The Battle of la Drang in Vietnam - 2016 Words

Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his unit, the 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry to South Vietnam, and led them in the famous Battle of Ia Drang. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, and with no clear landing zone that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere against the overwhelming odds and complete his objective. Moores dictum that there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success and the courage of his entire command are given credit with the outstanding outcome (Galloway). Despite the fact that Moores outstanding leadership and tactical prowess led to more than a 4-to-1 ratio between North Vietnamese casualties and U.S. casualties in their first major engagement of the war. Many consider this early battle†¦show more content†¦With Herricks platoon was cut off from the rest of the battalion and surrounded by numerous NVA, Lieutenant Bob Tafts 3rd Platoon of Alpha Company confronted approximately 150 Vietnamese soldiers advancing down the length a nd sides of the creek bed toward the battalion trying to reach Herrick,s platoon. 3rd Platoons troops were told to drop their packs and move forward for the assault. The resulting exchange was costly for 3rd Platoon, causing its leading forces of the assault to be quickly cut down. 3rd Platoon was forced to pull back from the assault due to the numerous casualties, and Taft was killed while leading pulling his men back. Sergeant Lorenzo Nathan, a Korean War veteran, took command and 3rd Platoon was able to halt the NVA advance down the creek bed (X-Ray). The NVA forces shifted their attack to 3rd Platoons right flank in an attempt to flank Bravo. Their advance was quickly stopped by Lieutenants Marm’s 2nd Platoon from Alpha Company situated on Bravos left flank. Moore had ordered Captain Nadal to lend Bravo one of his platoons, in an effort to allow Herren to attempt to fight through to Herricks platoon position. . It is quickly apparent that the enemy force is determined to overrun and kill every American on the field. The afternoon was consumed in a desperate fire-storm battle for survival in 100 degree heat for Moore and his men against a superior force as far into the jungle as possible and both fought to control the edges of the clearingShow MoreRelatedThe Battle of la Drang1592 Words   |  7 Pages The Vietnam War started in 1956 when the United States was attempting to stop North Vietnam from spreading communist to South Vietnam. During this time, most men volunteer and some were even drafted. The United States supported South Vietnam in hopes to drive out the communist by fighting them off. The war on American troops was difficult because American troops soon fought communist in the south, called the Viet Cong; yet also fighting against the North Vietnamese (Spector). As the war progressedRead MoreThe Battle Of La Drang Valley748 Words   |  3 Pagesbootcamp the Vietnam war ended. The Vietnam war was a fight to end communism in northern Vietnam so it would not spread to southern Vietnam. Then in 1955 president Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged his support to Diem and southern Vietnam. The Vietnam war lasted about sixteen years thousands of people lost their lives including American and Vietnamese soldiers they were either declared MIA or killed. The Battle of La Drang Valley (October 26-November 27, 1965) This was the first battle between theRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam1082 Words   |  5 PagesArturo Veloz Per.2 Military Science Staff STG. Ben Clark Oct. 14th The Vietnam War Protests , controversy, hippies , Woodstock and a whole lot of deaths. America s involvement in Vietnam was to hypothetically stop the spread of communism in southeast asia.The united states played a major role in Vietnam aiding the south. In 1961 President Kennedy sent a team to report on condition in Vietnam to dictate if the united states would provide future aid. â€Å"December 1961 White Paper† argued for an increaseRead MoreThe Vietnam War Of Vietnam952 Words   |  4 Pagesdeath. These are some words that describe the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War had 240 days of combat in one year. World War II had forty days of combat in four years(Interesting Facts). That statistic shows how rough the Vietnam War was. The fighting was constant between the two sides. This war was fought over politics and had many gruesome battles. Before the Vietnam war, Vietnam was in a revolution because they did not want to be ruled by France. Vietnam wanted to be independent right after World WarRead MoreU.s. Army Tactical Mobility Requirements Board Essay1204 Words   |  5 PagesExperiment, innovate, test, and evaluate became the division s watchwords. 14. The airmobile concept was developed, refined, and combat tested in the jungles of Vietnam from 1965 until the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) rotated back to the United States in 1971. 15. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced the deployment of an airmobile division to Vietnam on 28 July 1965, the 1st Cavalry Division. 16. The division table of organization and equipment authorized eight airmobile cavalry battalions, three light artilleryRead MoreThe Battle Of La Drang1438 Words   |  6 Pagesgone†(Galloway 1). The battle of la Drang was the first major battle fought in the Vietnam War between the soldiers (Cav Scouts) of the US Army and the enemy (the People’s Army of Vietnam) aka the PAVN / NVA of North Vietnam. This battle took place between the dates of 14November1865 and 18November1865 at two separate LZs. These landing zones (X-Ray and Albany) were located adjacent to each other to the west of the village of Plei Me in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The landing zones wereRead MoreWork Horse Of The Vietnam War1159 Words   |  5 PagesJune 26, 2017 Work horse of the Vietnam War When thinking about the Vietnam War, one of the first things that comes to mind, for me is seeing clips of helicopters in Vietnam. The helicopter was made in to a pop culture element when thinking about the war. Like in the movie â€Å"We Were Soldiers† the glorified usage of helicopters in the battle of La Drang. Many news broadcasters from the time use images and videos of the war. The helicopter played a huge role in the Vietnam war, one that affected how weRead MoreThe World Of The Vietnam War7446 Words   |  30 PagesGemini 3 launched the first US 2-man space flight; and the first United States combat forces arrive in Vietnam. This was not the start of the Vietnam War since the war actually started in 1955, pitting Communist North Vietnam against anti-Communist South Vietnam. The United States believed it had to protect South Vietnam from Communist take-over and is the reason the U.S. supplied South Vietnam with millions of dollars in military aid as well as with milita ry advisors from the start of the war. EventuallyRead MoreUs Foreign Policy During The Vietnam War : Containment And Detente Essay1951 Words   |  8 PagesUS Foreign Policy During the Vietnam War: Containment and Dà ©tente In 1960s, the US was faced with another crisis of communist expansion in the war between North and South Vietnam. The Kennedy Administration decided to further pursue their containment strategy out of fear being seen by the international community as weak towards communism. During the Johnson Administration, an attack against American vessels that happened in the Gulf of Tonkin led to President Johnson being granted the ability toRead MorePsychological Effects Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay1856 Words   |  8 Pagesmemories, distressing feelings, nightmares, loss of concentration and guilty feelings, (2012, pp.11). 1.2. Current situation on American soldiers: According to Psychological Risks of Vietnam for US Veterans: A Revisit with New Data and Methods, approximately one fifth of American soldiers having served in the Vietnam War returned with post-traumatic stress disorder. This research also reported that â€Å"18.7% of the veterans had developed war-related PTSD during their lifetimes and 9.1% were currently

