Case Study of river pollution Essay

Introduction River pollution has caused loss of lives and imbalances in the ecosystem. People, industries and natural causes contribute to the pollution of rivers. This makes the waters unsafe for both animal and human consumption. Conversely, what happens upstream may not be knowledge to those at the lower part of the river. In consequence, governments have come up with laws and regulations to curtain practices that may render the water harmless. Irrespective of the rules, river pollution still takes place. This study employs literature in the quest of all factors that surround river pollution. The Ganga River This is a river that has its source at southern slopes of the Himalayan ranges which is due to glaciations at Gangotri. It is four thousand metres above sea level. The river flows through mountains for two hundred and fifty kilometers before descending on an elevation of two hundred and eighty eight metres above sea level. Mandakini and Alaknanda are its tributaries. This river carries the largest quantities of silt in the world which is deposited at its delta (Wohl, 2011). Pertaining to Wohl (2012), for a long time, this river has enjoyed its purity but due to human encroachment, it has become much polluted. Purity of river water is dependent on its velocity. The faster it flows, the higher the purity. This river has numerous obstructionsso as to be utilized for irrigation purposes. With the escalation in commerce and communications, many towns have developed along the river. This river is polluted industrial and domestic waste waters, mass bathing as a performance of rituals, defecation at its banks by people who come from low income families, carcasses belonging to animals, human copses both unburned and half burned thrown into the river, agricultural residues from fertilizer and pesticides brought about by surface run off of water and solid garbage that is thrown directly into the river by people (Agre, 2013). In consequence to this, according to Ghosh (2012), the Ganga river is now a poisonous rier which is highly comprised of pollutats. In line with this,  the pollutants also comprise of heavy metals which are capable of causing cancer to the population. Key Players Ministry of Environment and Forests This is the major body in India that deals with all environmental issues at the central government level. It is funds and exercises control over all over bodies and agencies conserve the environment. This body oversees and supervises all the activities and financial spending of these other bodies. The ministry has been urged by some other bodies to change its proposal so as to perk up on controlling pollution for this river (Gopal & Agarwal, 2003). The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) This is the body that deals with all issues pertaining to the environment and its pollution in India. This body undertook a study in the year 1981 through to 1982 which enable it to classify methods through which the river is utilized and the pollution load. The report generated by this river gave the genesis of the Ganga Action plan. With reference to this report, it was established that pollution was from pesticide and fertilizers employment in agriculture, industrial wastes, domestic wastes and land use methods. This information was the basis on which the Department of Environment framed a policy (Gopal & Agarwal, 2003). The Ganga Project Directorate (GPD) According to (Jain, 2009), this body was founded in 1985 under the National Ministry of Environment and Forest. The rationale behind the formation of this body was for it to become a secretariat to the CGA and also to be the Apex Nodal Agency for the entire implementation process. Moreover, this body was to synchronize activities of divergent ministries that take part in the administration of funds. This body was thought to be a single investment which would be able to achieve the goal of improving the quality of water. The plan for this body was to be executed by the state governments which would assume management and operational tasks. The work of GPD was to exercise overall supervision. This body was to remain intact until the  completion of the GAP. The goal of this entire plan was to dissuade the wastes generated in the urban dwellings away from the river. This was to be enabled by treating the wastes through recycling and reuse. For efficiency of this plan, it was found out that it was a research was indispensible. This was to ascertain the nature and sources of pollution. In addition, a research would give an underpinning on which the most applicable plan pertaining to the utilization of resources of the Ganga River for forestry, animal husbandry and agriculture would be established. Additionally, the demographic, human and cultural settlement along the banks of the river would be ascertained. This led to the involvement of fourteen universities (Singh, 2007). National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) This is a body that was set up in the year 2009 as a nodal agency to supervise the coordination of authorities, the planning, monitoring and financing of all activities that are directed towards the eradication of pollution and the conservation of the all rivers. It was chaired by the prime minister and was founded under the NGRBA Act (The Energy and Resource Institute Consultant, 2011). Its activities were supposed to be cover cleaning of rivers in all states. Ganga River was a main target by this body due to an international conference that dealt with environmental issues that had been held two years prior. Through this body, corporate and civil bodies as well as the citizens were supposed to participate with the ultimate goal of alleviating river pollution (Agre, 2013). Foreign Aids Some of the countries and foreign bodies made a decision of partnering wit the Indian government with the chief goal of rescuing this river which is in dire need for intervention. Among them is the Israeli government which was ready to which was in position to cooperate with IITs through provision of technological, knowledge (Nandan, 2012). Additionally, the Australian government also has the goal of contributing the salvation of the Ganga River through funding projects that were designed to thwart the river from industrial pollution trough the AusAID program. The country also pledged to  aid India with expertise who would aid with coming up with better sustainable and safe methods for the management and disposal of the waste generated b y the tanneries. Governance Challenges Challenges that that face the policy and mitigation plan is that, pollution is partly caused by municipal sewage which is a component of the government. Additionally, some of the industrial wastes were found to be extremely toxic and hard to manage. In the same context, the government set up regulations which would control pollution by the industrial sector. A setback that emerged is that some of the industries did not comply hence they were forced to close down. The government had to engage in legal tussles with such companies, a step that led to expenditures and time consumption. With regard to this, commercialization has elevated along the shores of this river. This has led to the establishment of many industries and tanneries along the river, which do not or do not adequately treat their effluent before discharging it to the river. The government has tried several ways even with employment of motivation to perk up on the owners to treat their effluent. This has not yielded much fruit as some of them have not incorporated the plan in their practice (Bharti, 2012). The governance and management of the projects was under the docket of the state governments. They partnered with the non governmental organizations and foreign aid agencies which introduced the conservation plan to new obstructions. This is because the non governmental organizations gave up with their own mandates which were supposed to be complied with by the state governments. This impeded the decision making process. This did not only result in to delays of the entire project but also gave room for justification of contractors’ shortcomings (Chatterjee, 2008). The government is trying to put up mechanisms and projects that will lead to alleviation of pollution to enable the water at least attain bathing quality. With reference to Nandan (2012), this action has faced a blow when some of the members of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) stepped down form the task. This is with the reason that they had found out  that the government was not straight forward with the goal of averting pollution with regard to the Ganga River. Value Conflicts There has been an issue whether to privatize the waters of the Ganga River. Most arguments have been against this. The arguments are based on the thoughts that water is an economic good and with regard to this, it should be utilized for commercial purposes. Some people suggested that the water from the river should be bottled and sold at the market. This is in line with the draft water policy which echoed that due to the economic value of water, it cannot be in provision for free. This means that the water still faces greater chances of overuse. Contested Knowledge Hindus believe that the waters of the Ganga River are holy hence they utilize the river has been employed for ritualistic activities since time in memorial. This has led to the misuse, pollution and overuse. Additionally, with the information about plastics and polythene not being biodegradable, in accordance to Governace Knowledge Center (2012), the high court asked the government to veto the utilization of the same in all cities that are situated along the Ganga River. The court also recommended that the state government should encourage the citizens to indulge in the usage of biodegradable products. This very same ordered the administration to proscribe sewage discharges into the river. The court in deed brought out very good suggestions but it would be a bit challenging the government to implement this because some of the products are packaged in plastic and polythene packages. If people were supposed to avert from the use of plastics and polythene, it certainly means that they do not employ these products in their daily uses. Water recycling has been employed as a chief way of dealing with the effluents generated industries and domestically. There are twenty nine thousand industries in Kapur among which four hundred are tanneries. In accordance with this large transnational companies charged with the task waste water treatment have been set up the ultimate truth is that not all  the water generated by the companies can be treated and used for agriculture year in year out. Subsequently, some of the water has to come back to the river. This is one factor that did not yield fruits in GAP 1 as pointed out by Bharti (2012). Competing Interests The condition of the river has grown from worse to worst. This is on the grounds that those who are in charge of policy and decision making for the whole reclamation process do not hinge on the river for their livelihoods (Thakkar, 2013). Whether the water is clean, or the river flows or not, their lives are not dependent on this. Those whose livelihoods are dependent on this river are nowhere near the position of making key decision. Corresponding to this, there has been prominence on pipes, pumps and novel plants but no strategies for the management and governance of the river regime. For the sake of operation, sewage plants have been established but they do not function to capacity. The quality of their services is poor and no one has been held responsible. This in turn contributes to more pollution. Pertaining to the Gang a campaigns, the river is not supposed to be attached to sewage but the reality on the ground is that the rive r is a sewage in itself in accordance with Thakkar ( 2013). The Ganga campaigns have emphasized on the impeding of the project works at Mandakini, Alaknanda and Bhagirathi tributaries but the government has commissioned the same. This is irrespective of the denial by the Forest Advisory Committee twice to validate the project. Additionally, the Wildlife Institute of India also recommended that the project should not be given a go ahead. Institutional Barriers The Ganga Action Plan which was set up in 1985 was supposed to come to a conclusion by the month of March in the year 1990. According to Gopal and Agarwal (2003), this deadline was not yielded to instead many other deadlines arose form this. To the year 2008, the project was still on and was nowhere near conclusion. This slow pace has been attributed to many factors. The government was found not to release sufficient funds for this project. This has led the in between stagnation of the project. This is  because the government puts the money designated for this project into other uses. GAP was to disseminate its duties by establishing river fronts, enhancing Ghats used for bathing, electric crematoria, dealing with toile complexes, setting up treatment plans for the industrial effluents, laying down treatment plants for sewages and coming up with effective mechanisms for handling municipal wastes that accounted for seventy fie percent of Ganga river pollution. The ministry of environment and forest did not set up a timeline and deadlines for submission of reports about the undertakings of GAP. The court had set up deadlines but this ministry had no strategies of ensuring compliance to the same (Gopal & Agarwal, 2003). GAP itself could not account for its expenditures with reference to Agre (2013). Some of the funds had been misappropriate and most often work had not been accomplished. This was so both at the national level and also by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD). In accordance to finances, the stated complained that inadequacy of funds had been the stumbling block that had inhibited them from achieving the goals of this project. On the contrary, the funds that had been issued by the central government had not been effectively and faithfully utilized on the project. Conclusion Ganga River has been encroached and this has lead to extinction of some animal and plant species. In addition, human lives especially for the poor who solely depend on the river for their water uses are rendered susceptible. The government needs to explore its strategies from a serious point of view. All the projects set should be monitored to meet their completion in the set time. All the bodies associated, the people and the industries should carry out activities that perk up on the life of this river. References Agre, P. (2013). River Ganga in dire state of pollution and governance affairs. SERI News , 7 (10), 42-50. Bharti, S. (2012, July 31). Strengthen participatory urban governance to prevent pollution in Ganga at Kanpur and recognise the need to look for decentralized solutions. India Waterportal , pp. 36-42. Chatterjee, S. (2008). Water resources, conservation and management. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Ghosh, A. (2012, October 17). Ganga is now a deadly source of cancer, study says. The Times of India , pp. 23-24. Gopal, K. & Agarwal. (2003). River pollution in India and its management. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation. Governace Knowledge Center. (2012, December 7). Governace Knowledge Center. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from Allahabad High Court asks Up government to regulate pollution in river Ganga: indiagovernance.gov.in/news.php?id=1861 Jain, A. (2009). River pollution : regeneration and cleaning. New Delhi: A.P.H Publishing Corporation. Nandan, T. (2012, March 14). Israel ready to help India check Ganga pollution. Governance , pp. 22-17. Singh, L. (2007). River Pollution. New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing Corporation. Thakkar, H. (2013, June 5). The Plight of Severely Polluted Ganges River. Epoch Times , pp. 15-17. The Energy and Resource Institute Consultant. (2011). Environmental and Social Analysis. New Delhi: N ational Ganga River Basin Authority. Wohl, E. (2011). A World of Rivers: Environmental Change on Ten of the World’s Great Rivers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Wohl, E. (2012, March 5). The Ganga-Eternally Pure? Global Water Forum , pp. 27-30.

