according to Free the Children (2005), is seen as work that is done by children under the age of fifteen (fourteen in some developing countries) which restricts or damages a childs physical, emotional, intellectual, social and/or spiritual growth (Free the Children 2005). Currently, it is estimated that there are upwards of 12.6 million child workers in India today, which is the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14 in the world. (CBC 2005: 2) Through my research, I intend to show that the employment of children, though used to advance the production of goods ultimately impacts a childs ability to access education. I will argue this thesis by providing a brief history of the child labour laws in India, as well as providing a quotation by the Indian government describing the thoughts and laws concerning child labour. I intend to juxtapose this testimonial with one given by UNICEF, an international organization that is dedicated to ending child labour in t he global south. I then intend to show the impacts of child labour on developmental indicators such as education. India is currently one of the countries described in the Free the Children quotation that attempts to enforce child labour laws for children less than fourteen years of age. In 1979, the Indian Government formed the Gurupadswamy Committee; a committee that was formed in the hopes of suggesting measures to end child labour. While the Government has put forward several goals towards the end of child labour, it is recognizably a difficult endeavour. On the Indian Government Website, it states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦poverty is the root cause of child labour [and] the action plan emphasizes the need to cover these children and their familiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Ministry of Labour and Employment 2005) From this quote, it is clear that the Government of India recognizes that the amount of poverty in India is a determining factor in the amount of child labourers in the country. In a CBC article, The End is within Reach? (2005), speaks of the relationship between poverty and child labour in India, s uggesting that one cannot exist without the other. If this is the case, and if the Indian government considers reducing and eventually eliminating child labour a concern and goal, then it becomes necessary to consider the factors that lead to poverty in India before pursuing the elimination of child labour. A law enacted in 1986, based upon the recommendations of the Gurupadswamy Committee, states that children less than fourteen years of age cannot be employed in hazardous occupations. (Ministry of Labour and Employment 2005) Hazardous occupations, according the Government, refers to any work that involves unsafe activities or working conditions, and includes such activities as operating transportation vehicles, work that involves proximity to a railway line and work that involves handing toxic and hazardous substances. These are only some examples of hazardous occupations that are part of an expanding list. Since this law, several others, for example the Legislative Action Plan, a plan for enforcing Child Labour laws in India, have been enacted and are now referred to as The National Policy on Child Labour. According to the 2005 Indian Census, the National Child Labour Projects now covers 41% of the country. The Indian Government, in the attempt to enact long term legislative changes on the subject of child labour, acknowledges that these changes will take time to fully come into effect. The Government also acknowledges that the amount of poverty in India is a definite factor to this debate in that the revenue gained from the work of children is necessary income to their families welfare. UNICEF is one of the organizations, governmental and non-governmental, that has taken a strong interest into the affairs of the millions of children currently being employed in India. UNICEF sees child labour as a violation against a childs right to education. They are of the opinion that, though the Indian Government has implemented such efforts as the National Child Labour Projects- more commonly referred to as NCLP-intervention by organizations in the pursuit of partnerships with the national, as well as state governments are necessary. They believe that in order for a child to have a nurturing childhood, they need to build a protective environment in which children can live and develop according to their fundamental rights. (UNICEF 2007) .UNICEF provides three examples of intervention plans in order to provide children with fundamental rights that they see as lacking due to working from a young age. Their primary focus is to promote a childs right to basic education; second is th e implementing of community initiatives in order to empower communities to be active against child labour; and thirdly addressing [the] existing attitudes towards child labour and facilitat[ing] peoples behavioural change towards a more protective environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Ministry of Labour and Employment 2005) Through such projects and initiatives such as the World Day against Child Labour, these groups aim to raise awareness in the hopes of ending child labour. The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines child labour as follows: the official definition of child labour asà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(1) activity which violates the minimum standards of the 1973 Minimum Age Convention, and (2) activity which is considered prohibited child labour under national law. (Simolin 2000: 942) The ILO runs the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), which was created in 1992 with the overall goal of the progressive elimination of child labour (ILO 2008). Currently they have partnerships with several NGOs, as well as the governments of nations where child labour is prominent. With their partnerships, IPEC and their partners have operations in 88 