Donaldsons Beowulf Essay -- Donaldson Beowulf Essays

Donaldson's Beowulf "Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good" -Beowulf (Donaldson, 12) The passage that I analyzed spans the action when Beowulf returns to the halls of Heorot after a harsh battle with Grendel’s mother. He returns to king Hrothgar in the great hall of Heorot to say that he has successfully completed his boast and killed Grendel’s mother. Beowulf states that it has been a very difficult underwater battle and that he has barely escaped with his life, â€Å"The fight would have been ended straightway if God had not guarded me† (Donaldson, 29). Beowulf mentions this due to the fact that the sword given to him by Unferth, called Hrunting, was powerless against Grendel’s Mother. Hrunting is useless against Grendel’s mother due to the fact that she has the same charm upon her as Grendel did, which is that no normal sword can pierce her skin. Then, by chance, Beowulf finds an ancient sword on a wall during the battle and uses it against the monster. This sword, which was crafted by the giants, is able to pierce th e monster's skin and after one swing, the monster was cut in half. After using this ancient sword to murder the monster, Beowulf watches the blade of the sword melt away due to the toxicity of the monster's blood, until only the hilt was left. A hilt is the handle of a weapon or tool. The hilt is decorated with runic symbols and was given to King Hrothgar of the Danes as proof of Beowulf’s exploits. The King is also given the severed head of Grendel as further reassurance that their troubles at the great hall of Heorot is over. Hrothgar then tells Beowulf, â€Å"Lo, this may one say who works truth and right for the folk, recalls all things far distant, an old guardian of ... ...th for his murders. Beowulf, who is also responsible for the killing of Grendel, is killed as well. The dragon and the trolls, as well as Beowulf, are responsible for their actions. They are all killed: â€Å"He would repay Grendel for the many attacks he made on the West-Danes . . . devouring Danish† (Donaldson 28). This is another example of â€Å"wergild† being applied. Wergild was a part of the warrior code. After the death of Aeschere, Hrothgar’s great advisor and friend, Beowulf says to his lord, â€Å"Sorrow not, wise warrior. It is better to avenge his friend than much mourn† (Donaldson 25). Beowulf was composed during the most noble of times and we enjoy it for what it is. The greatest treasure Beowulf has to offer us is the escape from our reality into our history. Work Cited Donaldson, E. Talbot. Beowulf. Ed. Nicholas Howe. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2002.

I Am a Victim of Advertising Essay -- Business Media Advertising

I Am a Victim of Advertising You could call me a shop-a-holic, as most of my friends do, but I call myself a lover of fashion. Sitting in my room, I look in my closet at all my belongings and wonder what else I want to buy. Abercrombie, Guess, J Crew, Armani Exchange, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Banana Republic are just a few of the name-brand items that clutter my room. And I want more. I've never stopped to question whether I'm getting what I'm paying for, though I've always been a "smart" shopper, a sale shopper. But, as I learn more about my future field, marketing, I realize that I am a victim of advertising. All the things I want and buy are influenced by what magazines, television, and other advertisers tell me I need to want and buy. Everyone wears clothes. They can be a statement, a style, or a definition of who you are. They can also be a simple necessity. For me, clothing has meant different things. As a child, I wore what my mother gave me or the hand-me-downs from my sister. I never questioned how I looked, but I liked to dress up. In middle school, I became more concerned with my appearance, like most girls. I tried to keep up with the fashion, but what defined the fashion? Magazines and television were the big ones for me. I wanted to look beautiful; thus, I wore what the beautiful people showed me I should wear in hopes that I could be just as beautiful, or at least as fashionable. I had a huge desire to be fashionable, because in being fashionable, I believed I could be popular. As I look back upon those middle school days, I am amazed at how concerned young people can be about their image. Children become so concerned at such a young age with being popular and looking beautifu... ...t someone of the opposite sex. Smoking, drinking, socializing, and looking great in expensive clothing are the images of an attractive person. Advertisers use our weaknesses to tell us what is new, what we should be like, what is cool, and what is hot. Because human nature makes us want to be popular and glamorous we follow the lead ads give us. Is it the victim's fault for believing, or the fault of society for allowing advertisers to do so? These are the questions I often ask myself as I enter the field of marketing. It is very easy to use human insecurities as a means of targeting consumption, but is it right? How will we ever know unless we step back and stop reading magazines and watching television? How will we know unless society and advertising break their bond? Until then, I will remain a victim of advertising. And so will almost everyone else.