Imprisonment In This Way For The Gas English Literature Essay

Imprisonment: it can take many signifiers, traditional imprisonment in a penitentiary, a non actual signifier of feeling imprisoned by being impoverished, and the actual signifier, a concentration cantonment. But the signifier that is rather misunderstood and undertaken is imprisonment in literature. Imprisonment in literature can germinate and stem out so many different ways. You could depict the life of a concentration cantonment victim, to a immature male child trapped by his parents in his place, or a immature adult male populating up in trees. This signifier of imprisonment is the most unostentatious signifier of seeing imprisonment, although many plants of literature show us how their characters are imprisoned. Its dry how a adult male sitting in a prison will read a fresh, or aggregation of short narratives, who might non be in the same state of affairs as him, but understand what is traveling on to him, that imprisoned supporter. Tadeusz Borowski and Italo Calvino have master fully incorporated and portrayed the motive and subject of imprisonment into their plants This Way For The Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen and Baron In The Trees severally, along with enticing and elaborate enunciation, their plants make for great literature. This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman, is written by a Polish Holocaust subsister Tadeusz Borowski, and is the rubric piece and first narrative of his aggregation of short narratives. Borowski was non one of the Jews, but a poet who suffered from depression. For this ground, the Nazis had sufficient ground to confine him at Auschwitz and Dachau because he was considered a political captive. Borowski ‘s positions toward his fellow captives and the Nazis were reasonably different than usually seen by concentration cantonment subsisters, chiefly because he was non Judaic. Harmonizing to Karen Bernarda, â€Å" it was n't that Borowski ‘s viewed his captivity in any more positive footings than the Jews with who he was imprisoned with, but he does non look to be able to divide the captives and the Nazis into scoundrels and victims. † In the narrative, This Way For The Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, the storyteller Tadek, has become a member of a group called â€Å" Can ada † , which was responsible for rummaging through the Jews single properties in hunt of any concealed hoarded wealths they can salvage. Tadek, nevertheless, does in fact know that most or all these people coming off the trains are traveling to be sent to the gas Chamberss, and yet decides non state them this. During this clip, nevertheless, Tadek feels profound indignity about his occupation, but he besides believes the Jews are the 1s responsible for their imprisonment in the concentration cantonments, and besides feels it was the heartsick Jews who have destined him to experience ashamed of himself. Borowski says, â€Å" [ aˆÂ ¦ ] I am ferocious, merely ferocious with these people-furious because I must be here because of them. I feel no commiseration. I am non regretful they ‘re traveling to the gas chamber. Curse them all! I could throw myself at them, crush them with my fists. ( Borowski 116 ) † The unjust statement that Tadek is seeking to demo is that even the concentration cantonment captives who worked for the Nazis suffered every bit much as the Jews did, even though they were a*llowed to last. Bu*t they were besides forced to wo*rk for the Nazis which was, for Borowski, even more dehumanizing than being allowed to decease. Captive workers were forced to transport dead Jews to the crematory, every bit good as informant countless other sickening and ugly Acts of the Apostless. Not merely is Tadek imprisoned physically, he is imprisoned mentally every bit good. Just the sheer fact that person is running your life, and non allowing you do your ain determinations or picks, makes you experience as though you are an captive slave. If you were non mentally capable of taking this into consideration it was really improbable that you would hold survived in the Holocaust. It took a great trade of mental and physical strength to acquire through the imprisonment techniques of the Na zi government. Set in the peaceable vale of Ombrosa during the period of rational and societal agitation, Italo Calvino ‘s The Baron in the Trees relates the narrative of Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo , along with Cosimo ‘s brother Biagio, whom is the storyteller, provides the history and long standing tenseness of their household. Cosimo ‘s male parent, Baron Arminio, married the General of the War of Succession, Corradina. The Baron, who is â€Å" half-mad with a malicious run † , seems to mistreat his kids continuously ; and while Corradina is contending in the war on horseback it finally causes the kids to run rampantly, go brainsick, and finally non listen to their male parent. One twenty-four hours, when the Baron invites the Courts of France to tiffin at midday, Battista arrives with her new Gallic culinary art repast, snails. When Arminio forces Cosimo to eat the snails, it comes evident to Cosimo and the reader that he can no longer manage his male parent ‘s maltr eatment and shouting. Fling from the tabular array and ramping out of the house, Cosimo uses his ability to mount up a unrecorded oak tree in the backyard. In contrast to This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman, Cosimo escaped the imprisonment and rough jokes of his male parent in order to populate a better life. However, Cosimo was come ining into another captive life style, one in the trees. Bing that Cosimo is imprisoned in the trees, he is deprived of the points, pleasances, and chances that lie merely beneath him on the land, This would take one to the idea that your pick will pin down you, whether it be an experiential pick or non. Your pick will take to a different way, a way that has an unpredictable hereafter. Possibly an captive life style is merely inevitable. Possibly with every determination you make you are come ining more and more into the imprisonment of your ain life. Unknowing what will go on in the hereafter, Cosimo jumps out of the trees and into the hot air b alloon, he now becomes imprisoned within that hot air balloon for an unknown sum of clip. Harmonizing to Jessica Page Morrell, â€Å" Whatever your themes-abandonment, loneliness, anarchy, justness, the dangers of seduction-the scene can heighten these constructs. † In This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentleman, Tadeusz Borowski provides the grotesque, inhumane, scene of the Holocaust in order to supply a double penetration to the life of the Judaic and non-Jewish captives in the concentration cantonments. Borowski gives us a brief thought of how stray these cantonments were, and how he himself was isolated. Morrell states that â€Å" geographics and conditions are used most frequently as devices for isolation, † and being that these concentration cantonments were so far from any type of civilisation it is an first-class scene and topographic point for the short narratives. Right off Borowski starts his first short narrative with, â€Å" All of us walk around naked. The delousing is eventually over, and our stripy suits are back from the armored combat vehi cles of Cyclone B solution [ aˆÂ ¦ ] the heat is intolerable. The cantonment has been sealed off tight ( Borowski 29 ) . † This is a premier illustration of how scene enhanced the subject of imprisonment all while demoing the inhumane and unethical patterns used by the Nazis. The scene of Baron In The Trees is unvaried throughout the novel, but the chief scene would be in the trees. From the trees, Cosimo explained to his brother, he could see the Earth more visibly. Free from the dull modus operandi of an earthbound being, the Baron had antic escapades with plagiarists, adult females and undercover agents, and still had clip to read, and survey. Cosimo ‘s imprisonment, was non bad at all times, he got to bask some of the pleasance that people on the land have the award of making. The scene of Baron In The Trees non merely enhances the subject of the novel, but it besides develops a sense of topographic point that plays â€Å" an synergistic facet of the fictional novel that saturates temper and intending all while doing the reader rely on ocular and centripetal mentions ( Morrell 171 ) . † Harmonizing to the Merriam-Webster dictionary imprisonment agencies, to set in or as if in prison ; confine, and literature means inventive or originative authorship. When put together, the thoughts are implausible ; the writer takes the reader into a whole other universe. This Way For The Gas, Ladies and Gentelmen and Baron in The Trees, are two first-class plants of literature which portray the imprisonment of their several characters finely. Word Count: 1,454