Baseball and Steroids - 741 Words

Confirmation/Argument Despite steroids having multiple negative effects on both athletes and the game of baseball, they also have good effects too. The first positive effect that steroids’ provide would be the fact that steroids help speed up recovery time. When a person is heavily stressed Cortisol is produced to help the body and mind handle the stress. However, because cortisol is so strong; in the process of trying to relieve stress it also damages muscle tissue and slows down the time it takes for your body to recuperate. This is where steroids come in, â€Å"Steroids help to reduce the production of cortisol when your body is stressed. They can be used to help you recover from injuries or just to allow you to exercise more† (Swain, 2007, para. 1). In addition, steroids when taken correctly can be used to treat medical conditions such as osteoporosis, anemia, arthritis, and even some forms of cancer. Steroids increase the production of red blood cells, which successfully effects the tre ating of anemia. They help increase bone density, so they are useful for patients suffering from osteoporosis. Steroids are also used to treat blood disorders, arthritis, and some types of cancers (Swain, 2007, para. 1). Another positive attribute of steroids would be that they help to increase muscles and build strong bones (Swain, 2007, para. 3). Steroids increase the amount of nitrogen in the body which allows for the production of more protein in the body, which ultimately fuels theShow MoreRelated steroids in Baseball Essay1151 Words   |  5 Pages Steroids in Baseball: The Future of Baseball nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;It was a warm, sultry night in September. The fans were crazed in anticipation as Mark McGwire stepped to the plate. With a gentle stretch, he paused, patiently poised, waiting for what would eventually be the greatest hit baseball had ever seen. The pitcher, Steve Trachsel, came set. He shot a determined look to the dirt. In a rivalry such as this (Cubs, Cardinals) he did not want to be the one to give up the great numberRead MoreSteroids Abuse in Baseball1746 Words   |  7 PagesSteroid Abuse Hurts Baseball The abuse of steroids among players in Major League Baseball is corrupting the image of Americas Pastime as well as endangering the health of those who use the illegal substances. The lack of testing and punishment for the use of illegal substances like steroids in the Major Leagues portrays a negative image to aspiring young athletes. They see their role models using steroids and becoming better athletes rather than seeing suspensions for the illegal behavior orRead MoreSteroids : The Corruption Of Baseball1287 Words   |  6 PagesSteroids: The Corruption of Baseball Steroids changed the game of baseball for an era by transforming the game from defensively oriented mindsets to who could offensively â€Å"out-slug† one another. Steroids have changed the game of baseball due to the fact that it makes you stronger and the players that use it can hit the ball a lot further than others. Steroids are performance enhancing drugs most commonly used by athletes or bodybuilders so that they can gain more muscle quickly and easily to haveRead More Steroids in Baseball Essay878 Words   |  4 Pages Anabolic and androgenic steroids come in many different forms. The most popular form is a pill and is easy to take. The draw back of the pill is it is hard on the liver and kidneys because it passes through the system in a couple of hours. Another popular form is cream. The cream’s advantage is it is easy to apply and is less harmful to the body. The draw back is it is very ineffective. The last form is injection. Injecting straight into the muscle gives the best results. Most serious athletes thatRead MoreSteroids in Professional Baseball2189 Words   |  9 Pagessurveyed that all the athletes in baseball that were tested for steroids and shown positive should have been banned from the game. In the year 2005 it was discovered that two out of three people agreed with banning the players who made it to the Hall of Fame but tested positive for steroids. Most if not all people consider this action cheating and frown upon its use. How could this be? In today’s readings of sports articles and papers, fans tend to think that steroids give other players an unfair advantageRead MoreEssay on Steroids in Baseball1012 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Steroids in Baseball† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Today in the United States, millions and millions of kids, teens, and adults watch and play in the sport of baseball. It is probably the number one sport looked upon and what is happening to it is a bit discouraging. Players have started â€Å"cheating† by using steroids to help them play stronger and better. They are in league where you have to be the best at what you do to play, and if your using drugs to cheat yourRead MoreEssay on Steroids in Baseball2587 Words   |  11 PagesHall of Shame Baseball has always been known as â€Å"America’s Favorite Pastime†. Over the past decade, the game America knows and loves has been exposed as a game full of cheaters. Major League Baseball(MLB) has had over one hundred players test positive for performance-enhancing substances over the past fifteen years. Performance-enhancing substances increase a player’s ability to produce better stats to help his salary. The past fifteen years of baseball have contained dirty play by some of theRead MoreSteroids in Professional Baseball Essay1185 Words   |  5 Pagesin Major League Baseball is the discussion of the use of steroids and human growth hormones. Both are completely illegal in the sport, and come with drastic consequences. One would think a fifty game suspension as a first offense would scare players away, but for some reason steroids in baseball is occurring more and more often to the disappointment of Major League Baseball. The reason players take steroid s in the first place is to enhance their performance on the field. Steroids make players strongerRead MoreSteroids in Major League Baseball800 Words   |  4 PagesSteroids in Major League Baseball Anabolic steroids have been abused by Major League Baseball players for years, it’s time to forever ban the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs before they ruin America’s past time. Why should athletes be able to cheat when teammates or rivals are competing with honest effort? Every year records are broken and new heights are achieved, the game of baseball is very simple yet very humble, and to deceive the game you love, forever will you be punished. Let me informRead MoreEssay on Use of Steroids in Baseball4327 Words   |  18 PagesUse of Steroids in Baseball Since Major League Baseball all-star Ken Caminiti openly admitted to Sports Illustrated to have used steroids during his career, steroid use as a muscle and performance enhancer has been uncovered and become a big issue Major League Baseball is wrestling with. The â€Å"ongoing and delicate subject, baseball’s dirty, little secret that is no secret anymore,† is a huge and growing problem (Curry B20). Now that light has been shed on the issue, critics are beginning to

Leonardo vs Andy Warhol’s Mona Lisa Free Essays

Explain how each artists style and subject matter links to the themes/ideas being explored In the painting, â€Å"Mona Lisa†, by Leonardo, the theme of the harmony between humanity and nature is established through his depiction of Mona Lisa and the use of his captivating style. Mona Lisa is drawn in a three quarter pose; she is the focal point and the harmony between humanity and the landscape is achieved through the composition of Mona Lisa; she is placed in foreground, set against the Landscape in the background. The connecting assemblages of the curves of her hair, the linear f the luxurious fabric and the placement of her hands are reflected in the swells and rises of the vast, receding and diminishing landscape – which also creates a sense of depth. We will write a custom essay sample on Leonardo vs Andy Warhol’s Mona Lisa or any similar topic only for you Order Now The parallel between humanity and nature has been established in such a gracefully fluid way within the pyramid design that captivates and draws the viewers’ eye around aesthetics of the painting in a cycle, resembling the unison between the two. The subject matter and style of the Mona Lisa also links to an idea of creating an atmosphere and to evoke responses. For example, the artwork seems to manifest an atmosphere of calmness due to the spouts technique that makes the painting slightly blurred and softens her features – her expression appears blended, almost to the point of being hazy, and in doing so, her beautiful smile and gaze is left open for interpretation. Her dignified figure is relaxed and comfortable, and Lemonade’s painting technique renders her anatomy unbelievably, luminously natural and, along with her dynamic expression, she appears even more real and thus heightening her emotional presence. Whilst one could interpret the artwork to convey a sense of calmness, you could also argue that an pretence of mystery is also presented through the palette of earthy tones and murky hues, the chiaroscuro of Mona Alias’s garment contrasted with the lighter sky, and of course her renowned smile and eyes of which you are unable to determine its true sentiment. Her expression could also convey one of intelligence as her gaze can be interpreted as one that is subtly expressing her inner musing, indicating the importance Leonardo placed on intellect and not the just beauty that Mona Lisa evidently possesses. Whilst the artwork, â€Å"Mona Lisa†, by Andy Warhol, contains the original painting of Mona Lisa as its subject matter, the manipulation of the image and Whorl’s style has rendered the depiction of the original to have a very different effect and meaning. For example, Warhol has repeated the original numerously on the page in a seemingly random manner; the paintings are rotated and overlap one another. The mechanical printing process is apparent as the paintings have varying levels of registration and color. There is no ground established established resulting in shallow and flattened space, and there is no longer a focus point – lacking in order and depth. Mona Alias’s essence and presence is lost through her repetition; the overuse of Mona Lisa gives the effect of degrading her significance through no longer being singular and unique. The primary colors creates a crude and brass effect, and the manipulation of her image through the mechanical process debases the quality of the original work – it simply becomes an image with no connection. Overall, the significance and relationship to the original is lost through the absence of the details and style that Leonardo employed which produced the atmosphere Mona Lisa and the landscape powerfully emitted. However, another idea that you could abstract from Whorl’s style and subject matter is that it is a reflection of the 20th century social and cultural explosion of consumerism, mass media and production. The overuse of Mona Lisa portrays the new ability to mass produce, and her style appears mechanical, relating to consumerism and production of machines. It could also be a reflection of the media’s ability to objectify through mass production – Just as how Mona Lisa has lost her sense of self in his work. A further idea is that his work is a reaction against realism; with the invention of photography, you no longer needed to create a replica of reality, instead Warhol created artwork that focused on the concept rather than the aesthetics of realism, and to create work that was a recognizable form of art that also utilized the one dimensional quality of a canvas. Positive connotations can also be ran, for example, whilst it is argued that Whorl’s work is not an original, in turn you could perceive that his work is taking a new outlook on Mona Lisa and he is transforming high art into something modern, and in doing so, he diminished the ‘high art’ exclusivity connotation that was attached to the original and challenges the concept of art that once dominated, and instead, Warhol demonstrates that art is an universal and infinitive concept (hence the repetition of Mona Lisa), that anyone can produce, interpret, understand or relate to. 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Maths Non Calc Paper free essay sample