The Steam Engine :: essays research papers fc

â€Å"In the never-ending search for energy sources, the invention of the steam engine changed the face of the earth.† (Siegel, Preface) The steam engine was the principal power source during the British Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The steam engine opened a whole new world to everyone. The steam engine maximized production, efficiency, reliability, minimized time, the amount of labor, and the usage of animals. The steam engine in all revolutionized the Eastern Hemisphere, mainly European society. What does revolutionize actually mean? It means that something such as the steam engine brought about a radical change in something, and this something is the European Society. The steam engine specifically brought about a radical change in work, transportation of goods, and travel. The invention of the steam engine revolutionized European society by enabling tasks to be done quicker, cheaper, and more dependably. The steam engine use throughout the several professions revolutionized numerous aspects of Western European Society. The first important use of the steam engine came in 1776. The steam engine was used to show the Cornish miners how successful it could be in removing the water from the mineshafts. This proved to be of great importance to the Cornish, because one of their biggest problems was the flooding of the mining shafts. (The Penetration of the Industry by Steam Power) The mine owners â€Å"worried†¦that the mines would have to be shut down unless water could be pumped out of the shafts.† â€Å"The engine successfully raised water from the bottom of deep mines.† (Siegel, 17) This saved the shutting down of the mines, which were essential to further the economy. Not only did the steam engine save the mines, it provided a method of mining that proved to be extremely quicker than the traditional techniques. One of the biggest incomes for the British was found in t heir textile industry. In the textile industry, the domestic system presented many problems for merchants. They had difficulty regulating standards of workmanship and maintaining schedules for completing work. Workers sometimes sold some of the yarn or cloth in their own profit. As the demand in cloth increased, merchants often had to compete with one another for the limited amount of workers available in manufacturing, which increased merchants’ costs. As a result, merchants turned increasingly to machinery, which was powered by the steam engine, for greater production and also turned to factories for central control over their workers.

Global Warming: Causes And Effects Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION â€Å"Pollution has caused many kinds of effects to the environment that the different forms of pollutions are harder to be controlled and sadly, they have become more serious throughout the years. Apparently, other than natural disaster it is evident that the major cause of pollution is the irresponsible act of human being. Global warming has become a hot topic nowadays and we must take up the responsibility to resolve this problem. Global warming can be defined as the unusually rapid increase in Earth’s average surface temperature over the past century primarily due to the greenhouse gases released by people burning fossil fuels†. ( Random House Dictionary,  © Random House, Inc. 2011. ) The image of the factory exhausting the gases that creates greenhouse effect. Fig 1: Referring to the above picture, it is clearly proven that the gases from factory has polluted the air , creating an increased in greenhouse effect- heat-trapping, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. This has also destroyed the atmosphere since most of the gases trap in the air. This is one of the effects of global warming as the temperature rise the warmth would cause the atmosphere to become thinner and thinner. As a conclusion, we have to solve this problem before we lose everything as a consequence of what we have done to Mother nature. 1.1 DEFINITION Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die. 2.0 THE CAUSES & EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING 2.1 CAUSES 1: The Greenhouse Effect One of the main causes of Global Warming is the Green house effect. When the emission of infra-red radiation in the atmosphere warms a planet’s surface, it is known as the Green House Effect. The Greenhouse effect is a natural phenomena occurring on planet Earth. There are natural as well as human-made causes of the greenhouse effect. Industries are also one of the major cause of the Greenhouse Effect because of burning of fossil fuels, oil, coal, and gas and releases those gases into the air. The natural causes of the Green house effect are the emissions of gases like nitrous