Special Pops Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Special Pops - Research Paper Example TSBVI is a public school that is helped by the state. It provides special education that is designed especially to the specific needs of their students. The school’s vision, mission and philosophy have been discussed all throughout the paper too. The story of success of one of its students has been stated and reflected. This paper defined the meaning of special education, its importance and some of its history. Special Education Education is something that each one should have or possess. It is actually one of the treasures that no one could ever steal in one’s life. Living without education is hard. Uneducated people will somehow feel like living in a place where everything is not so sure. The only basis of their decisions will only be their experiences. Without education, explanations in one’s head are not enough. One of the keys to live a life to the full is to have an explanation for everything. However, what if the world tries to stop the pursuance of it? Wh at if circumstances get along the way? People who are with disabilities should not be boxed inside their house where they are living in a new world which is then created by their own mind. The world where they and should be belong is here. They should be part of the society where they would be provided with the similar things that a normal one has. Moreover, when it comes to education, the right to have it should be given to them. But what type of education should a student with disabilities have? It is the special education. YouDictionary.com (nod) defines special education as, â€Å"a form of learning provided to students with exceptional needs, such as students with learning disabilities or mental challenges.† Addition to that, the site also defines it as having â€Å"educational programs and practices designed for students, as handicapped or gifted students, whose mental ability, physical ability, emotional functioning, etc. requires special teaching approaches, equipmen t, or care within or outside a regular classroom.† To discuss some of its history, specialednews.com (n.d.) discussed that, â€Å"The contemporary history of special education as we know it today began after World War II. It is at this time that advocacy groups formed such as The United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Civil Rights Movement. These groups began to advocate universal education of all children--even those with special needs. In the 1960’s, under President Kennedy, more schools granted access to children with handicaps. With advocacy and more children who had disabilities attending schools, the Education of all Handicapped Children Act was established. Also known as Public Law 94-142, it states that the federal government will support states in â€Å"protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youths, with disabilities and their families. PL 94-142 requires schools to provide â€Å"free, appropriate public education to students with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders.† Schools have to provide the most â€Å"least restrictive environment† possible. This is achieved through inclusion, mainstreaming, segregation, and exclusion.† In Texas, Mauro (n.d.) said that children who are three years old or older and are in need of special type of assistance in education can

Assignmenteconomic theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignmenteconomic theory - Assignment Example On the other hand the government will maintain monopolies whereby the cost of producing certain products are too expensive example the rail way industry. When negative externalities occur the government has a role to play in resolving the problem example pollution, the government also has a role to play in maintaining a competitive market in the economy and eliminate monopolies and oligopolies in order to achieve optimal pricing of goods and services in the economy. Income discrimination occurs when there are wage differences that are as a result of differences in ethnicity, gender, age and race, the government role is to eliminate wage discrimination through the implementation of policies, the existence of competitive markets also eliminate the problem of income distribution and therefore the government will encourage competition in order to eliminate income discrimination. An example of income discrimination in the US is that studies show that whites are paid higher wage rates than other races in the US. The role of the government in this case is to encourage competition and implementation of policies that discourage discrimination. This policy measure is appropriate given that income discrimination leads to the marginalization of certain groups.

Regulation of Fast Food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regulation of Fast Food - Research Paper Example The author of the paper states that the preparation of fast food also may involve using high amounts of oil and unhealthy ingredients, which thus raise the question as to whether the consumption of fast food, should be under regulation or control of the government. Moreover, many ingredients used in the preparation of fast food are hardly worth being used in human food since they are extremely unhealthy and unfit. Research (Reynolds, pp 40-55) carried out has shown that by the year 2050, one in every three Americans will be suffering from diabetes due to high consumption of fast food (Reynolds, pp 43-58). Many efforts and plans have previously been under action in order to control the consumption of such meals. Some diseases included in the never-ending list of diseases caused by extensive intake of fast food include cholesterol, cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes. Additionally, it causes people to become overweight which in turn increases health insurance costs. Considering the si tuation mentioned above, it is thus quite important that the government take some action to provide a healthy lifestyle for its people and nation. This is because, as the head of the state or country, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that it guides the people following it, on the straight path and leads them towards what is correct (Allen & Albala, pp. 88-97). This is because it is the job of the government to step in and control matters when the public fails to do so. Of course, it is impossible to completely ban fast food restaurants or the consumption of fast food either, but surely the consumption of such meals can be controlled or monitored. This can be done by limiting the number of fast food restaurants operating in the country and issuing cards to every citizen having the ability to consume fast food. Thus, every time the person consumes fast food a check mark can be put and thus, their intake of such foods can easily be under regulation. Children at scho ol are seen mostly surviving on fast food, and parents are not able to do much about it since they themselves are so busy with work and other responsibilities. Parents themselves consume excessive amounts of fast food and their children just follow them in doing so (Allen & Albala, pp. 105-132). Now, if the government will not take control of the situation then who will take it is the question. On the contrary, there are many people who do not agree with my stance and believe that the government should stay out of their business and let them lead their own lives and raise their children their own method. They believe that there should be freedom to eat what one wants and that no one can be stopped from doing wrong things since they all live in a free country and have certain right s that should not be taken away from them. Most people want to be free to choose what they eat and do with their life and believe it is surely not the business for the government to keep a track of what th ey are eating and in what quantity (Allen & Albala, pp. 100-122). These people believe that issues that are more important need attention from the government at this time, as compared with focusing on people’s consumption of fast food.

Nurse management in the hospital setting Assignment

Nurse management in the hospital setting - Assignment Example With diversity in ideas, there is assurance that the final decision will be brainstormed upon and will be the best. Team works also add the value of improving communication among the employees as well as getting them to know each other (West, 2012). The first strategy to create a positive team climate is to provide the team members with freedom to be creative and work without maximum supervision. This will not only allow creativity but will facilitate more ideas to be provided and more brainstorming without members being nervous or afraid. The other strategy is to mix the team members according to their differing abilities and personality. These strategies are bound to ensure to teams spend less time addressing personal issues or arguing and more doing their assignments. Finally the other strategy to a positive team outcome is to set deadline on the assignment or project. The deadline will ensure that they do not engage in unnecessary activities but rather just focus on the work at hand (West, 2012). The first strategy is accommodation. This involves one party in the conflict allowing the other party to satisfy their concerns and neglect their own as a way to end the conflict peacefully. This is a selfless conflict management strategy. The other strategy to manage conflict is avoidance. This involves avoiding taking any action at all about the conflict or even paying any attention to the conflict at hand. Compromising is another conflict management strategy which involves attempt to solve the conflict by finding ways to partially solve the conflict and satisfy both parties but without completely satisfying any party. This only manages in quelling the conflict for a while. Lastly is collaboration which involves trying to make each party understand the concerns of the other party in question as way to find mutual solution and promote understanding. If this technique succeeds, then the conflict is managed for longer periods or even ended

Pyschotropic medications used in schizoprenia patients Term Paper

Pyschotropic medications used in schizoprenia patients - Term Paper Example Many with schizophrenia are believed not to be able to live a normal productive life. Many with schizophrenia are unemployed because of the negative stereotypes that come along with the illness, and lack of support inside the work place. Many who are employed are often employed in low paying jobs. Many people who have symptoms of it suffering a will develop severe depression. The depression comes from the isolation someone with schizophrenia has to face. When someone is first diagnosed with schizophrenia, and is put on medication the person will begin to feel normal once again. When the person feels normal, the person might stop taking the medication. This is a problem that many people who have schizophrenia, and many of the caregivers of people with schizophrenia have to face every day. Opening Schizophrenia is a mental illness affecting more people every year. The use of anti psychotics also called psycho tropic medications are used to treat someone with the illness. The illness us ually develops in the late teens, and early twenties for young men, and as late as the thirties for women. Because there are so many forms of the disease there is no one treatment that works best in the treatment of schizophrenia. When someone is first diagnosed with schizophrenia, the person will exhibit symptoms like delusions. The delusions are very real to somebody with schizophrenia. ... The patient would stop taking the medication, because the patient does not think the patient is sick. Body There are many types of psycho tropic drugs used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. Some of these drugs are no longer in use. There have been many drugs introduced since the 1980s. When someone is exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia, the doctors will first attempts to control the schizophrenia by using only one type of anti psychotic medication. In the 1950s there were only four â€Å"typical† medications used to treat the effect’s schizophrenia. A medication that is considered â€Å"typical† would be Thorozine, Haldol, Perphenazine, Fluphenazine. These medications were very useful for somebody who had schizophrenia. Oftentimes many patients who took this medication were able to live normal, and productive life as members of society. Many people in society will shut out someone who has schizophrenia. The reason many people shut out people who have schi zophrenia is from an overwhelming fear that people with schizophrenia are very dangerous people. With the help of the medication there are many people living with schizophrenia, who work regular jobs, and live a normal life as a member of society. When someone begins treatment for schizophrenia, the doctor will determine what type of symptom the person with schizophrenia is having. There are two types of classifications for medication to treat someone living with schizophrenia. There are the above listed â€Å"typical† medications that someone can be treated with. This was the only type of medication available to treat schizophrenia, up until the mid-1980s. There was no treatment for schizophrenia in a till the mid-1950s. In the mid-1950s the â€Å"typical†