countries, including India. They believe that child labour perpetuates poverty, and have therefore come up with several priorities to combat the worst forms of child labour (ILO 2008), such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, as well as practices of slavery, amongst others . IPEC is also in partnership with UNICEF and assists in the annual World Day against Child Labour. In recent years another form of child labour has risen in India. Bonded Child Labour refers to the phenomenon of children working in conditions of servitude in order to pay off a debt. In India, there are an estimated fifteen million bonded child labourers, and possibly more. (Tucker 1997: 574) According to Lee Tucker, author of Child Slaves in Modern India: The Bonded Labour Problem (1997), bonded child labour occurs as a result of the Government spending less than half its budget on primary education, spending it instead on high school and secondary education institutes. As a result, India is subsidizing the maintenance of a small class of highly educated people, while simultaneously marginalizing the literacy needs of the majority. (Tucker 1997: 576) Secondly, is the lack of employment opportunities for children who have gone to school, which therefore not only makes working in the labour industry a more alluring choice, as well as a last-resort option for children and their famil ies. In this same report, author Lee Tucker also addresses the myths surrounding all areas of child labour in India, specifically that of the nimble fingers: Nimble fingers theory is applied to some of the harshest industries employing children. This includes the carpet, silk, beedi  [1]  , and silver industries. This theory asserts that children make the best product in these occupations, thanks to their small and agile fingers, which are, theoretically, better able to tie the tiny knots of wool, unravel the thread from the boiling silk cocoons, or solder tiny silver flowers to thin chains. Under this view, child labour is a production necessity. (Tucker 1997: 570) Tucker believes that this myth makes it so that more children ultimately sign up for labour positions, as children are encouraged to view their bodies are a needed commodity. This then creates a situation where more children are forced to work long-term; in an environment that can be highly exploitative, as well as emotionally and physically harsh. Another myth surrounding child labour is the need to be trained at the right age, which is usually around six or seven. This myth contends that children who go to schoolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦will either be unable to adequately learn a skill or will be at an irreparable disadvantage in comparison with those who did begin working as younger children. (Tucker, 1997: 577) By this quotation, Tucker discusses the implications behind the choice to attend school from a young age and how that decision can affect a childs schooling, and by extension literacy, as well as choosing job opportunities and that childs marketability into later life. In Child Labour and Education for All, Lorenzo Guarcello (2008) argues that when children are forced to work, it is a direct violation to their right to education. Guarcello states: Education is a key element in the prevention of child labour; at the same time, child labour is one of the main obstacles to Education For All (EFA). Understanding the interplay between education and child labour is therefore critical to achieving both EFA and child labour elimination goal. (Guarcello 2008) Guarcello continues to say that there is an overwhelming consensus among such organizations, such as UNICEF and the International Labour Organization that the single best means of stopping child labour is to improve school access and quality (Guarcello 2008) When education costs are high, families are less likely to send to send their children to school, and are more likely to pull them out of school at a young age. The costs involved in a childs education can be high for a number of reasons, such as a countrys minimal investment in primary education, living costs being too high in areas surrounding schools and the unavailability of public transportation for the majority. Additionally, school fees can be incredibly pricey, and therefore school cannot be an option for some families. Guarcello continues in his analysis of child labour and the relationship to education in reflecting on a child workers ability to attend school in countries where child labour is common. He identifies the work settings that he believes are the most detrimental to a child workers attendance (Guarcello 2008) and by extension success in the education system. Firstly are children that are solely responsible for non-economic, household duties. These children, according to Guarcello, are the least impacted in terms of school attendance, as their duties can be more flexible and less binding than economical work. Additionally, families are less likely to interfere with their childs education. The second category of working children is broken up into three groups: children that will never enter school, children who enrol late into their childhoods and those who are forced to leave school early. Children who are never enrolled in primary school are the worst off, says Guarcello, as they are de nied the benefit of formal education altogether, and therefore constitutes a particular policy priority (Guarcello 2008). The Third and final category of child workers are those that attend classes irregularly. Though these groups differ in terms of how much school is actually missed, Guarcello believes that the lack of schooling is ultimately a determent to the learning of a child, as a working child is less likely to learn at school due to the irregularity and lack of repetition that comes from attending class on a daily basis. Furthermore, child labour does not only affect a childs ability to getting to school, but also their ability to absorb material, thereby