oxide, carbon-dioxide, methane, ozone and water vapour. The greenhouse effect is actually beneficial to the Earth. It is only when human-made processes increase its speed that the problems occur. One main problem is the oft repeated ‘Global Warming’. Population growth also is a indirect contributor and one of the causes of the Greenhouse effect. the increase in population, the needs and wants of the people increase. Therefore, this increases the manufacturing processes as well as the industry processes. This results in the increase of the release of industrial gases which catalyst the green house effect. The increase in population also results in the increase of agricultural processes. Most man-made machines, like the automobile also contribute to the green house effect. (D’Silva R.) Fig 3: The Greenhouse Effect. A heat-trapping blanket of greenhouse gases — primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide — in the atmosphere can cause potentially significant changes in the timing and length of the seasons, temperature, and the amount and frequency of precipitation. ( Washington State Department of Ecology) Fig 2: From which sectors do the major greenhouse gas emissions come from? The lower part of the picture shows the sources individually for the gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, respectively. EFFECT : The Greenhouse Effect Drought is one of the effect that causes by the Greenhouse Effect, and it is driving current increases in food prices around the world, which means one day the price of grains might be higher than fuel. The number of malnourished people decreased up until the late 1990s, and that number is still increasing.In addition, according to a 2005 world health organization report, there is 150,000 annual deaths that tied to the climate change. Climate related deaths are expected to double in 25 years. Industrialized countrties maybe sheltered from the current impacts of the climate change, but not others. Heat waves are also on of the effect that causes by the Greenhouse Effect. Solution : Reduce carbon dioxide emission First of all, Replacing a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Fig 3: fluorescent light bulb Moreover,Cleaning or replacing filters on your furnace and air conditioner Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Fig 4: cleaning air conditioner The third solution is to Move your fridge and freezer Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35 ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers. 2.2 GLOBAL DIMMING Global dimming can also be one of the causes of global warming. It is caused by an sulphur aerosol in the atmosphere. Aerosols are created naturally and as an effect of human activities such as combustion engines of vehicles, especially for diesel engines. Dust is a kind of aerosol, whereas large volcanic eruption releases aerosols too in the forms of clouds and ash. This can spread around the globe for months and blocks the sunlight in and reflect back to the space. Thus, global warming occurs. ‘However, it may be giving us a false sense of security by partially masking the severity of the greenhouse gas induced problem, leading us to take action less quickly than we should do mitigate that problem.’ ( Russel, R. 2007) Global dimming also increases the risk of forest burning for drying tropical forests. This Will release more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Fig 5: Sunlight is blocked by too many of sulphur aerosol. EFFECT Global dimming will rise the temperature over the next 100 years by 10 degree centigrade. Black soot aerosols reduce the amount of sunlight reflecting back into space, causing more sunlight to be absorbed and thus, global warming occurs. SOLUTION In order to prevent the rise in global dimming, the best solution is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. People should reduce the usage of vehicles to cut down the amount of aerosols being released 2.3 DEFORESTATION ‘Deforestation are also one of the causes of global warming. Trees are one of the most important aspects of the planet we live in. It is also vitally important to the environment and all of the living things in the world.’ (Putatunda R.) They are important for the climate of the Earth, they act as filters of carbon dioxide, the are habitat and shelters to millions of species, and they are important for their aesthetic appeal. However, the trees on our planet are decreasing due to the developing of industry. They cut down the trees for lumber that is used for building materials, furniture, paper products, and living stuff that human need. There is so many trees has been depleted because of the short term of economic benefits. According to some estimates, there is more than 50 percent of trees has disappeared due to the human activity. One of the most worrying factors today is the massive destruction of the rainforests of the world, which is affecting the biodiversity adversely, as well as being one of the major contributory factors of the Holocene mass extinction that is ongoing. Forests are also cleared in order to accomodate expanding urban areas. And all this will rise the temperature of earth up because of too much of carbon dioxide. Fig 6: The temperature of earth has risen in the last hundred years. EFFECT : Trees contributes in a large way in maintaining the water cycle. They draw up water by their roots, which is then released into the atmosphere. A large part of the water that circulate in the ecosystem of rainforests, for instance, it remains inside the plants, When these tress are cut down, that area will be dry because of disruption of the water cycle. On the other hand, without the support of the roots of trees, the land with too much of damp will causes landslide. SOLUTION : Reforestation should be planned by the government. Under this process, the government of a country should implement eco-factory where only selected areas of trees can be cut down and transported with minimal damage to the forest. Secondly, land use planning advocates environmentally friendly development techniques, such as reduction of urban and suburban sprawl. Community forestry—where concerned citizens come together to manage and participate in keeping their local forests viable and sustainable’ ( ways to reduce deforestation and repair the damage 2008) Thirdly, green business should be carried out. Each and every developing and advanced countries should focus on recycled paper and wood products. The countries stated should be responsible for environmental consumerism. 3.0 CASE STUDY CASE STUDY 1: PROBLEM IN NIGERIA Global warming is caused mostly by the emission of greenhouse gases, and largely are from industry production, agriculture, transportation and material consumption. The effect on Nigeria and other parts of the african continent has been steadily raising water levels along the coastal areas, with some parts of these places now underwater while others are condemned to being submerged in due course. Moreover, There have been unusually extended droughts and serious desertification, and this problem makes Nigeria falls into the growth of poverty. CASE STUDY 2: PROBLEM IN CHINA China is one of the fast developing countries in the world. At the same time, China is also one of the global warming causing country. There are many power plants and vehivles in China. The air surrounding of the power plant is in bad condition and this will harm human health. In addition, China is also one of the fifth country which is used the most coal. All of this not only will harm human health, all of these will also bring disaster to the world, not only in China. China government wanted to give the best to their people. However, they did not realize that what they are doing now is causing a lot of problems. Global warming causs climate change rapidly which destroy crops. Consequently, people in China are facing food shortage, and many trees are also have been chopped down to expanding urban areas. In conclusion, the increase of population in China leads to global warming. 4.0 CONCLUSION In a conclusion, we must try our best to solve the problems and strive to reinstate balance on our earth for sake of our future generations. BIBLIOGRAPHY (Rincon Consultants, Inc.) â€Å"Greenhouse Gas Emissions And The Greenhouse Effect† http://www.lake-elsinorecap.org/resources.html (Petrone M.) â€Å"How to Stop Global Warming† http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html (Riebeek H.) â€Å"Global Warming†. June 3, 2010 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/ (Putatunda R.) â€Å"Causes and effects of deforestation†. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/causes-and-effects-of-deforestation.html (Earth Talk) â€Å"What is global dimming†.November 15 2010 http://www.politicalaffairs.net/what-is-global-dimming/ (Admin) â€Å"Global dimming†. Nobember 25, 2006 http://www.mywebschool.org/postnuke/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&f ile=article&sid=144 (Korieocha Godwin P.) â€Å"A case study of global warming in Nigeria†. December 21, 2010 http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/group/nohasarkngopeacecooperationdevelopment/forum/topics/a-case-study-of-global-warming

Management Planning and Ethics