Can you help me to choice one, thanks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Can you help me to choice one, thanks - Essay Example The perceived relations do not carry any universality or necessity. This means that certain phenomena are not related to certain causes. This paper examines Hume’s theory that there is no self, and certain effects are not related to certain causes. According to Hume, impression or sensation are not related to one another; therefore, they do not have in them anything necessary or universal (Chaffee 234). The effects are only chances, and nothing is certain. This implies that particular effects are not because of particular causes. Causality depends on mere belief or instinct. Nobody is aware of any certainty, uniformity or regularity in the working of nature. Therefore, everything becomes a matter of probability (Chaffee 234). Hume further argues that people are limited to images and perceptions. If people cannot determine the exact cause of a particular effect, then they can also not be sure that an external object caused it (Chaffee 237). Although most people are accustomed to believing that there is a casual relationship between objects and perception, there is no valid proof that justifies the relationship between objects and perception. In summary, in accordance to Hume’s interpretation of freedom of the will, there is continuity of self-unconsciousness. He argues that people should be responsible for their actions, as the effects of their impulses within. He further says that metaphysics of reality does not exist. Nobody knows anything that is real in itself, including the world or God. Therefore, there is no

Ethics of New Yorks Smoking Ban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics of New Yorks Smoking Ban - Essay Example The freedom of the smoker is not impinged in balance with the rights of the other patrons, as the smoker can go outside and all are free. Rawls - Ethical. If you are a smoker, you are negatively impacted and would find this unethical. Given the fact that the majority of people are non-smokers, you (PJ) are most likely to be a non-smoker and not want to breathe second-hand smoke; ergo, the ban is ethical because it benefits you. Kant - Ethical. The categorical imperative is the health of the people. It is universally agreed that smoking is harmful to the health of both the smoker and the breather of second-hand smoke. The right thing, or moral principle in keeping the health of the people as the prime objective, is to ban smoking. Egoists - Ethical/Unethical. If you are a smoker, the ban is unethical because it does not allow you to engage in your preferred behavior. If you are a non-smoker, the ban is ethical because you don't have to breathe smoke. The two forms are Act and Rule. In Act Utilitarianism, an action determines what is moral, and general rules can be distilled from the act. For example, if two people were in a burning building-say an elderly man and a small child-and you could only rescue one, you would rescue the child because she would have the higher potential for happiness in the future; the rule being that the higher degree of happiness wins out. In Rule Utilitarianism, a principle determines what is moral, and individual actions follow the general rules of morality. If the rule says that homicide is wrong, for example, killing Hitler in 1933 would still be wrong even though it would lead to the prevention of millions of deaths. 2. What do economists mean by the "declining marginal utility of money" This is a concept which is fairly intuitive. It means that a specific amount of money has proportional importance relative to the wealth of an individual. The amount of $ 5,000.00 given to a specific person would be an unimaginable amount of money for a welfare mother, a nice bonus for a mid-level corporate manager, and completely irrelevant for Warren Buffet. Conversely, the loss of $ 1,000.00 would be very painful for a college student, somewhat annoying to the average attorney, and unnoticed by Bill Gates. 3. Robert Nozick presents his entitlement theory as a function of three basic principles. What are these three basic principles These principles relate to the holdings or possessions of an individual and that person's justifiable right (entitlement) to have them. The Transfer Principle says that, for any particular item, a person is entitled to have it if they properly obtained it from someone who had the right to transfer it. If I purchased a watch from a retail store that had honestly acquired it, the transfer is valid. If I bought the same watch from an individual on the street who had stolen it from its owner, the transfer is invalid. Under the Acquisition Principle, a person who has something that was justly obtained is entitled to that item. In the watch example, my purchase from the retailer is just and I have the right to wear the watch; the street deal is invalid

Social research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Social research methods - Essay Example Different types of statistics can be used to serve different purposes of the research. While descriptive statistics can be used to describe the data, statistical model can be used to forecast data. Researches that are aimed at finding relationship between variables can make use of statistical techniques such as correlation and regression. Difference between Descriptive and Inferential statistics, purpose of each and applications Descriptive statistics: Descriptive statistics can be defined as the set of tools and techniques that can be used to describe the quantitative features of a collection of data (Mann, 1995). The main purpose of using descriptive statistics is to summarize a data set. Statistics such as measures of central tendency, measures of variation, graphs, and bar charts etc are examples of descriptive statistics. The three most important types of descriptive statistics are: measures of central tendency, dispersion and distribution. While distribution is an indication of the frequency of specific values of a range of data variables, measures of central tendency such as mean and median are aimed at finding the center of the entire data set (Levin and Rubin, 2007). Measures of dispersions such as range or standard deviation are an indication of the spread of data set. Inferential statistics: Inferential statistics are the set of tools and techniques that can be used to draw inferences about a population from a small sample of data (Lane, 2011). The various examples of inferential statistics techniques include t-test, Analysis of Variance, Correlation analysis, regression analysis, factor and cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis etc. There are two types of inferential statistics: estimation testing and hypothesis testing. While in estimation testing, the confidence interval of a particular parameter is calculated using the sample, hypothesis testing is generally used to compare certain parameters in two or more samples or comparing a sa mple parameter to a specific value. A hypothesis can be defined as an assumption about a population parameter (Stattrek, 2011). The null hypothesis can be defined as the hypothesis of no difference or the hypothesis of status quo (Bajpai, 2009). The alternate possibility is called the alternate hypothesis. Hypothesis testing can be used by researchers to test certain theories that they want to prove. Frequency table and bar chart a. Ethnic origin Ethnic origin (5 groups) Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid White 3746 91.1 91.5 91.5 Mixed race 35 .9 .9 92.3 Asian 179 4.4 4.4 96.7 Black 87 2.1 2.1 98.8 Other 48 1.2 1.2 100.0 Total 4095 99.6 100.0 Missing -8 16 .4 Total 4111 100.0 Table 1: Frequency table for ethnic origin As can be seen from the frequency table, the most common ethnic group is White. The next highest frequency of ethnic group is Asian with 4.4% of the data items. Another way of representing the data is using a bar chart. The graph below shows the bar chart for the data set: Figure 1: Bar chart for ethnic origin b. Education level The frequency table for the variable education level is shown below: Education Level - 2000 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Higher Degree 147 3.6 4.6 4.6 First Degree 450 10.9 14.0 18.6 Teaching qualification 47 1.1 1.5 20.0 Other higher qualification

University of Phoenix Scavenger Hunt Essay Example for Free

University of Phoenix Scavenger Hunt Essay Which three reviewing services are available to students through the Center for Writing Excellence? For a quick check, you can use WritePoint, which will do a more thorough Word-style grammar and spelling check. For more specific questions and comments, you can use the Tutor review which gives more detailed explanations and a much more thorough check. Also, the Plagiarism checker is nice for making sure you are following correct citation rules and not pulling too much information from one source. Which resource in the Tutorials Guides section of the Center for Writing Excellence offers tips about how to format a paper? * APA format and Style checker What are the University of Phoenix’s suggested resources for academic writing formatting and grammar guides? (Hint: This information is located in the Center for Writing Excellence) * Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association * University Library 1. What are the three major article databases found in the University Library? * EBSCOhost; Thompson Gale PowerSearch and ProQuest. Name three specialized article databases in the University Library. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Psych Articles, Emerald and tons and tons of others. What link would you click to ask a question of the University of Phoenix Librarian? The â€Å"Ask a Librarian† tab in the other resources. * Course Information 1. From your student Web site, how do you access your reading assignments for this course? From the â€Å"Materials† tab at the top of the screen. What chapter from the text Keys to College Studying is part of the reading assignment for Week Four of this course? Chapter 3. Where on your student Web site will you be able to find your schedule and course grades for all courses completed to date? From the â€Å"Grades† tab. Learning Teams 1. What six documents are contained in the â€Å"Toolkit Essentials† section of the Learning Team Toolkit? * Learning Team Handbook, Online Campus Learning Team Handbook, Learning Team Log, Learning Team Evaluation, Learning Team Charter, and Guide to Completing the University of Phoenix Learning Team Charter. * According to the Learning Team Toolkit section, â€Å"Why Learning Teams? † what are the four essential functions filled by Learning Teams that are especially beneficial to working adult learners? * It can make assignments better, it is a place for learning and maintaining new knowledge through other viewpoints, it gives a place to share information and is a community where people can learn how other people are handling school and life. Student Services 1. What is the phone number for University of Phoenix technical support? (Hint: Use the â€Å"Help† button in the top right corner of the page. ) * 1-877-832-4867 Where can you find information about who to contact for questions regarding student disabilities? * On the â€Å"University Diability Services† tab. What three National Testing Programs does the University of Phoenix award credit for? * DANTES, CLEP and Excelsior Name one form of misconduct in the Student Code of Conduct. (Hint: The Student Code of Conduct is located in the Academic Catalog). * Plagarism in any form.