learning effectively, while at school. To sum up his findings, Guarcello states that his findings supported the notion that child labour, both economic work, as well as household duties is a detriment to a childs education, and suggests that more work should be done to integrate more child workers into the education system . In addition to putting a greater effort into incorporating more child workers into the education systems, some scholars believe that more work needs to be done in western nations if child labour should be eliminated. In Buying out Child Labour, Stà ©phanie Pallage and Christian Zimmermann (2007) discuss their views concerning child labour. Through economical calculations, these authors suggest that countries that trade with the West ultimately have a high comparative advantage in the production of goods if they choose to pay children minimal compensation. Due to the low cost of employing children, the product efficiency is high because these companies can sell these goods at a cheap rate and at the same time, pay their workers close to nothing. A solution, according to these authors, is for countries, such as India, to shift a portion of their GDP to reinvest into their own economy as well as education sectors, and to slowly attempt at distancing themselves from trading nations. In conclusion, the material that I reviewed largely supports the notion that that child labour, in terms of both economic work, as well as household duties serves largely as a detriment to a childs education. Child labour does not only affect a childs ability to getting to school, but also their ability to absorb material, thereby learning effectively. Moreover, families who are in an economic state where they require their children to work are less likely to afford the necessary costs involved in a childs education such as transportation, a uniform, supplies, as well as tuition. However, the impacts of going to school versus a childs work involvement remained largely unanswered in the literature I reviewed. More research needs to be done in this field in order for any solution to be successful. Additionally, more programs that integrate child workers into education systems should arise in India in order for current child workers to have the opportunity for literacy. Although the Indian Government has successfully enacted laws, such as The National Child Labour Projects to protect their minors from hazardous working environments, more time is needed in order for these laws to be enforced to serve the entire country. The partnerships between the state and such organizations as UNICEF and IPEC, through their mission to end child labour, should continue to work closely in order to enable more children the opportunity for an education. However, if these missions are to be successful, they should ensure the proper research as to Indias reasoning for employing child workers and understanding the broader implications behind the need for child workers before suggesting such solutions. As for the more economic solutions, being the reinvestment of GDP into national markets and distancing from international trading nations; I believe that more time, as well as more planning is needed before cutting off all economic ties with the international corporations, as the disruptions could easily provide huge detriments to Indias economic sector. Perhaps India could begin with reinvesting more into primary education, while remaining an international trading nation, and slowly progress to becoming economically independent. In terms of initiatives intended to raise awareness, such as the World Day against Child Labour, there needs to be included the same research into Indias reasoning for employing children stated clearly on the websites of organizations, rather than just a statement that it is simply a cruel practice against children going against childs rights. If awareness in western citizens is the goal of these initiatives, then a more inclusive report on child labour in India is needed in order for the issue to be fully understood.

energy :: essays research papers

What do we really need, energy or power? This was a question proposed to me at the beginning of the semester and it really made me think. Energy is a property of matter that can be converted into work, heat, or radiation. It is the capacity for doing work, generating heat, and emitting light or radiation. Power is the rate of spending energy or energy per unit time. Immediately, I thought the answer was energy since you need energy to have power. But then I heard that the answer was power and it boggled my mind, but after it was explained it really opened my mind. We do need energy to have power but what would we do without power. We can’t live without power. We really need power because it is energy spent per unit time and what is the point of energy if we cant control it. There are six fundamental forms of energy. They are mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, nuclear, and electromagnetic. Mechanical energy is kinetic and potential energy. Kinetic energy is the energy that is possessed by a body due to its motion. And Potential energy is the Energy that a body possesses by virtue of its physical position above the reference level. Therefore, it depends on height above the reference level and the mass of the object. So potential energy is the mass *gravitational force *height. Thermal energy is the energy of the random motion of particles of a substance. An example of this would be warming up by a campfire or taking a hot bath. Chemical energy is energy that is stored in the chemical bonds that hold molecules together. When certain chemicals combine or react, energy is released usually in the form of heat. Some examples of this would be a tank of gasoline, coal, and natural gas. Electrical energy is the energy of electrons in motion. It is usually generated by the rotation of a conductor in a magnetic field and it is easily converted to other forms of energy.