First American Guard Services Company provides unique security services to all our clients. To maximize on our services, the company operates round the clock to ensure all the customers’ requirements are met.   Our core values are innovations, competence and reliability.   The company strives to offer quality services, professional development and high ethical standards.   Our team is highly committed to understand customers’ expectations and solve all safety problems.   The services offered not only will they accommodate all the clients’ needs but also exceed their expectations. (Francesco, 2006) Organizational Structure First American Guard Services is made up of qualified and professional team.   The company is under the Chief executive officer, the Vice president of company operations and Vice president of marketing and Finance.   The Chief Executive Officer manages the whole company and holds the final word.   The VP is in charge of departmental operations and the second VP is in charge of marketing and finance. The planning Function of the Management To ensure the smooth flow of all the activities within the company, the company has decided to embark on management planning and ethics plans to harmonize all the plans laid out.   The management will streamline legal issues, ethics and corporate social responsibility and how it impacts the management and business planning.   All the issues will enhance proper communication, accountability and clarify the vision of all the plans.   The corporate social responsibility will broaden the perspectives of communications at the corporate level within the management so that sound policies can be made. The management consists of the CEO, and the two VPs (Francesco, 2006) Legal issues are vital if any organization must perform well.   The legal issues affect the management since they are responsible for laying out rules and regulations that staff members are expected to adhere to.   First American Guard Company’s management will evaluate all the processes to improve the performance of the management.   The Chief executive will lead the team by initiating workshops and seminars whereby they will be exposed to management courses.   The courses will enhance ethical standards and adhere to the law. (Francesco, 2006) Legal issues, ethical factors as well as corporate social responsible are interrelated since they affect performance of the management and ultimately output of the organization. (Francesco, 2006) Legally, there are rules stipulated by the law that businesses must follow.   The rules determine the types of decisions and plans made at the management level.   Some of the legal issues will determine the quality of services offered by First American, to ensure they meet the standards set by the law.   Despite all the innovations, that the management hopes to come up with, they must be within the law.   On the other hand, ethics are designed by the company, that is, code of ethics indicating the conduct and organizations expectations of all the employees.   The ethical infrastructure will support the effective implementation of ethical responsibility and corporate strategies.   (Francesco, 2006) The ethical training will be directed to the first American Guard service team, so that the members can make use of moral reasoning tools so that questions related to ethics and corporate activities are properly addressed.   The image of the management relies on the code of ethics.   Ethical standards set by the company are usually the crucial tools which enable the management carry out corporate, social and ethical responsibilities.   The function in essence is beyond legal requirements. (Francesco, 2006) The corporate social responsibility will however consider the international standard as well as the best practices. (Francesco, 2006) Conclusion According to many writers, the social responsibility of any business must have ethical responsibilities.   First American Guard Services Company has social responsibilities which will further be subdivided into ethical, legal and economic.   In addition, the ethical responsibilities of the company are parallel to the legal issues. (Francesco, 2006) The management function will therefore revolve around harmonizing all the issues concerned, to ensure all the business plans, implementation adhere to the management function.   This is because, all legal, social and ethical guidelines, determine the policies that the management will formulate and who the implementers will be. (Francesco, 2006) It is important to note that, most social responsibilities are not clear and are more or less an assortment of legal and moral responsibilities, vested interests and some moral ideals.   This package however, inhibits the managements to consider other ethical responsibilities of the company.   This means that if the company trades on ideals, corporate social responsibility myth diverts the attention from the duties of the management. (Francesco, 2006) References Francesco, P. (2006) Developing Corporate Social Responsibility, Edward Elgar   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Publishing.            