Philosophy - Free

Philosophy Free Will vs Determinism Essay The dialogue between philosophers over the existence of free will versus the inevitability of determinism is a debate that will always exist. The discussion centers around the true freedom of humans to think and act according to their own judgment versus the concept that humans are intrinsically bound by the physical laws of the universe. Before I enter this chicken and the egg debate I need to quantify my terms: Free will is defined by the great philosopher, St. Thomas Aquinas as â€Å"vis electiva† or free choice. It is the ability of man to contemplate and judge the effects of the actions he is about to take. †¦But man acts from judgment, because by his apprehensive power he judges that something should be avoided or sought. But because this judgment, in the case of some particular act, is not from a natural instinct but from some act of comparison in the reason, therefore he acts from free judgment and retains the power of being inclined to various things. † (Aquinas. Suma Theologica) Determinism is a complex notion but is best described by David Hume as the notion that something cannot come from nothing and that all actions have causes preceding them. I conceive that nothing taketh beginning from itself, but from the action of some other immediate agent without itself. And that therefore, when first a man hath an appetite or will to something, to which immediately before he had no appetite nor will, the cause of his will, is not the will itself, but something else not in his own disposing. So that whereas it is out of controversy, that of voluntary actions the will is the necessary cause, and by this which is said, the will is also caused by other things whereof it disposeth not, it followeth, that voluntary actions have all of them necessary causes, and therefore are necessitated. (Hume. Liberty and Nessessity. ) Philosophy and world religion alike were born of the same origins. Each of the two ancient disciplines arose from the quest for the answers to life’s ominous questions. These human questions, archetypical to people of all geographic locations; where did we come from; why are we here; where do we go when we die; unite us as a race. It is no coincidence that each religion and theology from all four corners of the earth tackles these black holes of human logic. Each religion carves their own individual explanations of these unanswerable questions into their core belief systems, each one centrally different than others. However, they all share one common thought; each shares a belief in an afterlife determined by the choices made in life. Free will is the common denominator in all world religions, because all share the essential concept of morality. The widespread acceptance of the concept of morality implies that there is a choice to be had at each and every juncture or life. The choice comes from recognition of good and evil. For good and evil to exist, then there has to be the ability to decipher between the two and also decide to accept one over the other. The existence of morality alone proves that free will exists, because without the freedom to choose right or wrong in any given situation there would be no qualitative measure of the â€Å"rightness† or â€Å"wrongness† of ones actions. David Hume comments on the origin of morality and its place in our everyday decision making processes, â€Å"Only when you turn your reflexion into your own breast, and find a sentiment of disapprobation† (Hume.  Treatise of Human Nature). In other words, there are no outside stimuli that can decipher good from evil; the line can only be drawn by internal thought. Hume was a naturalist in that his vision of the world and therefore stance of philosophy was based directly through the experiences of the senses. His stance on many issues directly originated from his ability to experience it with the five senses, and on the subject of morality he takes exception. Even he recognizes the existence of morality in everyday life, even though it cannot be explained through the lens of the senses. It would seem that morality’s acceptance must therefore prove that free will exists, but there is one essential school of thought yet to weigh on this topic; science. Science was the latest bloomer of the three major disciplines of existential explanation and in the post modern era is becoming more and more popular. As the world becomes further secularized and the reaches of scientific logic continue to exceed their grasp, many of the world’s intellectuals identify â€Å"truth† on a scientific scale. Science does not support the theory of morality, because it can’t be proven to exist. The notion of â€Å"free-will†, something which world religion and philosophies alike recognize as a fundamental part of our human anatomy, is called into question in a few simple and logical ways. Science supports the theory of determinism as the only logical explanation of the unfolding of the actions of our lives. First off, science has recently developed the discipline known to us as physics, in which the laws of the universe have been defined. In the short time in which humans have been graced by the scientific understanding of the laws of the universe, human kind has yet to fully step back and contemplate the magnitude of this discovery. In generations past, humans believed that we were made special with â€Å"free will†, but now we know that like all things in the universe we are subject to the physical laws. This is a huge step forward in rational thinking because it allows us to understand that our previously God given concept of â€Å"free will† was really a result of a lack of understanding of the deterministic laws of the universe. For instance a law as simple and commonly accepted as â€Å"gravity† challenges the idea of free will. Gravitational pull determines that no matter the size of an object, once separate from the surface of the earth will be dragged back down at the same force every time. This is a simple concept that we take for granted, but it works in the free will v. determinism argument. We are ruled by gravity, and therefore all of our lives activities answer to it. We can’t choose to jump off a building and float in the air because we’ll be pulled back to the ground to our imminent deaths. We can’t choose to stay younger and keep our skin tight to our faces because gravity’s long-term effect causes our skin to droop down towards the ground. The choices I just listed may seem farfetched to some, however, if we examine the notion that we have â€Å"free will† in the empirical sense of the word we see that not all of our decisions are controlled by us, and that we fall victim to the tyrannical rule of the physical laws of the universe. We aren’t truly â€Å"free† to create our own actions in life. Albert Einstein offers a particularly apt synopsis, â€Å"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper. (Albert Einstein) The rule of physical law aside, which hinders us from truly being â€Å"free† to choose our own actions in life, is a much more simple scientific argument that dispels the notion of free will. For example: Say a 20 year old man murders another man in cold blood. They have no affiliation, no prior knowledge of who each other is, or reason to dislike each other. Man A walks up to random Man B and shoots and kills him. Was this action of Man A a result of â€Å"free will†? To examine the notion fully you need to look at his action coming from two sources. Either Man A was born with the moral flaw to allow himself to find killing another human acceptable, or that Man A was influenced during the course of his life by interactions and actions of others and came to that conclusion based on his own experience. There is no other explanation for Man A to willingly choose to open fire on Man B and kill him. If we look at the first option, Man A’s natural moral compass was skewed, allowing for him to conceive the notion that killing another is okay. This speaks to the determinant nature of our chemical makeup. Its possible his DNA made a mistake coding somewhere and he developed overtime and understood that killing another is â€Å"wrong† or maybe that his entire sense of â€Å"right from wrong† was skewed inside his mind. This would lead Man A to lead a life normally on the outside, and yet without regard for consequence, open fire on another man and kill him as easily as he could have held a door for him. This is the idea that he naturally had the capacity to kill, and that he could not control it. Eventually one of his animalistic impulses would finally stick and he’d be in the right place at the right time, and that it was only a matter of time until he killed someone. If you don’t subscribe to that theory and believe that he chose to kill Man B that day, try and consider that the results will still be pre-determined. If Man A killed Man B due to his choice, then his own â€Å"free will† and judgment that he finds reprehensible to kill another man can’t be attributed to truly â€Å"free† will of choice. Not every human kills others as part of their natural lifestyle, as they might kiss or mate with another. In fact a very small percentage of people in the world murder other humans, and this begs the question of why? What makes this small percentage of people â€Å"choose† to kill another person? The answer is that if they choose to do it, and they weren’t previously miswired so as said in the prior paragraph, then they must have been influenced by their surroundings. When Man A was six years old he didn’t choose to murder Man B, the events of his life led him to make this decision about whether or not murder was okay. This is yet another reason that he wasn’t truly free to choose; outside influence hinders the ability to choose freely. Whether he was abused, molested, lost a loved one, or just plain fed up with the monotony of everyday life in society, something pushed him over the edge. Something allowed for him to justify his actions; that something is outside influence. This deterministic train of thought explains why people do what they do, but not when. What makes us actually hit the point of no return, or when will the right opportunity hit the right mood leading the right action? (In our example the murder of Man B) The paradox between â€Å"free will† and â€Å"determinism† exists because of the influence of the different schools of thought. If one aligns his personal truth based on religious fervor, then an understanding of â€Å"free will† can exist logically and on the other hand if one bases his logic around science then â€Å"determinism† seems to be the only answer. So where does that leave philosophy, the great bridge between the two polarized schools of thought? It leaves philosophy somewhere in the middle, examining the validity of both sides of the argument, and helping to shed light on the debate over whether or not we truly are free to make a choice or if we are merely floating along the currents of the universe. Personally, I’m lost somewhere in the middle, hoping that the answer to this time-old question will be revealed.