The radius of the base of a cylinder is x cm. The height of the cylinder is 9. 5 cm longer than the radius of its base. The area of the curved surface of the cylinder is equal to the total surface area, 33p cm2, of the toy. (c)Calculate the height of the cylinder. cm (6 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 3 A tent has a groundsheet as its horizontal base. The shape of the tent is a triangular prism of length 8 metres, with two identical half right-circular cones, one at each end. The vertical cross-section of the prism is an isosceles triangle of height 2. metres and base 3. 6 metres. (a)Calculate the area of the groundsheet. Give your answer, in m2, correct to one decimal place. (3 marks) (b)Calculate the total volume of the tent. Give your answer, in m2, correct to one decimal place. (4 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 4 A sphere has a radius of 5. 4 cm. A cone has a height of 8 cm. The volume of the sphere is equal to the volume of the cone. Calculate the radius of the base of the cone. Give your answer, in centimetres, correct to 2 significant figures. (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 5 A cylinder has a height of 24 cm and a radius of 4 cm. Work out the volume of the cylinder. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. cm3 (2 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 6 AB is parallel to CD Angle ACB = angle CBD = 90 °. Prove that triangle ABC is congruent to triangle DCB. (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 7 The diagram represents a large cone of heig ht 6 cm and base diameter 18 cm. The large cone is made by placing a small cone A of height 2 cm and base diameter 6 cm on top of a frustum B. Calculate the volume of the frustum B. Give your answer in terms of p. . (4 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 8 Triangle PQR is isosceles with PQ = PR. X is a point on PQ. Y is a point on PR. PX = PY. Prove that triangle PQY is congruent to triangle PRX. (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 9 The diagram shows a trapezium. The measurements on the diagram are in centimetres. The lengths of the parallel sides are x cm and 20 cm. The height of the trapezium is 2x cm. The area of the trapezium is 400 cm2. (a)Show that x2 + 20x = 400 2 marks) (b)Find the value of x. Give your answer correct to 3 decimal places. . (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 10 The diagram shows a sector of a circle, centre O. The radius of the circle is 9 cm. The angle at the centre of the circle is 40 °. Find the perimeter of the sector. Leave your answer in terms of p. . cm (4 marks) ——————————————————————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€ Question 11 In triangle ABC, AC = 8 cm, CB = 15 cm, Angle ACB = 70 °. (a)Calculate the area of triangle ABC. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. .. cm2 (2 marks) X is the point on AB such that angle CXB = 90 °. (b)Calculate the length of CX. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. . cm (4 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 12 ABCDEF is a regular hexagon with sides of length 3 cm. PAB, QBC, RCD, SDE, TEF and UFA are equilateral triangles of length 3 cm. Calculate the total area of the shaded shape. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. cm2 (4 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 13 ABCD is a quadrilateral. K is the midpoint of AB. L is the midpoint of BC. M is the midpoint of CD. N is the midpoint of AD. (a)Find, in terms of a, b and c, the vectors. . . . . (4 marks) (b)Write down two geometrical facts about the lines KN and LM which could be deduced from your answers to part (a). (2 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 14 This is a sketch of the curve with equation y = f(x). The only maximum point of the curve y = f(x) is A(3, 6). Write down the coordinates of the maximum point for curves with each of the following equations. (i)y = f(x + 2) (. , . ) (ii)y = f(x) + 4 (. , . ) (iii)y = f(-x) (. , . ) (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 15 A greenhouse consists of a pyramid on top of a prism. The cross section of the prism and the base of the pyramid is a regular octagon. Each side of the octagon is 0. 80 m long. The height of the prism is 1. 73 m. The height of the pyramid is 0. 68 m. Calculate the volume of the greenhouse. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. Volume = m3 (7 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 16 OAB is a triangle. P is the mid-point of OA. B is the mid-point of OC. . (2 marks) (b)Use vectors to show that AC is parallel to PB. (3 marks) The length of PB is 8 cm. (c)Write down the length of AC. . cm (1 mark) ———————————————————————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€ Question 17 a)Find an expression for the area, in cm2, of this trapezium. Give your answer in the form ax2 + bx + c, where a, b and c are integers. Area = cm2 (3 marks) The trapezium is cut from a square of side (2x + 5) cm. On the diagram, the shaded region is the area of the square that is left. (b)Show that the area of the shaded region is (22 + 11x + 21) cm2. (3 marks) The area of the shaded region is 42 cm2. (c)Form and solve a quadratic equation to find the value of x. x = (3 marks) ————————————————————————————————————————— Question 18 The pyramid Cheops in Egypt is a square based pyramid. The length of a side of the square is 230 metres. The vertical height of the pyramid is 146 metres. Both measurements are correct to the nearest metre. (a)Calculate the difference between the upper bound and the lower bound of the volume of the pyramid. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. .. m3 (3 marks) The length of a side of a square based pyramid is x metres. The vertical height is y metres. Both measurements are correct to the nearest metre. (b)Find an expression for the difference between the upper bound and he lower bound of the volume of the pyramid. Give your answer in its simplest form. . (3 marks) ——————————————————————————————————————— —— Question 19 The diagram shows a sector OAB of a circle of centre O. The radius of the circle is 12 cm. Angle AOB = 171 °. (a)Calculate the area of the sector AOB. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. cm2 (3 marks) OA and OB are joined to make a cone. (b)Calculate the vertical height, in centimetres, of the cone. Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. . cm (6 marks)

The Trial Essays - Literature, Fiction, Absurdist Fiction, The Trial

The Trial THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka read by Geoffrey Howard This disturbing and vastly influential novel has been interpreted on many levels of structure and symbol; but most commentators agree that the book explores the themes of guilt, anxiety, and moral impotency in the face of some ambiguous force. Joseph K. is an employee in a bank, a man without particular qualities or abilities. He could be anyone, and in some ways he is everyone. His inconsequence makes doubly strange his ?arrest? by the officer of the court in the large city where K. lives. He tries in vain to discover how he has aroused the suspicion of the court. His honesty is conventional; his sins, with Elsa the waitress, are conventional; and he has no striking or dangerous ambitions. He can only ask questions, and receives no answers that clarify the strange world of courts and court functionaries in which he is compelled to wander. The plight of Joseph K., consumed by guilt and condemned for a ?crime? he does not understand by a ?court? with which he cannot communicate, is a profound and disturbing image of man in the modern world. There are no formal charges, no procedures, and little information to guide the defendant. One of the most unsettling aspects of the novel is the continual juxtaposition of alternative hypotheses, multiple explanations, different interpretations of cause and effect, and the uncertainty it breeds. The whole rational structure of the world is undermined. Is it not better to fall into the hands of a murderer than into the dreams of a lustful woman? -- Friedrich Nietzsche, Also Sprach Zarathustra The Trial Summary: Chapter 1: The Arrest / Conversation with Frau Grubach / Then Fr?ulein B?rstner Joseph K., our hero, wakes up the morning of his thirtieth birthday expecting his breakfast to be brought to him. What he gets instead are two warders, Franz and Willem, telling him he's under arrest. He protests some, demanding to see their boss, at first thinking it must be a joke perpetrated on him by some people at the Bank, where he works as a chief clerk. He meets the Inspector, who says it's for real but refuses to say why. The Inspector is seated in Fr?ulein B?rstner's room next door, and K. sees three men he knows from the bank there, Rabensteiner, Kaminer, and Kullich, whom he greets angrily before hurrying off to work. After he gets home from work that evening, he talks with his landlady, Frau Grubach. He apologizes for the ruckus and she says it's all right, but that she doesn't really understand this business of his arrest. He starts to go to his room and asks if Fr?ulein B?rstner is in, so he can apologize for the appropriation of her room. No, she isn't, and he can see her room himself. Frau Grubach starts wondering about her nocturnal habits, as she's seen her with young men around town at night, only to be interrupted by K., defending her from unwarranted aspersions on her character. She leaves, and he goes to bed, where he can't sleep. At about 11:30 Fr?ulein B?rstner, a typist, comes home and K. goes to talk to her. He tells her what happened that morning, but she doesn't seem to be really interested, asking bored questions about it, as if to get rid of him. A knock on the door down the hall interrupts them, and Joseph apologizes profusely for taking up her time and makes as if to leave, but not before grabbing her and kissing her savagely. Then he goes back to his own room. Chapter 2: First Interrogation Joseph gets a call at work telling him to show up for a brief inquiry into his case on Sunday. He goes to the building mentioned that Sunday, only to find it's just a big tenement house, with no distinguishing marks. After wandering through the building he at last is directed to the Court of Inquiry by a strange woman doing laundry. The Court is sitting in an overcrowded, stuffy room, with a platform and a big audience of important looking men. He gets berated for being late and is asked if he's a house painter. K. takes this opportunity to address the