The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers Essay

The Physics of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and shoot cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they are producing or do not have the knowledge to produce better images. For those who desire to take better photographs, photography will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking one’s portrait or shooting a landscape in the back yard, things must be lined up just right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the exact feeling the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one can manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photograph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect depth of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), distance from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens (Heart 100). In order to understand depth of field one must first understand how light works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto film one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causing the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject, all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the index of refraction less and creating a sharper image from front to back. There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will help in the journey of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself. The Physics of Photography Essay -- Pictures Photographs Careers Essay The Physics of Photography The general population has become so accustomed to their simple point and shoot cameras that they do not either notice the poor quality of images that they are producing or do not have the knowledge to produce better images. For those who desire to take better photographs, photography will be an exciting life long adventure. There are many aspects to consider when taking a photograph. A good photograph is well thought out before the photographer snaps the shutter. Whether taking one’s portrait or shooting a landscape in the back yard, things must be lined up just right to get the best possible image. Different techniques are used to produce the exact feeling the photographer wishes to portray in his/her image. Depth of field is one way in which one can manipulate a photograph to produce the exact image desired. Depth of field is how much of the image is in focus from the front of the photograph to the back of the photograph. Emphasis can be placed on a certain subject by obscuring the foreground or background. There are three main features that can affect depth of field. Lens aperture (f-stop), distance from the camera to the subject, and the focal length of the lens (Heart 100). In order to understand depth of field one must first understand how light works. We can view objects because of light rays reflecting off their surfaces. These light rays are reflected in innumerable directions. In order to capture an image onto film one must be capable of controlling the light rays that enter the camera. This is done through the lens. The lens consists of a mixture of converging and diverging lenses that bend the light so it reaches the film as a real image. The light that passes through the upper po... ...of the light from the scene behind the subject must bend more to reach the film, causing the background to be blurred. When the photographer is farther away from the subject, all the light reflecting from the scene travels a straight path into the lens, making the index of refraction less and creating a sharper image from front to back. There is a wide variety of information to learn in photography and depth of field is just one aspect. Learning the different methods for controlling depth of field such as aperture, focal length, and subject distance will help in the journey of taking great photographs. Gone are the days of taking roll after roll of terrible photographs from a point and shoot camera. With just a little knowledge, taking sharp, well exposed photographs is more that just something the professionals do but rather something one can accomplish oneself.

Naipaul Does Not Deserve his Nobel Prize Essay -- essays research pape

What makes an individual worthy of a Nobel Prize in a category as broad as literature? Is it an immense knowledge of writing procedures that other authors have not begun to attempt to use? Or is an appropriate representation of the author's subject that is solely objective, and lacks all personal opinions? If that was the case, several Prizes should be taken away from some authors and handed to other more deserving writers. V. S. Naipaul, who received a Nobel Prize in Literature for Miguel Street, falls into the former category. Naipaul may have filled the technical requirements for a Nobel Prize for his mastery of several difficult techniques, yet his writing neglects to explain the merits of Trinidad while highlighting the negatives found in every culture. Among the five prizes provided for in Alfred Nobel's will (1895), one was intended for the person who, in the literary field, had produced "the most outstanding work in an ideal direction". These statutes defined literature as "not only belles-lettres, but also other writings which, by virtue of their form and style, possess literary value". At the same time, the restriction to works presented "during the preceding year" was softened: "older works" could be considered "if their significance has not become apparent until recently". The statutes also provided for a Nobel Committee "to give their opinion in matter of the award of the prizes" and for a Nobel Institute with a library which was to contain a substantial collection of mainly modern literature.As guidelines for the distribution of the Literature Prize the Swedish Academy had the general requirement for all the prizes ? the candidate should have bestowed "the greatest benefit on mankind" ? and the special condition for... ...rite about problems of Western societies. Although World War II begins, continues and ends in the course of Mr. Naipaul's book, it seldom dominates the scene. The arrival of American armed forces to implement the bases-for-destroyers exchange between Britain and the United States brings measures of disquiet and measures of prosperity. But Miguel Street takes all that in its stride. Trinidad has known many invaders, friendly and unfriendly, in its history. What winter cruise addicts may miss here is the comparative absence of tourists. Those invaders were not often in season during these years. Or perhaps Miguel Street couldn't be bothered with them, particularly. Naipaul presents Trinidad as this cultural wasteland where not even tourists want to go. For his biased and unfeeling representation of a land that gave him life, Naipaul?s Nobel Prize should be taken away.