Absolut Vodka Brand Positioning

Absolut Vodka Brand Positioning Absolut Vodka is one of the worlds selling premium spirits brands and achieved sales of 10.7 million nine-liter cases in 2007. Every bottle of Absolut Vodka is produced in Ahus, southern Sweden. Although the brand is the largest premium vodka selling in 126 countries, its market share is threatened by the constant growth of Bacardi and Smirnoff. In the turbulent environment Absolut Vodka facing nowadays, the organization needs to constantly search for ways to innovate and to meet the changing customer demands in order to maintain or strengthen the position of their products. Absolut Vodka, one of the most popular super-premium brands in the world, is the strongest brand for VS Spirits. Now, the company seeks to maximize its brands market share through constant innovation and adopting new marketing and distribution strategies. 2. Product Every bottle of Absolut Vodka is produced in Ahus, in southern Sweden where the wheat that gives Absolut Vodka its smooth grain character grows. Absolut Vodka is produced from winter wheat, a hardy wheat grain that centuries of experience have shown to produce superior vodka. Absolut Vodka uses a process called continuous distillation, introduced in Sweden in 1879 by The Vodka King Lars Olsson Smith (Pernod Ricard, 2009). The water it uses comes from our own deep well. Producing its vodka in one location using local raw materials gives VS Absolut Spirits complete control of all stages of production and ensures that every drop meets the companys high quality standard. Unlike other vodkas, the Absolut Vodka flavors are made by blending the vodka with only natural flavors and no sugar is added. In fact, Absolut is as pure as vodka can be. Still, that purity has a certain taste; rich, full-bodied and complex, yet smooth and mellow with a distinct character of grain, followed by a hint of dried fruit (2009). Absolut Vodka currently comprises its products within many flavors, such as vanilia, raspberri, apeach, ruby red, pears, and mango. All Absolut Vodka products can also be enjoyed neat or mixed in drinks. In addition, the shape of the Absolut Vodka bottle has made it one of the worlds most iconic products reinforces the brands strong design heritage. The bottle shape of the Absolut Vodka bottle has made it one of the worlds most iconic products reinforces the brands strong design heritage. It looked elegant, different, simple and very Swedish, and was decided that there should be no label not to hide the crystal clear liquid. Blue was decided upon as the most visible and elegant color for the Absolut Vodka logo. The flavor comes in a transparent bottle in order to show how pure and clear its vodka is. The brand values of Absolut are defined as Clarity, Simplicity and Perfection. All three are there, visible on the bottle. Absolut Vodka currently comprises the following products within the same quality framework: Year Product 1979 Absolut Vodka 1986 Absolut Pepper 1988 Absolut Citron 1992 Absolut Kurant 1999 Absolut Mandrin 2003 Absolut Vanilla 2004 Absolut Raspberri 2005 Absolut Apeach 2006 Absolut Ruby Red 2007 Absolut Pears, Absolut 100, Absolut Mango 2008 Absolut Los Angeles 2009 Absolut Boston 2010 Absolut Berri Acai, Absolut Brooklyn, 2011 Absolut Wild Tea, Absolut San Francisco Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolut_Vodka Creativity is what drives Absolut brand forward. That applies not only to the marketing and design, but also to the product development. When launching a flavour, the Absolut Company wants to make room for new cocktail experiences. 3. Brand Positioning Absolut Vodka is positioned as premium brand in the minds of the target consumers. The price of the product is high. Absolut is one of the expensive brands among the leading brands in the U.S. as illustrated in Exhibit 4. The company also tried to feature the product as a high end product. For example, Absolut had an identity campaign termed Smart, showy, sassy, sophisticated and stylish. By this kind of brand personality statement, the brand was associated with the fashion conscious, rich, desperate and dynamic lifestyle-namely the Absolut Lifestyle. Absolut entered Glamour world and tried to relate the brand with fashion world. In the Lifestyle magazines, the glimpse of a trendy tanned fashionable girl posing and wearing Absolut Vodka marked attire became widely visible. The brand personality of Absolut was communicated successfully with the help of a series of aesthetically designed advertisement campaigns both in print and in electronic media. The word Absolut was punned in conjunction with creative images of the bottle and with strong positive feeling awakening words or phrases. Absolut went for simple, but sophisticated ads a classy picture of the bottle accompanied by a witty caption (Facts Abusolut Ads, 2009). Those advertisements have not only broken advertising records year after year but also have captured the eyeball alongside the imagination of the general public. The advertisement campaigns were nice to look at, easy to understand yet had the spark of intelligence and smartness. The modes featuring in the advertisement had a tanned skin most of the times thus the brand tried to relate itself with a sense of sunny, urban and dynamic lifestyle. The brand was more inclined to lay emphasis on girls. Because vodka is an odorless drink and do esnt give any quirky sensation while drinking, this was assumed that girls would love this kind of product features. Absolut Vodka soon became news. The latest ads often started getting journalistic coverage in magazines and on TV. Everybody talked about Absolut campaigns be it the Absolut Manhattan ad portraying an aerial view of New Yorks Central Park in the shape of an Absolut Vodka bottle or 26 Russian painters creating their own most personal impressions of the bottle. Over the years Absolut has commissioned not only over 300 painters, but also leading artists in all fields like sculptors, glass designers, musicians and fashion designers. The main strategy of the brand was to avoid relating the product with only one particular lifestyle and the ads were to have a timeless but contemporary theme. Absolut Vodka can be proud of its ads in crossing the line between advertising and art using different medians such as paintings, limited edition bottles, shirts, and sculpture (Brand Spotlight: Absolut Vodka, 2010). Many famous artists worked for the company, including Andy Warhol and Keith Harris. TBWAs branding campaign for Absolut Vodka was listed as one of the top ten campaigns of the last century by Advertising Age and the campaign won many awards including an Effie and Kelly awards which are probably the most prestigious awards in the advertising industry (2010). Those highly accepted and widely popular advertisements campaigns could successfully del iver the main brand positioning ideas of Absolut Vodka, i.e. premium product, high quality and association with art and a good life. 4. Competitors and their Campaigns In addition to Absolut Vodka, there are over other 30 vodka brands in the U.S. market as shown in Exhibit 2. Those brands are original from nine countries such as Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia (Latvia and Estonia), and Sweden. Apart from American made brands existing in the market such as Popov, Gordon, etc. there was the emergence of new American made vodka brands in the past several year such as Skyy, a lovely San Francisco spirit, the newly arrived Teton Glacier, unique vodka made in Idaho, etc (Department of Liquor Control, 2009). In 2007, there were seven leading vodka brand in the U.S. market including Smirnoff, Absolut, Grey Goose, Skyy, Stolichnaya, Ketel One, and Svedka respectively as shown in Exhibit 3. These brands are made in different countries. However, the American made brand like Smirnoff was ranked the number one U.S. market share in 2007, followed by Absolut Vokda. A brief profile of five leading brands that were Absoluts competitors and their campaigns in 2007 will be discussed in next session. 4.1 Smirnoff Smirnoff is the #1 selling vodka in the U.S and the world. It had a 17.2% share in 2007. It is originally produced in Russia, the recipe found its way to America in the early 1900s. Smirnoff is one of alcohol brands of Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O), the worlds leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, JB, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. In November, 2006, Smirnoff renewed its alliance with James Bond in the film Casino Royale. The alliance involved a multi-million dollar media campaign, which was activated in the U.S. and around the world. The campaign included a broadcast advertising campaign; on- and off-premise promotions and sweepstakes; a global public relations campaign; and a fully interactive Casino Royale microsite (Zydel, 2006). Smirnoff had the close partnership with Bond in 1962à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²s Dr. No. In a scene when the villain hands Sean Connery a Martini, shaken not stirred made with Smirnoff Vodka. This monumental moment in film made some impact on the way martini drinkers made their cocktails, shifting from the traditional gin to a vodka-based drink and popularizing the vodka martini the world over (2006). Exhibit 5 shows a cross-promotional ad for James Bond Casino Royale and Smirnoff Vodka and some scenes in James Bonds movie in 1962s. In August, 2007, Smirnoff launched its largest ever marketing campaign ( £5M) which was named Sea to promote the brand. It centers around a 60-second commercial created by JWT, which premiered on 17 August 2007 in showings of The Bourne Ultimatum at selected cinemas across the United Kingdom. There were various tie-ins launched, including the Smirnoff Purifier, an online game, point of sale Smirnoff purity kits, and a tour of a custom-built Smirnoff Purification Installation used to make drinkable samples of water taken from saline or otherwise undrinkable water at selected sites (Sea: Advertisement, 2010). 4.2 Grey Goose Grey Goose was imported to the United States by the Sidney Frank Importing Company which is located in New Rochelle New York. In 1997, the brand became national prominence when it was awarded substantially for its quality in the U.S. In 2004, Sidney Frank then sold the right of manufacturing to Bacardi. Grey Goose was the first prominent French vodka but has seen some competition from Nuage, Ciroc and Idol which are now on the market. Each of these vodka brands are premium brands sold in North America (Grey Goose Vodka, 2007). In 2007, it held a 6.3% share of the U.S. Market. In 2007, claiming itself to be the Worlds Best Tasting Vodka, Grey Goose launched its new Discerning Taste advertising campaign which was produced by New York-based @radical.media. The campaign was the brands first major advertising effort since its acquisition by Bacardi Limited in 2004. It consisted of four different print advertisements and three broadcast spots. Creative elements of the campaign capture particular moments, people, places, and events in the lives of Grey Goose consumers revealing their unyielding lifestyle of discerning taste. The theme of the advertising platform supports the brands commitment to represent more than just a spirit, but a luxurious lifestyle brand. The print composites reveals the back stories of Grey Goose drinkers by portraying images ranging from playing golf to a spontaneous late night dinner with friends. These snapshot moments suggest that a Grey Goose drinkers inherent eye for detail leads them to seek refined subtleties in more than just th eir vodka but in all aspects of life (Grey Goose Vodka 2007 Advertising Campaign, 2007). The advertising campaign commenced in conjunction with the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in which Grey Goose was the Proud Promotional Partner of the tournament. The advertisements surrounded broadcast coverage on the USA Network and appeared on target outlets such as the Golf Channel, ESPN, and HD Networks and in print outlets such as BlackBook, Departures, GQ, Golf Digest, Travel + Leisure, Vanity Fair and Wine Spectator (Grey Goose Vodka 2007 Advertising Campaign, 2007). 4.3 SKYY SKYY is one of the fastest growing spirits globally and the leading domestic super premium vodka in the United States (Baker Hearn, 2005). The brand was launched in 1992 by Skyy Spirits, LLC who is the US-based wholly owned subsidiary of Gruppo Campari (Milan: CPR.MI) and the definitive marketer and distributor of super-premium and luxury spirits brands in North America. It had 4.6% U.S. share. Skyy vodkas highest quality and ultimate smoothness are perceived by consumers due to the state-of-the-art process of quadruple distillation and triple filtration (2005). According to the good design of its distinctive cobalt blue bottle and award-winning marketing communications, SKYY is synonymous with quality, sophistication, and style (2005). SKYY Vodka let the worlds most accomplished and controversial photographers interpret the brands sexy image in bold and daring fashion (Press Release: Skyy Spirits Unveils Sexiest Ad Campaign in Skyy  ® Vodka History, 2010). In 2007, SKYY looked to acclaimed photographer and independent filmmaker David LaChapelle to shoot the powerful, tantalizing images that captured the essence of cocktail glamour and the jet set lifestyle which would constitute its third campaign. The national campaign was named Cocktail Moments and was available for national outdoor, print, and online. Exhibit 6 shows some ads for this campaign. The creative was launched outdoors beginning January 2007 in LA, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco (2010). Magazine insertions start in February of 2007 in men and womens entertainment and lifestyle publications, including ESPN, InStyle, US Weekly and People, as well as on www.SKYY.com. The ads also ran as banner ads on selected websites including ESPN.com, Evite.com, an d Gay.com, starting in mid-February. Due to its bold, sexy imagery, SKYYs ads have become collectible pieces of artwork (2010). 