Socratic Dialogue Definition and Examples

Socratic Dialogue Definition and Examples In rhetoric, Socratic dialogue is an argument (or series of arguments) using the question-and-answer method employed by Socrates in Platos Dialogues. Also known as  Platonic dialogue. Susan Koba and Anne Tweed describe Socratic dialogue as the conversation that results from the Socratic method, a discussion process during which a facilitator promotes independent, reflective, and critical thinking (Hard-to-Teach Biology Concepts, 2009). Examples and Observations The Socratic dialogue or the Platonic dialogue usually begins with Socrates professing ignorance of the subject matter. He asks questions of the other characters, the result being a fuller understanding of the subject. The dialogues are usually named after the key person interrogated by Socrates, as in Protagoras where this famous Sophist is questioned about his views on rhetoric. The dialogue has obvious relations to both dramatic form and argumentation. In the dialogues, the characters speak in ways appropriate not only to their own views, but to their speaking styles as well. Lane Cooper points out four elements of the dialogues: The plot or movement of the conversation, the agents in their moral aspect (ethos), the reasoning of the agents (dianoia), and their style or diction (lexis).The dialogues are also a form of dialectical reasoning, a branch of logic focusing on reasoning in philosophical matters where absolute certainty may be unattainable but where truth is pursued to a h igh degree of probability. (James J. Murphy and Richard A. Katula, A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003) The Socratic Method in Business[S]he could see that he was trying to teach the other men, to coax and persuade them to look at the factorys operations in a new way. He would have been surprised to be told it, but he used the Socratic method: he prompted the other directors and the middle managers and even the foremen to identify the problems themselves and to reach by their own reasoning the solutions he had himself already determined upon. It was so deftly done that she had sometimes to temper her admiration by reminding herself that it was all directed by the profit motive ... (David Lodge, Nice Work. Viking, 1988) The Socratic Method, According to H.F. Ellis What is the argument of the Idealist School of Philosophy against the absolute existence, or externality, of the objects of experience? A question of this kind is best answered by the Socratic Method, an admirable arrangement whereby you call yourself Philosopher and your opponent, who has no will of his own, Man in the Street or Thrasymachus. The argument then proceeds thus. Philosopher: You will, I suppose, agree that the Understanding, through the same operations whereby in conceptions, by means of analytical unity, it produced the logical form of a judgement, introduces, by means of the synthetical unity of the manifold in intuition, a transcendental content into its representations, on which account they are called pure conceptions of the understanding? Thrasymachus: Yes, I agree. Philosopher: And further, is it not true that the mind fails in some cases to distinguish between actual and merely potential existence? Thrasymachus: It is true. Philosopher: Then S is P must be true of all predicative judgements? Thrasymachus: Certainly. Philosopher: And A is not -A? Thrasymachus: It is not. Philosopher: So that every judgment may be taken either intensively or extensively Thrasymachus: Indubitably. Philosopher: And this is through the activity of the apperceptive unity of self-consciousness, sometimes called cognition? Thrasymachus: Indisputably. Philosopher: Which arranges the phenomena of the sense-manifold in accordance with the principles of a primitive synthesis? Thrasymachus: Incontrovertibly. Philosopher: And these principles are the Categories? Thrasymachus: Yeah! Philosopher: Thus the universal is real and self-existent, and the particular only a quality of the understanding. So, in the end, your opinion is found to coincide with mine, and we agree that there is no a priori necessity for the continued existence of unperceived phenomena? Thrasymachus: No. My opinion is that you are talking a lot of balderdash and ought to be locked up. Am I not right? Philosopher: I suppose you are. It will be observed that the Socratic Method is not infallible, especially when dealing with Thrasymachus.(Humphry Francis Ellis, So This Is Science! Methuen, 1932) Example of a Socratic Dialogue: Excerpt From Gorgias Socrates: I see, from the few words which Polus has uttered, that he has attended more to the art which is called rhetoric than to dialectic. Polus: What makes you say so, Socrates? Socrates: Because, Polus, when Chaerephon asked you what was the art which Gorgias knows, you praised it as if you were answering someone who found fault with it, but you never said what the art was. Polus: Why, did I not say that it was the noblest of arts? Socrates: Yes, indeed, but that was no answer to the question: nobody asked what was the quality, but what was the nature, of the art, and by what name we were to describe Gorgias. And I would still beg you briefly and clearly, as you answered Chaerephon when he asked you at first, to say what this art is, and what we ought to call Gorgias: Or rather, Gorgias, let me turn to you, and ask the same question, what are we to call you, and what is the art which you profess? Gorgias: Rhetoric, Socrates, is my art. Socrates: Then I am to call you a rhetorician? Gorgias: Yes, Socrates, and a good one too, if you would call me that which, in Homeric language, I boast myself to be. Socrates: I should wish to do so. Gorgias: Then pray do. Socrates: And are we to say that you are able to make other men rhetoricians? Gorgias: Yes, that is exactly what I profess to make them, not only at Athens, but in all places. Socrates: And will you continue to ask and answer questions, Gorgias, as we are at present doing and reserve for another occasion the longer mode of speech which Polus was attempting? Will you keep your promise, and answer shortly the questions which are asked of you? Gorgias: Some answers, Socrates, are of necessity longer; but I will do my best to make them as short as possible; for a part of my profession is that I can be as short as any one. Socrates: That is what is wanted, Gorgias; exhibit the shorter method now, and the longer one at some other time. Gorgias: Well, I will; and you will certainly say, that you never heard a man use fewer words. Socrates: Very good then; as you profess to be a rhetorician, and a maker of rhetoricians, let me ask you, with what is rhetoric concerned: I might ask with what is weaving concerned, and you would reply (would you not?), with the making of garments? Gorgias: Yes. Socrates: And music is concerned with the composition of melodies? Gorgias: It is. Socrates: By Here, Gorgias, I admire the surpassing brevity of your answers. Gorgias: Yes, Socrates, I do think myself good at that. Socrates: I am glad to hear it; answer me in like manner about rhetoric: with what is rhetoric concerned? Gorgias: With discourse. Socrates: What sort of discourse, Gorgiassuch discourse as would teach the sick under what treatment they might get well? Gorgias: No. Socrates: Then rhetoric does not treat of all kinds of discourse? Gorgias: Certainly not. Socrates: And yet rhetoric makes men able to speak? Gorgias: Yes. Socrates: And to understand that about which they speak? Gorgias: Of course... Socrates: Come, then, and let us see what we really mean about rhetoric; for I do not know what my own meaning is as yet. When the assembly meets to elect a physician or a shipwright or any other craftsman, will the rhetorician be taken into counsel? Surely not. For at every election he ought to be chosen who is most skilled; and, again, when walls have to be built or harbours or docks to be constructed, not the rhetorician but the master workman will advise; or when generals have to be chosen and an order of battle arranged, or a proposition taken, then the military will advise and not the rhetoricians: what do you say, Gorgias? Since you profess to be a rhetorician and a maker of rhetoricians, I cannot do better than learn the nature of your art from you. And here let me assure you that I have your interest in view as well as my own. For likely enough some one or other of the young men present might desire to become your pupil, and in fact I see some, and a good many too, who have this wish, but they would be too modest to question you. And therefore when you are interrogated by me, I would have you imagine that you are interrogated by them. What is the use of coming to you, Gorgias? they will say. About what will you teach us to advise the state?about the just and unjust only, or about those other things also which Socrates has just mentioned? How will you answer them? Gorgias: I like your way of leading us on, Socrates, and I will endeavour to reveal to you the whole nature of rhetoric.(from Part One of Gorgias by Plato, c. 380 BC. Translated by Benjamin Jowett) Gorgias shows us that pure Socratic dialogue is, indeed, not possible anywhere or at any time by showing us the structural, material, and existential realities of power that disable the mutually beneficial search for truth. (Christopher Rocco, Tragedy and Enlightenment: Athenian Political Thought, and the Dilemmas of Modernity. University of California Press, 1997) The Lighter Side of Socratic Dialogues: Socrates and His Publicist, Jackie At lunch, Socrates voiced his misgivings.Should I be doing all of this? he asked. I mean, is the unexamined life even worthAre you being serious? interrupted Jackie. Do you want to be a star philosopher or do you want to go back to waiting tables?Jackie was one of the few people who really knew how to handle Socrates, usually by cutting him off and answering his questions with a question of her own. And, as always, she managed to convince Socrates that she was right and avoid being fired. Socrates listened to her, then paid for both of their lunches and went right back to work.It was shortly after that fateful lunch that the backlash began. Socratess constant questions had become intolerable to many of the Greek elite. Still, as his Publicist had promised, he had become a brand. Imitators all over Athens were now practicing the new Socratic Method. More and more young people were asking each other questions and doing it with Socratess patented smart-assy tone.A few days later, Socrat es was brought to trial and charged with corrupting the youth.(Demetri Marti, Socratess Publicist. This Is a Book. Grand Central, 2011)