What is K-12? Essay

According to the K to 12 Deped Primer (2011), â€Å"K-12 means â€Å"Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education.† Kindergarten points to the 5-year old child who undertakes the standardized curriculum for preschoolers. Elementary education refers to 6 years of primary school (Grades 1-6) while secondary education means four years of junior high school (Grades 7-10 or HS Year 1-4). In addition to this, two years are now allotted for senior high school (Grades 11-12 or HS Year 5-6). see more:k-12 advantages and disadvantages What is the rationale for this program? There is an urgent need to enhance the quality of basic education in our country as seen in the education outcomes of Filipino students and the comparative disadvantage of the Philippines with regard to other countries. The following data would support this explanation: At present, the Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three remaining countries in the world that uses a 10-year basic education cycle. According to a presentation made by the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) on Additional Years in Philippine Basic Education (2010), the comparative data on duration of Basic and Pre-University Education in Asia shows that the Philippines allots 10 years not just for the basic education cycle but also for the pre-university education while all the other countries have either 11 or 12 years in their basic education cycle. Achievement scores highlight our students’ poor performance in national examinations. The National Achievement Test (NAT) results for grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 showed only a 69.21% passing rate while the NAT results for high school is at a low 46.38%. Moreover, international tests results in 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) show that the Philippines ranked 34th out of 38 countries in HS Math and 43rd out of 46 countries in HS II Science. Moreover, the Philippines ranked the lowest in 2008 even with only the science high schools joining the Advanced Mathematics category. The present curriculum is described as congested. This means that students do not get enough time to perform tasks because the curriculum is designed to be taught in a span of 12 years and not 10 years. The more obvious result of this is the fact that most high school students graduate without the readiness to take upon higher education  or employment. These students are not equipped with the basic skills or competencies needed at work. Furthermore, the short duration of our basic education program puts Filipinos who are interested to either work or study abroad at a disadvantage. This is because other countries see our 10-year program as incomplete, which then, causes Filipino graduates to not be considered as professionals abroad. Given all these supporting facts, there is indeed a need to improve the quality of basic education by enhancing it and by expanding the basic education cycle. What is the vision of this program? Records will show that as early as 1925, there were already efforts to improve the basic education curriculum and recommendations have been put forward since then. Thus, this idea of adding years to the present curriculum is not new. The K-12 Curriculum envisions â€Å"holistically developed learners with 21st century skills† (Deped Primer, 2011). At the core of this basic education program is â€Å"the complete human development of every graduate† (DepEd discussion paper, p.6). This further means that every student would have an understanding of the world around him and a passion for life-long learning while addressing every student’s basic learning needs: â€Å"learning to learn, the acquisition of numeracy, literacy, and scientific and technological knowledge as applied to daily life† (p.6). In addition to this, every graduate is envisioned to have respect for human rights and would aim to become â€Å"Maka-Diyos, Maka-tao, Makabansa, Maka-kalikasanâ⠂¬  (p.6) The K-12 vision aims to have relevance in the socio-economic realm, as well. This means that the students would understand their role as productive members of the country. Such vision can only be possible through an enhanced curriculum. What are the benefits of this program? Prof. Calingasan explains that â€Å"while parents may look at this as extended expense i.e., paying tuition for another 2 years in high school, this would offset itself since the competencies one would learn from the additional years are the same ones which the first two years of general education in college teach.† The DepEd primer (2011) specifies the benefits to individuals and families: 1. A decongested academic workload, giving students more time to master competencies and for co-curricular activities and community involvement, thus, allowing for a more holistic development; 2. Graduates will possess competencies and skills relevant to the job market and they will be prepared for higher education; 3. K-12 is affordable; 4. The potential annual earnings of a K-12 graduate will be higher compared to the earnings of a 10-year high school graduate; 5. Graduates will be recognized abroad. The benefits of K-12 curriculum for the society and the economy are: 1. It will contribute to economic growth. Studies show that improvements in the quality of education increases GDP growth. According to the DepEd (2010), studies in the country have reflected that an additional year of school increases the earnings by 7.5% and that improvements in the quality of education will enable the GDP grow by 2-2.2%. 2. It will facilitate the recognition of Filipino graduates and professionals in other countries 3. A better educated society provides a sound foundation for long-term socio-economic development.