4.4 Stolichnaya Stolichnaya has its origins in the Moscow State Wine Warehouse No. 1 which was opened in 1901 by the authorities to ensure higher quality vodka production (Stolichnaya, 2010). It was the first vodka to be introduced and imported into the USA, in 1972. Stolichnaya was at this time a good choice to the USA-produced vodka brands as it tasted milder due to a more refined distilling process (2010). However, Stolichnayas popularity has been dependent on the political climate between the U.S. and the former USSR. In 2005, Stolichnaya was included in the Pernod Ricard portfolio. Pierre Pringuet, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard said We needed a major vodka to boost and balance our product range. Stolichnaya signalled our first step in the vodka market and we are proud of our achievements in developing this fine brand. But with ABSOLUT, we have now made a giant leap forward! (Pernod Ricard, 2008). Since 2005, sales of Stolichnaya grew up from 2.1 million to 3.4 million cases and it had a 4.2% share. In 2007, the brand received several awards including Best New Product in the U.S. and Best New Event in the UK. Additionally, its benchmark Ultra Premium Stolichnaya Elit also got the highest rating by the U.S. Beverage Tasting Institute (2008). While renovating the brand, Pernod Ricard launched a new advertising campaign for the Stoli family in order to remind consumers to Choose Authenticity on April 9, 2007 (Pernod Ricard USA, LLC., 2007). Exhibit 7 presents ads of this campaign. The campaign debuted in leading U.S. magazines as In Style, Rolling Stone, and GQ in May, 2007. The new campaign was in a visual style and based on a Russian artistic movement called constructivism, that celebrated the strong industrial structures of the early 20th century when there was the creation of Stolichnaya (2007). The campaign depicted positive Russian icons in a proud tone and humorous way. One of the first ad executions headlines was The Mother of all Vodkas, from the Motherland of Vodka. The new campaign was developed according to two findings of research that: first, that the remarkable history of Stoli hadnt been fully told; and second, that authenticity was a critical consideration in the purchasing decisions of sophisticated, young adult consumers at that time (2007). Patrick Piana, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Pernod Ricard USA said: Pernod Ricard has consistently demonstrated its ability to drive brands to achieve their potential, and we are confident that this new Stolichnaya campaign will resonate with the brands core consumers and build on our overall track record of success(2007). However, after the purchase of Absolut was completed, Pernod Ricard ended its agreement with Stoli. William Grant Sons USA signed an agreement to distribute Stolichnaya in the U.S. in 2009. 5. Consumer Behavior The comprehensive analysis of vodka by the Beverage Information Group and research by Simmons Market Research Bureau reveal consumer behavior of vodka as follows: Vodka is unlike any other spirit category. The proportion between male vodka consumers and female consumers are fairly equal. Furthermore, it is consumed by all adult age groups (Simmons Market Research Bureau, 2007). Due to universal appeal of vodka coupled with its versatility as a mixer and the cachet high end products, it has continued to attract adult consumers (Beverage Information Group, 2008). Females favor flavored vodkas while males take the lead among several brands-Absolut Kurant, Stoli Citros, Stoli Ohranj and Stoli Cranberi (Simmons Market Research Bureau, 2007). According to Simmons (2007), the older the brand the older the consumer. Stolichnaya drinkers tend to be older than Absolut drinkers. Also, Absolut drinkers tend to be slightly older than Grey Goose consumers. Belvedere scores highest in the 21-to-24 age group among unflavored vodkas. Younger adult consumers tend to be attracted by somewhat sweet flavors-vanilla and raspberry. Whereas older consumers prefer classic cocktails that are savory in nature (Beverage Information Group, 2008). All vodka consumers are moving toward a healthier lifestyle and a greener planet. (Beverage Information Group, 2008). It was found that several marketers are incorporating natural and green elements in their products. This is a trend that is expected to continue (Beverage Information Group, 2008).. Limited edition products that benefit local causes such as Absolut New Orleans and Absolut Los Angeles are another trend that is expected to gain a following (Beverage Information Group, 2008).. Overall, consumers are moving away from sweet cocktails into the savory area. This may not bode well for several flavored vodkas (Beverage Information Group, 2008). Review of publications about vodka brands uncovers that there are some significant factors that enhance customer decision making process when buying vodka as follows: Luxury: By definition, vodka is a clear, tasteless, odourless liquid-meaning that a basic level of quality distilling yields vodka on par with any other. Yet through clever ads and higher pricing, Absolut vodka became the premium vodka over Smirnoff in the 1980s. Then, i n the 1990s, Sidney Frank consciously decided to introduce Grey Goose vodka, which costs 50 percent more than Absolut, with reasoning that people would pay more for a brand they saw as more exclusive, just as they did with Absolut over Smirnoff. Since vodka is one of premium alcoholic drinks, it is considered a kind of luxury items (Rothbaum, 2009). Flavors: Several companies keep introducing more varieties for customers to choose from, this strategy has proven to be quite successful. Also, the U.S. is the worlds biggest market for flavored vodka and a new flavour can drive sales. For example, in the summer of 2007, Finlandia introduced grapefruit flavored vodka. The vodkas popularity has been so great that it has increased the brands overall sales of flavored vodkas by almost 10% (2009). Thus, there are still room for competition in the vodka category. Store shelves are now packed with new flavours and brand extensions from numerous well-established brands (2009). Price: Setting an inviting price to attract consumers seems to be successful for some brand vodkas like Smirnoff. For example, Smirnoff posted a 4.0% gain in 2008 and making it the top-selling spirit in the U.S., leveraging its rainbow of flavors as well as its inviting price (2009). This pricing strategy must be employed carefully for luxury goods like vodka, since consumers still perceive that Vodka should not be cheap. It is not a product of first necessity. Even though higher-priced brands are seeing slower growth, consumers are still spending a lot of money to purchase these prestigious brands. Reference Group: Vodka consumers use reference groups such as co-workers, friends, and family as a guide to select a brand, since vodka is a product that can be shared in social occasions and consumers tend to please all of those groups when they gather. Thus, group situations constitute their purchase decisions. Packaging: Packaging has always played an important role in developing brand image, and the vodka industry is not exceptional. According to Adam Rosen, the brand manager of Wyborowa Vodka, the vodka industry is much more image conscious than other liquors (Labbrand Consulting Co., Ltd., 2009). In addition to ingredients and taste, packing is another factor influencing vodka drinkers buying decision- the vodka they choose should make a statement to others. Thus, the bottle design should display sophistication and class. For example, Svedkas new bottle reflects their cheap chic positioning, allowing consumers to purchase a premium vodka at a competitive price (2009). This should appeal to hip night life lovers, but not older customers accustomed to having a casual drink at home. It was found that the older audience will appreciate a classic bottle design that looks nice in their alcohol cabinet (2009). As Svedka hasnt redesigned their bottle for over 10 years, the repeat customers like ly have a strong connection to the old brand image (2009). In short, packing can influence decisions made through constructive process at the time of purchase. 6. History of Brand Advertising Absolut Vodka has become famous mainly due to its advertising campaigns. The shape of the bottle of Absolut vodka is very unique and is emphasized in all their advertisements. For about 25 years, the focus on the product has been the main theme in advertisements for Absolut Vodka. They ran campaigns of humor featuring their unique bottle. It is the unique advertising campaigns that have made Absolut a popular brand going up to the heights of Coke and Nike. In 1981 they started the Absolut ________ campaign. Absolut Perfection which was created in 1981 was the first advertisement and it is still popular today. They had clever concepts like Absolut L.A. which showed a swimming pool shaped like a bottle or Absolut Warhol which showed the painting of a bottle by the artist. One of their popular ads is the Absolut London', which shows the door of 10 Downing Street resembling an Absolut bottle. In a 1988 feature of a playboy magazine they showed a bottle like a model and this ad was called Absolut Centerfold. Then there were issues Absolut Disco (2007) related to dance music in 2008 Absolut Masquerade under the theme Every night is a masquerade and in 2009 the Absolut Rock Edition as a tribute to rock and roll. They wanted to end this campaign in 1997 with the launch of an offbeat bottle campaign on April fools day and it was very popular. But it took 9 more years to come up with a different campaign due to its limited advertising budget. Th e Absolut ____ campaign enabled the brand to become the best-selling imported vodka in the United States as sales rose from 20,000 cases in 1981 to almost 5 million in 2007. In January 2006 they started a campaign called The Absolut Vodka which had a theme on the pun between the brand name and the word absolute. This multimedia campaign demonstrates the headship of Absolut Vodka as The Absolut Vodka and observes other classics that are absolutes in our culture. This campaign is an evolution of the brands iconic, 25-year-old advertising and one that underscores the brands marketing ingenuity and continuous creativity. This campaign was broadcasted on television in the United States. The campaign also featured online and print executions. The new execution was built on the brands existing campaigns. The broadcast depicts a collage of absolute moments and icons that bases modern culture. Pictures include The Absolut Morale Booster (Marilyn Monroe singing for U.S. troops) and The Absolut Road Trip (first manned trip to the moon). The print advertisement features an Absolut Vodka bottle levitating over a color-block table with copy that reads The Absolut Vodk a the image connotes an exclamation point. The print ad shows the genuinity of Absolut Vodka and conveys only one message that Absolut is The Absolut Vodka. The Absolut Vodka campaign targeted a new and increasing group of vodka drinkers in the United States. The broadcast is very interactive and is aimed at capturing in-the-know customers. The Absolut Vodka campaign was created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, the advertising agency of record for Absolut VODKA. 7. The In an Absolut World Campaign In 2007, Absolut Vodka began its In An Absolut World campaign in which the company posted various, often fanciful scenarios of what the target audience might think would constitute a perfect, or Absolut, reality. The campaign was handled by TBWA/Chiat/Day, part of the TBWA Worldwide division of the Omnicom Group. The In An Absolut World would elicit varying opinions and points of view of customers. It is designed to be an inspiring, humorous, and thought-provoking integrated campaign about what an Absolut World might look like and to initiate a discussion about both universal and everyday subjects, as well as to challenge consumers to express their own visions of the world. Its advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit fantastic. The campaign includes commercials and video clips as well as online ads, print ads, billboards and event marketing. Drinkers were invited to imbibe In An Absolut World, a fanciful, even surreal, place where common sense prevails and just deserts are always on the menu. For example, on planet Absolut, men can get pregnant, and lying leaders are exposed by their Pinocchio noses. In fact, Absolut was confronting the same problems as other market-leading brands in that everybody knows who they are, but what are they known for? Thus, The goal is to encourage a dialogue between customers and the brand. The ads proclaim, This is Absoluts view of the world; you respond, you react. Absolut ads aimed at minority consumers will also begin to feature the Absolut World theme. 7.1 Probable Marketing Objectives Since from 2003 to 2007 over 240 new brands of vodka came and many companies started focusing on the ultra-premium category, the marketing objectives of the In an Absolut World include robusting sales growth and re-establishing and re-cementing the Absoluts position in the vodka category in an extremely competitive environment. 7.2 Probable Communication/ Advertising Objectives The main communication of the In an Absolut World campaign is to provide the customers with an opportunity to interact, get involved and associated with the brand, since its customer survey found that the previous one never provided the opportunities for customers to interact and get involved with the brand. Furthermore, the campaign aimed at depicting that Absolut Vodka has a class of its own or a world of its own implicating that it is different and better than other brands. The idea is that Absolut Vodka is the quintessential vodka, the true vodka, and the standard by which you judge other things. 7.3 Target Market The target audience is 23 34 year urbanites. 7.4 Positioning Statement To inform urbanites that Absolut Vodka is the quintessential vodka, the true vodka, the standard by which consumers judge other Vodkas. 7.5 Creative Strategy The In an Absolut World advertising campaign requires that consumers imagine a world that appeals to them, something like a perfect world or a fantastic world, thus bringing about different opinions and points of view. Also it needs to these ads in countries worldwide with varying themes relevant to their region. 7.6 Creative Execution To achieve the creative strategy, they decided not only to show what an ABSOLUT WORLD looks like, but also to give consumers the chance to experience it in their daily lives. The idea was to publish the perfect newspaper and distribute it for free, with real editorial content that was entirely positive and interesting to read. Another idea was to perfect a taxi ride by supplying a fleet of free-of-charge Porsche taxis. The next idea was to make a unique experience at the nearest ATM cash machine by introducing the Happy Hour. 7.7 Media Strategy The campaign would be put in print ads, billboards, TV commercials, video clips as well as online ads (at absolut.com), and event marketing. Absolut turned its website into an online community where visitors can share and discuss their visions of an Absolut World, create and upload images, films, worlds, and sounds, create personal profiles; browse, comment, and develop the visions of others. 8. Evaluation of the In an Absolut World The campaign uses a combination of approaches in the major selling idea between creating a brand image, positioning and inherent drama. Absolut developed its strong, memorable identity through image advertising and positioned itself as the quintessential vodka in the consumers mind. The creative approach used in the campaign is appropriate for the target audience who is 25 34 year urbanites. The message can delivered to the target audience and executed in a combination of imagery and humor. For example, one of the ads shows an expectant couple and the husband is pregnant. Additionally, even though Absolut came up with many ads with different pictures, those ads were able to convey the message to the target audience effectively by using indirect headlines In an Absolut World as creative tactics for printing ads and TV commercials. Also, the message is short, clear, novel, and creative as well as provokes their thoughts. Most of the ads in the campaign use emotional appeal to attract the target audience while others create excitement and provoke thoughts. The ads and some TV commercials try to communicate with the target audience that people wish to see the world in a different manner according what an Absolut World means to them or their perceptions. For example, a TV commercial portrays a h