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The Welfare Effects Of A Government Policy Economics Essay

The Welfare Effects Of A Government Policy Economics Essay For the purpose of this paper demand and supply analysis is used to show how it can be applied to a wide variety of economic problems. In the first section consumer and producer surplus is better defined and explained to understand the welfare effects of a government policy. In other words, consumer and producer surplus can evaluate who gains and who loses from a given policy, and also by how much. Also note that these two concepts of surplus can also be used to demonstrate the efficiency of a competitive market. In the sections to follow minimum prices, price supports, and related policies will be discussed in more detail. To assist the theory, demand-supply analysis will be used to understand and assess these policies. Consumer and Producer Surplus To understand consumer and producer surplus better the principles of price ceilings and floors will be discussed. As opposed to price floors, a government-imposed price ceiling means that the price is set at a lower level than the price in the prevailing market. Likewise, price ceilings will cause the quantity of a good demanded to rise. This happens because at lower prices consumers want to buy more. On the other hand, the quantity supplied will fall because producers are not willing to supply as much at lower prices. As a result of this a shortage will occur, which also indicates excess demand. Note that those consumers who can still buy the good will be better off because they now pay less. However, supply will fall, forcing producers to provide less of their goods. The following section provides a more detailed explanation of the welfare gained or lost by both consumers and producers, should certain prices be imposed. For the purpose of this section the assumption follows that consumers and producers buy and sell at the prevailing market price in an unregulated, competitive market. However, for some consumers the value of the good in question exceeds the prevailing market price. This also means that the consumer would be willing to pay more for the good if it was expected. Therefore, consumer surplus is the total benefit that consumers receive beyond what they pay for the good (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:300). For example if the market price of a product is R7, but the consumer is willing to pay R10 for it, then his net benefit will be R3. Consumer surplus can also be explained with the assistance of demand and supply curves. In this respect consumer surplus can be interpreted as the area between the demand curve and the market price. Pindyck and Rubinfeld (2005:300) also states that consumer surplus measures the net benefit to consumers in the aggregate, therefore, this analysis can be used to better understand the gains or losses induced from government interventions. On the other hand, producer surplus is the equivalent measure for producers (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:301). If goods were to be produced at a price lower than the market price, then more could be produced. Therefore, producers will enjoy a benefit, or rather a surplus, from selling those units. This surplus is the difference between the market price the producer receives and the marginal cost of producing the units. It can also be better explained as the area above the supply curve up to the market price. Essentially consumer and producer surplus is used for economic analysis to evaluate the welfare effects of a government intervention in the market. It assists with anticipating who will gain or lose from the intervention, and also by how much. To do so the concepts of price ceilings and price floors will be explained in more detail. Price Ceilings Price ceilings occur when production (supply) is decreased and the quantity demanded is increased (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:301). Price ceilings tend to cause excess demand, or rather shortages, to occur. Figure 1: Graphical Presentation of a Price Ceiling The following section provides a theoretical explanation of Figure 1 and the effects of price ceilings on consumers and producers respectively: Consumer Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:302; and Perloff, 2005:274, 296, 297): Consumers are better off as they can buy the good at a lower price. Thus, the consumers that still buy the good enjoy an increase in consumer surplus, which is resembled by rectangle A. On the other, those consumers who can no longer buy the good lose surplus. Their loss is represented by triangle B. Therefore, the net change in consumer surplus which is a positive result is: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = A B Producer Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:303; and Perloff, 2005:278, 280, 297): With price controls, some producers will stay in the market but will receive a lower price for their output. Thus, they have lost the producer surplus represented by rectangle A. Other producers may however leave the market. This means that total production will also drop, which is represented by triangle C. Therefore, the change in producer surplus, which is a negative result, is: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = (-A) C Deadweight Loss (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:304; and Perloff, 2005:280, 281): Price controls will result in a net loss, which is also referred to as deadweight loss. Therefore, combining the change in both consumer and producer surplus will bring along a total change in surplus as follows: Deadweight Loss = (A B) + [(-A) -C] = (-B) C In essence, deadweight loss results in an inefficiency caused by price controls. In summation, a price ceiling is that price held below the prevailing market price. It merely means that too little is produced and, at the same time, that consumers and producers in the aggregate are worse off (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:306; and Mohr, 2004:162, 163). Price Floors In contrast to price ceilings, price floors indicate what happens when government requires for the price to be above the market price. Although producers would like to produce more at this higher price (indicated on the supply curve at P2) consumers will now buy less. If we assume that producers only produce what can be sold, then the market output level will be at Q1. Once again there is a noted net loss of total surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:306, and Perloff, 2005:293): Triangles B (a loss of consumer surplus) and C (a loss of producer surplus) represents the deadweight loss. Rectangle D represents the transfer from consumers to producers, who now receive a higher price. Figure 2: Graphical Presentation of a Price Floor In fact, the deadweight loss gives an optimistic assessment of the efficiency cost of policies. The reason for this assumption is that some producers may still however increase prices after the price floor have been incorporated. This would, in turn, result in unsold output. However, should the producer receive more importance with regard to applicable policies, then government might buy up the unsold output to maintain production at Q0. In both cases, the total welfare loss will exceed the areas of triangles B and C (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:307). The Efficiency of a Competitive Market As discussed already, consumer and producer surplus can be used to evaluate economic efficiency in the aggregate. In the previous section it was shown how price controls create a deadweight loss. Thus, the policy imposes an efficiency cost on the economy (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:306). Both consumer and producer surplus are reduced by the amount of the deadweight loss. This does not mean that such a policy is bad. It may however achieve other objectives that policymakers and the public consider important. Many researchers argue that if the only objective is to achieve economic efficiency, then a competitive market would be better left alone. This means that no interventions should occur. However, in some cases market failure will occur because prices fail to provide the proper signals to consumers and producers. Also, the unregulated, competitive market could be inefficient. These indications of market failure may occur because of two instances (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:306): Externalities: Sometimes the actions of either consumers or producers will result in a cost/benefit that does not show up as part of the market price. Such a cost/benefit can also be referred to as externalities because they are external to the market. An example of this is the cost to society of environmental pollution by a producer of industrial chemicals. Lack of Information: When consumers lack information about the quality or nature of a product and can therefore not make a utility-maximising purchasing decision. If these two instances (externalities and/or the lack of information) are absent in a market then that unregulated, competitive market will essentially have no obstacles, and an economically efficient output level can be reached. Minimum Prices For the purpose of this section we will refer back to Figure 2. From the graph we can see that if producers can correctly anticipate that they can sell only the lower quantity Q1, then the net welfare will be given by triangles B and C. However, as mentioned before, producers may not limit their output to Q1. Incorporating Figure 2 to illustrate minimum prices, the following notations has to be made (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:310): P2 denotes a minimum price set by the government. Q2 denotes the quantity supplied, and Q1 denotes the quantity demanded. The difference between Q1 and Q2 represents excess supply, or rather, unsold supply. Therefore, Consumer Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:310): Those consumers who still purchase the good must now pay a higher price (Rectangle D). Some consumers will also drop out of the market (Triangle B). Therefore, consumer surplus remains the same as before and indicates that consumers are actually worse off as a result of this policy: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = (-D) B Producer Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:311): Producers, on the other hand, receive a higher price for the units they sell, which results in an increase of surplus (Rectangle D). Rectangle D can also be better described as the transfer of funds between consumers and producers. But, the drop in sales from Q0 to Q1 actually results in a loss of surplus which is represented by triangle C. Also remember that the supply curve is a representation of the additional cost of producing each incremental unit. Thus, the area under the supply curve from Q1 to Q2 is the cost of producing quantity Q2 less Q1. This area is represented by trapezoid E. Unless producers respond to unsold output by cutting production, the total change in producer surplus will be: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = D C E Minimum prices is merely one of the ways to raise prices above the prevailing market level through the direct intervention and regulation of the government simply make it illegal to charge a price lower than a specific minimum level. As a result, this form of government intervention can reduce producers profits because of the cost of excess production. Another example of this is a minimum wage law. In other words, a wage rate at a level higher than the market price will result in those workers who can find jobs and earn a higher payoff. However, some people who want to work will be unable to, which will result in a policy that brings about unemployment (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:311). Price Supports and Production Quotas Besides imposing a minimum price, the government can also increase the price of a good in other ways. In agricultural policy the system is mostly based on price supports, but prices can also be increased by restricting production, either directly or through incentives to producers (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:314). In this section these policies will be examined in more detail as to show how consumers, producers and the government budget are affected. Price Supports: In general, price supports aim to increase the prices of dairy products, tobacco, peanuts, etc. This is done with the intention that the producers of these types of products earn higher incomes. This basically entails that the government sets the supporting price and then buys up whatever output is needed to keep the market price at this level. The resulting gains/losses will be as follows: Figure 3: Government Price Supports Consumers Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:315): At price P2, the quantity demanded falls to Q1, and the quantity supplied increases to Q2. To maintain this price and avoid inventories having to pile up, the government must buy the quantity Qg = Q2 Q1. Because the government adds its demand to the demand of the consumers, producers can sell all they want at price P2. Therefore, the consumer surplus will be calculated in the same way as with minimum prices: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = (-D) B Producers Surplus (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:315): Price support policies are implemented with the intention to increase the gains that producers receive because producers are now selling a higher quantity (Q2) at a higher price (P2). Therefore producer surplus will be as follows: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = D + B + F Government Welfare (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:315): However, there is also a cost to government, which in essence is paid for by taxes. Thus, ultimately this is actually a cost indirectly related to consumers. This amount is represented by the rectangle that makes up BCEFG. This cost may be reduced if the government can dump some of its purchases, for example, selling them abroad at a low price. However, doing so hurts the ability of the domestic market to sell in foreign markets. The total welfare cost of this policy could be defined as: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS + à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS Cost to Gov = D (Q2 Q1)P2 If the objective is to give producers an additional income equal to D + B + F, it is far less costly to society if government were to give them this money directly rather than via price supports. This can be supported by the fact that price supports are costing consumers D + B anyway. If government pay producers directly, then society will save the large rectangular area BCEFG less triangle F (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:316). However, price supports are in use most likely because they are a less obvious giveaway and, therefore, politically more correct. Production Quotas: The government can also cause the price of a good to rise by reducing supply. Government can do this by setting quotas on how much each firm can produce. With appropriate quotas, the price can then be forced up to any arbitrary level. An example of this could be the control of liquor licenses by the government. By requiring any bar or restaurant to have a liquor license and, at the same time limiting the number of licenses, will result in limited entrants into that market. This also allows those with licenses to earn higher prices and profit margins. The welfare effects of production quotas will be explained in the following section (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:317): The government restricts the quantity supplied to Q1, rather than at the market level of Q0. Thus the supply curve becomes the vertical line S at Q1. As a result consumer surplus is reduced by rectangle D plus triangle B. On the other hand, producers gain rectangle D less triangle C. Thus, once again, there is a deadweight loss that occurs which is represented by B + C: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = (-D) B à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = D C + (Payments for not producing) However, the cost to the government is a payment sufficient enough to give producers an incentive to reduce output to Q1. That incentive must be at least as large as (B + C + F), because that area represents the additional profit that could have been made if the quota was not applicable. Also remember that the higher price (P2) give producers incentive to produce more even though the government is trying to get them to produce less. Thus, the cost to government is at least B + C + F and the total change in producer surplus is: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = D C + B + C + F = D + B + F à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Welfare = (-D) B + D + B + F B C F = (-B) C Figure 4: Supply Restrictions via Production Quotas This is the same change in producer surplus as with price supports therefore, producers should in essence be indifferent between the two policies because they end up gaining the same amount of money from each. Likewise, consumers end up losing the same amount of money (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:318). It can also be noted that, once again, the society will clearly be better off in efficiency terms if the government simply gave the producers (generally in the agricultural sector) D + B + C, leaving price and output alone. Producers would then gain D + B + C and the government would lose this profit for a total welfare change of zero, instead of a loss of B + C. However, economic efficiency is not always the objective of government policy. Import Quotas and Tariffs Many countries use import quotas and tariffs to keep the domestic price of a product above world levels and thereby enable the domestic industry to enjoy higher profits than it would under free trade. However, the cost to taxpayers from this protection can be relatively high. Without a quota or tariff, a country will import a good when its price is below the price that would prevail domestically, were there no imports (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:321, 322; and Perloff, 2005:298, 299). Figure 5: The Affect of an Import Tariff/Quota on Imports S and D represent the domestic supply and demand. Because the world price (P1) is below domestic demand and supply, it gives domestic consumers an incentive to purchase from abroad if imports are not restricted. If that is the case then domestic price will fall to the world price at P1. At a lower price, domestic production will fall to Q1 and consumption will rise to Q2. So imports will be the difference between domestic consumption and production (Q2 Q1). Now suppose the government, bowing to pressure from the domestic industry, eliminates imports by imposing a quota or a tariff at Q0. This will forbid any importation of the good in question. With no imports allowed the domestic price will rise to P0. Consumer Surplus: As a result, consumers who still purchase the good will now pay a higher price and will lose the surplus represented by trapezoid A and triangle B. In addition, some consumers will no longer buy the good which results in a further loss represented by triangle C. Therefore, the total change in consumer surplus will be: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = (-A) B C Producer Surplus: In concern with producers, output is now higher (Q0 instead of Q1). Output is also sold at a higher price (P0 instead of P1). Producer surplus therefore increases by the amount of trapezoid A: à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = A à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Welfare = (-B) C Combining both à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS and à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS to obtain the total welfare effect merely indicates once again that there is a deadweight loss. This loss indicates that consumers lose more than what producers gain. Imports could also be reduced to zero by imposing a sufficiently large tariff. The tariff would have to be equal to or greater than the difference between P0 and P1. With a tariff of this size there will be no imports and, therefore, no government revenue from tariff collections. Thus, the effect on consumers and producers would be the same as with a quota (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:323). However, government policy is more often designed to reduce, but not eliminate, imports (as shown in Figure 6. Again, this can be done with either a tariff or a quota (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:323; and Perloff, 2005:300, 301): When imports are reduced, the domestic price is increased from P1 to P0. Trapezoid A is again the gain to domestic producers. The loss to consumers is A + B + C + D. Thus, if a tariff is used, the government will gain rectangle D, the revenue from the tariff. Therefore, the net domestic loss will be B + C. If a quota is used instead, then rectangle D becomes part of the profits of foreign producers, and the net domestic loss will be B + C + D. Figure 6: The General Case with an Import Tariff or Quota The Impact of a Tax or Subsidy The burden of a tax (or the benefit of a subsidy) falls partly on the consumer and partly on the producer. In this section it will become clear that the share of a tax accepted by consumers depends on the shapes of the demand and supply curves and, in particular, on the relative elasticities of demand and supply (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:326). The Effects of a Specific Tax A specific tax can be better defined as a tax of a certain amount of money per unit sold. This is in contrast to an ad valorem tax which is a proportional tax. However, the analysis of an ad valorem tax is roughly the same and yields the same qualitative results (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:326). Examples of specific taxes are sin taxes on cigarettes and liquor. Suppose the government imposes a tax of t cents per unit. This means that the price the buyer pays must exceed the price the seller receives by t cents. Figure 7 illustrates this accounting relationship and its implications (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:326): Figure 7: The Effects of a Specific Tax Here, P0 and Q0 represent the price and quantity before the tax is imposed. Pd is the price that buyers pay and Ps is the price that sellers receive after the tax is imposed. Therefore, Pd Ps = t. Here the burden of a tax is split evenly between buyers and sellers. Buyers lose A + B, while sellers lose D + C. On the other hand, the government earns A + D in revenue. Thus, the deadweight loss is once again B + C. The solution is therefore to find the quantity that corresponds to a price of Pd and Ps so that t = Pd Ps. This quantity is shown as Q1. As seen from Figure 8, the burden of the tax is shared roughly evenly between buyers and sellers. It can also be stated that the price that buyers pay rises by half of the tax, and the price that sellers receive falls by roughly half of the tax. As Figure 7 and 8 shows, market clearing requires four conditions to be satisfied after the tax is in place (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:327, 328). These four conditions can also be written and distinguished as four different equations that must always be true: The quantity sold and the buyers price must lie on the demand curve, because buyers are interested only in the price that they must pay. Qd = Qd(Pd) The quantity sold and the sellers price must both lie on the supply curve, because sellers are only concerned with the price they are to receive. Qs = Qs(Ps) The quantity demanded must equal the quantity supplied (Q1). Qd = Qs The difference between the prices of buyers and sellers must equal t. Pd Ps = t There is a change in consumer and producer surplus, as well as in government revenue can be summarised as follows (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:328; and Perloff, 2005:289, 290): à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  CS = (-A) B à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  PS = (-C) D à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  Welfare = (-A) B C D + A + D = (-B) C From the above information we have seen that the burden of a tax is shared almost evenly between buyers and sellers, however, this is not always the case. If demand is inelastic and supply is relatively, then the burden of the tax will fall mostly on the buyer. Demand will work in the opposite way. It can also be determined if the burden of a tax falls more on the buyer or the seller (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:328): Pass-through fraction (Buyer) = Ed / (Es Ed) This equation thus stipulates what fraction of the tax is passed-through to consumers (buyers) and producers (sellers) in the form of higher prices. So, if the demand is totally inelastic (when Ed = 0) so that the pass-through fraction is 1, then all the tax is borne by the consumers (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:328). Similarly, when demand is totally elastic, the pass-through fraction is zero and producers bear all the tax. Therefore, the equation basically indicates that a tax falls on the buyer if Ed / Es is small, and on the seller if Ed / Es is large. The Effects of a Subsidy A subsidy can be analysed in much the same way as a tax. In fact, a subsidy can be better defined as a negative tax. With a subsidy, the sellers price exceeds the buyers price and the difference between the two is the amount of the subsidy. Thus, the effect of a subsidy on the quantity produced and consumed is the opposite of the effect of a tax, which also means that the quantity will increase (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:329). Figure 8: The Effects of a Subsidy In general, the benefit of a subsidy accrues mostlyto buyers if Ed / Es is small, and to sellers if Ed / Es is large. Also, the same four conditions needed for the market to clear, apply for a subsidy as it did for a tax. The only difference is that now the difference between the sellers price and the buyers price is equal to the subsidy (Pindyck and Rubinfeld, 2005:329): Qd = Qd(Pd) Qs = Qs(Ps) Qd = Qs Ps Pd = s Conclusion From this paper the evidence shows that simple models of demand and supply can be used to analyse a wide variety of government policies. These include price controls, minimum prices, price supports, production quotas, import tariffs and quotas, and taxes and subsidies. In each case, consumer and producer surplus are used to evaluate the gains and losses to consumers and producers. These gains and losses can be quite large. Evidence have also indicated that when the government imposes a tax or subsidy, price usually does not rise or fall by the full amount of the tax or subsidy. Also, the incidence of a tax or subsidy is usually split between consumers and producers. The fractions that each group ends up paying/receiving depend on the relative elasticities of demand and supply. It is important to remember that government intervention generally leads to a deadweight loss, even if consumer and producer surplus is weighted equally. In some cases this deadweight loss will be small, but in other cases (price supports and import quotas) it is large. This deadweight loss is a form of economic inefficiency that must be taken into account when policies are designed and implemented. In summation, government intervention in a competitive market is not always bad. Government, and the society it represents, might have objectives other than economic efficiency. There are also situations in which government intervention can improve economic efficiency. Examples are externalities and cases of market failure.