William S. Burroughs :: Biography Biographies Essays

William S. Burroughs      Ã‚  Ã‚   William Seward Burroughs died recently at the age of 83 in the quiet of Lawrence, Kansas. Probably no other major American writer ever received such viciously damning "praise" upon his death. Whereas the once ridiculed Ginsberg was eulogized as a major American bard, obit writers like the New York Times' Richard Severo (someone enormously unacquainted with Burroughs' work) could dismiss this oeuvre as druggy experimentation and Burroughs' audience as merely "adoring cultists." Other obit writers, hearing of cut-up techniques and randomness, seemed drawn to the cut and paste icons of their PCs, with which they cobbled lit crit phrases into gibberish. Thus, for the Associated Press, Naked Lunch "unleashed an underground world which defied narration" and was somehow written "without standard narrative prose."      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What does it say about the hegemony of realistic modes, and publishers' niches, that a book, first published in Paris almost 40 years ago, still poses such a threat to establishment arbiters that it must be continuously misrepresented. The literary world, after all, is not likely to be flooded by Burroughs wannabes. Though he has influenced experimental filmmakers, conceptual artists and rock bands, his influence on writers and literature is harder to find. He left no school, few followers, no imitators. He was as unique as Joyce. But whereas countless writers all over the world attempted to incorporate Joycean techniques, few have picked up on Burroughs'.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even back in the mid-60s, the task of mass marketing Burroughs necessitated pigeonholing his work within familiar genres. "The only American novelist living today who might conceivably be possessed by genius," Norman Mailer proclaimed on the cover of the first American paperback edition of Naked Lunch. Its publisher, Grove Press, the most important and most courageous publishing house of that time, knew what it had to do, and subsequent works like Nova Express, The Ticket That Exploded, and The Soft Machine were all pointedly labeled "a novel." Yet Burroughs then and always was "merely" writing books. He was not necessarily trying to change or explode the form of the novel.   In Burroughs' books, routines, raps, skits and rants are held together by the sinews of sharply etched narrative prose. Reading him when he first appeared was like listening to a Lenny Bruce monologue. The "characters" who appeared were all carny voices--barkers, pushers, con men seeking rubes and marks--politicians, presidents of anti-fluoride societies, script-writing old saw bones lecturing on the viral nature of bureaucracy and the State.

The Many Themes of William Gibsons Neuromancer :: Neuromancer Essays

William Gibson's Neuromancer is a complex story that deals with the future computer technology and the impact on the lives of the world citizens. There are themes of love, betrayal, trust, and forbidden knowledge within each of the story lines of the book. These story lines give a human quality to a world that is described as being controlled by computers and technology. Also throughout the book Gibson brings in the ethical and moral values of the debate over what cost humanity takes as technology advances. In the early 1900s when Henry Ford first used the automatic conveyor belt it came at the cost of hiring manual labor to do the job. The usage of the conveyor belt, however, redefined the factory assembly line. As with the previous example, technology comes with the advancement of a culture, but with those advancements come the decline of some part of the human aspect of the previous way of life. Sometimes this advancement is for the better and aids the next generation do more for their culture as well as the world, but there are those advancements that degrade humanity and cause more harm than good for the rest of society. Gibson deals with this debate and brings it into the modern era with creation of the Internet and World Wide Web in the late 1980s. Case as well as the other characters were faced with the underlying plot of if what they were doing for Wintermute was the right thing to do, and how would it effect the rest of society. Â   The underlying tension throughout the entire novel is the fear of who do you trust and who will betray me next. In the opening of the novel Case is trying to figure out why a drug lord is looking for him and what will the drug leader do with him. Case received a drug shipment from Wage, the drug lord, and has not paid Wage for the drugs. He goes to one of his friends, Julius Deane, to figure out what to do and what Wage is trying to do to Case, and later in the novel Deane becomes a leader in the mission to sabotage Tessier-Ashpool. There is an incident between Case and Jules as the story develops where Jules has been taken over by Wintermute, and revels to Case that he in fact killed Linda Lee, Case's love. The Many Themes of William Gibson's Neuromancer :: Neuromancer Essays William Gibson's Neuromancer is a complex story that deals with the future computer technology and the impact on the lives of the world citizens. There are themes of love, betrayal, trust, and forbidden knowledge within each of the story lines of the book. These story lines give a human quality to a world that is described as being controlled by computers and technology. Also throughout the book Gibson brings in the ethical and moral values of the debate over what cost humanity takes as technology advances. In the early 1900s when Henry Ford first used the automatic conveyor belt it came at the cost of hiring manual labor to do the job. The usage of the conveyor belt, however, redefined the factory assembly line. As with the previous example, technology comes with the advancement of a culture, but with those advancements come the decline of some part of the human aspect of the previous way of life. Sometimes this advancement is for the better and aids the next generation do more for their culture as well as the world, but there are those advancements that degrade humanity and cause more harm than good for the rest of society. Gibson deals with this debate and brings it into the modern era with creation of the Internet and World Wide Web in the late 1980s. Case as well as the other characters were faced with the underlying plot of if what they were doing for Wintermute was the right thing to do, and how would it effect the rest of society. Â   The underlying tension throughout the entire novel is the fear of who do you trust and who will betray me next. In the opening of the novel Case is trying to figure out why a drug lord is looking for him and what will the drug leader do with him. Case received a drug shipment from Wage, the drug lord, and has not paid Wage for the drugs. He goes to one of his friends, Julius Deane, to figure out what to do and what Wage is trying to do to Case, and later in the novel Deane becomes a leader in the mission to sabotage Tessier-Ashpool. There is an incident between Case and Jules as the story develops where Jules has been taken over by Wintermute, and revels to Case that he in fact killed Linda Lee, Case's love.