The Red Room and The Judges House - Typical Nineteenth Century Ghost

The Red Room and The Judge's House - Typical Nineteenth Century Ghost Stories? Nineteenth century ghost stories are typical of the gothic genre. They are referred to as stereotypical, because in the period they were written in, it was the practice to include several distinctive elements which are now exclusively associated with this genre. 'The Red Room' by H. G. Wells (1894) and 'The Judge's House' by Bram Stoker (1891) will be discussed in this essay to assess them as distinctive examples of ghost stories. There are various elements which are distinctive of characteristics of a nineteenth century ghost story. The criteria used to determine 'The Red Room' and 'The Judge's House' are of nineteenth century ghost stories in this essay are, firstly, the setting. This is the background scenery to the story and is, typically of this genre, an isolated place or house. The second element is the inclusion of characters with a variable state of mind throughout the story. This could be a terrifying consuming fear or the complete loss of reason leading to insanity. The incorporation of characters which believe and do not believe in the supernatural is the third element. This allows a wider range of people to read the story and associate with the characters. The fourth criterion is an ancient prophecy or a history of disturbances surrounding the place where the story is set. The fifth element is light. Ghost stories make use of shadows, darkness, night-time, and the diffusive light of a candle to help develop tension and suspense. The final element is imagery used by authors. The images created tend to be appealing to the five human senses of touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing. I will compare 'The Red Room' and 'The Judge's House' base... ...t and inflamed', plus, 'red eyes'. This gives the sense of you being watched. The references to, 'monstrous shadow', 'grotesque custodians', and, 'the human qualities seem to drop from old people insensibly day by day', shows that they aren't like normal human beings and are out of this world. 'The Judge's House' is a perfect example of the three types of characters. Malcolmson obviously being the non-believer, Mrs Witham, Mrs Dempster and Dr. Thornhill are the believers. While the Judge's spirit is the supernatural. Malcolmson is also a rational person like the narrator of 'The Red Room'. He believes in knowledge not fictional stories. 'A man who is reading for the Mathematical Tripos', and, 'disturbed by any of these mysterious somethings'. It doesn't have many references to Malcolmson attitude to the Judge's house. But from this quote, we can see he is not afraid.

Social Evil

Sample essay on Social Evils Still Persist in our society Social evils are prevalent in almost all the backward countries. Surprising enough that India, a country proud of her ancient culture is no exception to it. Conservatism and fundamentalism apart there are certain customs that smear the face of this ancient land that is trying to build a modern image in the world. Go to any part of the country you will find something going on you'll be ashamed of. Even some good customs have taken a woeful course.There Was a time girls having taste in dance and music offered themselves to the cult of devadasis in prestigeoiis temples throughout the country. They were virgins and dedicated their lives to the deity in the temple. They were respected by the whole society. Muslim invasions are responsible for the demolition of a large number of temples in the North and North West. With them the very institution of devadasis disappeared. But it still persists in a few districts of Maharashtra and Ka mataka. Ire rate between the age of 7 and 14 are offered to be bride of goddess Yellamma a Saundathi temple in Belgaum district.According to a rough estimate abort 5000 are still offered on full moon day during the month of Magh every year. Gradually a vicious belief has come up that the devadasis are maids to please Parashuram who lives in all men. A devadasi dare not displease Parashuram. What an obnoxious design to exploit the girls sexually. Most of these poor girls join the red light area (prostitute market in Mumbai and its suburbs. Bonded labor is another social stigma on our face. The poor in rural areas (both men and women) are lured by contractors' men to have a job.They are given a few hundred rupees and sign a document making them bonded labor. They are taken to distant places to work in construction: rework or kilns. The women and small boys and girls are sexually assaulted too. Many of the boys are sold again and again. They hardly know where they belong to. Although B andhua Mazdoor Mukti SanghofSwami Agnivesi got a very large number of these slave laborers free many are still there the net. The prey of the custom of devadasis and bonded laborers are general illiterate scheduled caste or scheduled tribe people from rural areas.But those girls who suffer because of the evil custom of dowry belong to all sections of the society both in rural and urban areas in almost all the state; the evil that started from the North has engulfed the whole of South too. Today the more educated a boy is the bigger the demand of dowry too. Thousands of girls who are harassed for not bringing sufficient dowry either commit suicide or are burnt alive by the in-laws or the husbands themselves. Caste system might have served the purpose of maintaining certain – discipline in the society when it was based on profession and not on birth.Today its proliferation into more than 5000 castes from four and that toe based on birth has become the gravest evil. It is respon sible for the stratification in the society the upper castes are harassing the lower castes. It took the lower castes more than a millennium to assert themselves. Today they are up in arms against the so called upper castes—3000 against 2000. What a game? Caste consciousness has gained over national consciousness. It seems the social evil that was taken for granted in the past may bring a storm that will rip open the very basis of unity.Reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes may not be able to check the reaction in the minds of the lower castes against the upper ones who still consider the former as pariah. The disparity can be removed only by giving all equal status. The so called upper castes are not giving it even today—of course at the cost of their own safety in the times to come. Woman is wary of the design of the ojha if you go to a tribal village. He may declare you a witch and the villagers may kill you in their own cruel desi gn. A large number of tribal women suffer from this agony every year.Don't educate the tribal's and the scheduled castes and this is what you get. Male Chauvinism and child marriages are the two social diseases that are 110 less harmful than AIDS itself. AIDS attacks a person who has . committed a folly or has been wrongly injected. Children are married at an they are not conscious of what is going on with them. Thousands of children become a prey to this evil on the day of Akshaya Tritiya in many areas of Rajasthan. Many children become widow before becoming girls. Their whole life becomes a hell. Male Chauvinism too is no less a social evil.Males have been dominating females throughout the world. It does not mean it is not an evil. In India—specially in the rural areas—women are worse even than the domestic animals. It is a social evil for it doesn't allow the development of an egalitarian society that is the basis of a democracy. Moreover if a woman is ‘ Ardha ngani' (half part) it is rather queer half part exploiting the other half. How can the health of the nation be maintained that way? Essay – 1 Indian society is one of the oldest societies. It has got its own customs and traditions.Some of them are very old. They do not suit the present times. Times go on changing. We must also change our customs and traditions to keep pace with the times. Some of our customs are not only useless but are also obstacles in the way of social progress. It is, therefore, essential that they must be changed. The older must change giving place to the new; I will introduce the following social reforms, if ever I become the minister of social welfare. Our marriage customs must be reformed, Child-marriage and early marriage have no place in social life today.Boys and girls must be given some say in the selection of their partners. I will pass a law which make dowry hunting a legal offence. I will allow no business in the form of marriage, as this is a great social curse. This will be my first reform. Now-a-days we do not get the necessities of life in pure condition. Milk, ghee, butter, oil, etc. all are sold adulterated. Not only food stuffs, but medicines, toilet goods and their articles also are mixed with inferior and cheaper substances. This amounts to the cheating of the people. This is a social crime.I will make all possible efforts to curb this nefarious trade. The people will be ensured the supply of pure and unadulterated goods. In our society, drinking is becoming common. There is also drug addiction on a large scale. Then evil effects of such habits are too well known to need any discussion. Society must be saved from this social curse. I will educate the people against these evils as well as pass laws against them. When I become the minister for social welfare, this social reform will receive my urgent attention. Man and woman are the two wheels of the social cart.Both of them must be equally strong. But in our socie ty women are illiterate. They are kept in ‘purdah’. They are denied their due rights. Illiteracy is most wide-spread among women. I will pay special attention towards female education. This will remove many evils from society. Purdah will come to an end. Women will become equal partners with men in the work of the development of the country. Untouchability is a curse. We treat a large section of our people, as if they were animals. I will do my utmost to eradicate this social evil. Public opinion shall be educated against it.The condition of the untouchables shall be improved. Food prices have been raising for sometime past, one of the main causes of this is the hoarding of food grains. There is acute shortage of a number of essential commodities. To earn huge profits, businessmen hoard the necessities of life. This causes great hardship to the people. I will introduce legislation to check hoarding with the greatest zeal and effort. Hoarders, black marketers and profite ers would be severely dealt with. These are but the most important of the social reforms which have been long overdue.Besides these, there are many other social evils like child labour, gambling, wastage of food etc. , on the occasion of marriages and other social ceremonies etc. I will introduce reform in these spheres also. Social reforms are urgently needed. There can be no two opinions about this. Others have also made efforts in this direction. But the results have not been very encouraging. I will give top priority to social reforms. Effective laws will be framed. Public opinion will be created in support of these reforms. Administration will be made strict.Then alone will success be achieved. Note: This essay can also be used for the topics like: †¢ If I Were The minister of Social reform Or of Social Welfare of My State †¢ Some Social Evils and Their Reform Essay -2 The social evils and superstitions that had crept in the society over the centuries made social refo rms imperative for the development of the society and the masses. In the 19th century, the newly educated persons increasingly revolted against rigid social conventions and outdated customs. They could no longer tolerate irrational and de-humanising social practices.Moreover, the backward features of Indian society, such as the caste system or inequality of the sexes had religious sanctions in the past. Therefore, it was necessary to reform religious practices as well. The condition of women was pathetic. The various religions practised in India as well as the personal laws based on them consigned women to a status inferior to that of men. Polygamy, Purdah system, sort, ban on widow remarriage, no education for female child, female infanticide, child marriages were some of the evils that had vice—like grip over the society.It thus became necessary to take the women out of this degraded position and help her to realise her true potential. The problems of female feoticide, sexu al harassment at workplace, education are so diverse that they need sound financial backing, all these social evils centre around the petty and marginalized conditions of women in the society. We need to combat evils like the glorification of sati places as pilgrimages, dowry system, girl feoticide, decline in sex ratio, harassment of women etc. This can be achieved by educating the woman and making her financially independent.Rajasthan has been in the news recently and for all the wrong reasons. First, it was tigers disappearing, then it was a guidebook that referred to sati-sites as tourist destinations, and then it was child marriages. The legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for women and 21 years for men. Any marriage of a person younger than this is banned in India under the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 1929. But child marriages still take place in India; particularly around the Hindu holy day of Akshya Tritiya (also knows as Akha Teej).Yet, it is a religious tradit ion in many places in India and therefore, difficult to change. People feel that traditions are valuable and should not be changed, especially religious traditions, since changing these would amount to asking people not to practise their religion, a fundamental principle of democracy. Dowry in India, the practice of endowing the groom by the bride's family, is a tradition, which has changed its intentions from giving a gift to demanding for astronomical amounts which has bankrupted lots of families and made many girls either to commit suicide or being murdered.Bride-price, which is the endowment to the bride’s clan, which is widely practised in Papua New Guinea, too, has changed from the earlier intentions thereby making it a business. Moral and ethical concerns of the society weigh a great deal with those in public life as their behaviour is keenly watched by the people. At concerned quarters, views are being expressed over the general decline of values in public life. There is a general feeling that all is not well with our socio-political system which is functioning under a great strain.In such a situation, the representatives of the people have to set high standards of behaviour in public life. Members of Parliament have not only to represent the society but have also to lead it. Therefore, they have to function as the role models and this naturally casts on them a heavy responsibility. Our freedom fighters and national leaders had set high ethical and moral standards in public life and they followed those principles scrupulously. This tendency, it is painfully observed, is now on a decline.There has been a wide and critical collapse of moral values in all walks of life and a perilous decline in the human dimension in global, political and trade relations and national economy. Development has culminated in widespread discontent, corruption, unemployment, violence, communal and racial discord and much human distress, destruction and disillusionment. Barring this, the caste system, which had its roots in religion, is another curse in society. Though not so rigid in urban areas, it is still practised in rural areas with the same zeal.Caste determines man's marriage, social circle and profession. The untouchables suffer from numerous disabilities and restrictions. His dresses, food, place of residence, all are degraded. Not only is it humiliating and inhuman and based on anti-democratic principle of inequality by birth, it is a cause of social disintegration. Thus, it has to be fought against. Another problem that our society faces is the rapid criminalisation of the polity, that could be the result of the fact that criminals have understood the mechanics of the electoral process and have themselves become contenders for power.Earlier, politicians patronised criminals and provided them protection from the law-enforcement agencies in exchange for the use of their muscle power during elections. And now it is the opposite-with the cr iminals themselves taking over the reigns of power and patronising the « politicians and their parties. Of late, there is an increasing exposure of the criminals in the! Governing system of the country, to the extent that it alienates the common people for power. The criminalisation of politics is a reflection of, and a factor that aggravates the crisis of the political system.Only a qualitative change that transforms the system from its very roots can resolve this crisis in favour of the people. In the rural economy, both unemployment and under employment exist side by side and the distinction between them is by no means sharp. In the rural areas, increasing population implies an increasing pressure on land. This pressure on land has resulted in an increase in the number of agriculturists, and this has largely contributed to the problem of unutilised labour or disguised unemployment in the agricultural sector. A large labour force accumulates around primary occupations.A general in elasticity of occupational structure prevents any large movement away from these in periods of slack demand. This leads to seasonal unemployment also. In short, the major feature of rural unemployment is the existence of unemployment in the form of disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment rather than open unemployment that exists in the urban areas. Idol worship, superstitions, Brahmanical or clergy superiority, all had to be fought against, for all the social practices finding sanction in religion. Yet a lot needs to be done to eradicate from the shreds a number of social evils still haunting our society.