The world

There are too many parts In his recordings that do not make sense that lead me to my decision. The accounts of Pocahontas are a major factor that many say make Smiths works not credible. When John Smith was kidnapped by the King of the Photostat Tribe, Pocahontas' dad, they were about to kill him then and there. Side note: they kidnapped Smith just to kill him instead of ailing him during the battle between Smiths men and the Native Americans.Why would they spear Smith's life after they killed all his men? Anyways, right before the King & his men were about to kill him, weapons drawn, this young girl Jumps in and shields Smith from the men. â€Å"Pocahontas with no appeal or petition got his head in her arms and laid her own upon his o save him from death. † She happened to be the king's daughter. She was so brave that she risked her own life Just to save a stranger that was an enemy In her father's eyes. But John Smith does not give us any time of season why Pocahontas did th is for him because when Pocahontas covered him they didn't kill him.Later in the story he records how after he was released, Pocahontas was providing him with food and other things so he wouldn't starve to death. But yet again Smith doesn't record why she is doing this for him, making a reader like me suspicious about his credibility. Maybe she had a crush on him but I don't think they were secretly in love because she was probably too young for him. Throughout Smiths writings in â€Å"A General History' & his accounts of Pocahontas, e makes mostly everything seem to not be his fault.He doesn't tell us or explains to us the wrong decisions he made that lead to his close encounters with death. He makes It seem like he was o innocent. He was proud, arrogant, and boastful, writing in 3rd person about himself, removing himself away from the narrative. He TLD care about the other tribes around his area, stealing food and necessities from them. Even though it was for the good of his own colony or group of people, it still isn't right to steal from others and sin like that, then go on to write about Religion and how people should go about it in the â€Å"New World. Most likely the other tribes will fight back. I question if Smiths recordings of Pocahontas are real because how can Smith get kidnapped & released all because a girl he never met shielded him. Pocahontas saved him and now he gets to go? Why didn't the king search for him? It's funny because Smith refers to the king as a devil and refers to the Native Americans as â€Å"Barbarians. † How was the King the devil if he spared your life and traded with your colony In the future?I think Smith was captured then released on a deal that was dad between him and the King, probably a deal to help the Photostat tribe out because Smith was a smart resourceful man. I don't know why he had to put the Pocahontas story into his recordings instead of just telling the truth, because that accounts of Pocahontas in hi s 1607 recordings, but he mentions the Photostats. It wasn't till his 1624 recordings 20+ years later, that he mentions Pocahontas long after she died. So now we don't have any witnesses or any accounts from Pocahontas about what really happened or if the story is fabricated and never actually appended.I believe Smiths accounts in â€Å"A description of new England† are credible. He drew maps for future colonies and focused heavily on religion, encouraging people to come to the New World. But I do not think he cared about any of these things. He probably wanted people come to so he could make money by promoting the World, because maybe somebody was paying him. He probably sold the maps he drew to the people he was recruiting to come to the new World. To conclude my paper I tell you again that I do not believe that John Smith was a reducible writer.If he explained the things that happened in the Photostat tribe more thoroughly, I think I would have a change of mind about his c redibility. Why would a young girl who is a stranger to Smith save his life twice for no reason? Why wouldn't Smith explain why she does these things? The king released Smith and later became friends with him, why? That makes no sense. A normal person would be confused as am while reading this. As I said if one story isn't believable, it makes me question all his other accounts of what happened. The World The world’s biggest software maker felt that it had been robbed, so much so that they posted a high-level summary of 235 patents that were allegedly violated by Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), including the Linux Kernel, Samba, OpenOffice. org, and others . Microsoft does not play when it comes to patent infringement, but did they have a case? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ So if Microsoft ever sued Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows.It's a cold war, and what keeps the peace is the threat of mutually assured destruction: patent Armageddon an unending series of suits and countersuits that would hobble the industry and its customers. † (Parloff may 28, 2007). Shortly after that, Microsoft entered into a series of three contracts with Novell, one of which was a patent agreement that basically said, â€Å"Don’t sue us and we won’t sue you. † So now the qu estion is â€Å"At the time of the scenario, some dire consequences were predicted for FOSS. How has FOSS fared since then? † From what I have researched so far FOSS generally has still faired fairly well through the whole ordeal.The GNU still viewed as a pinnacle for open source software and distribution. The Deal with Novell was made to walk around the GPL of the GNU and expose loop holes for Microsoft’s gain but also creating a pressing dilemma for the GNU. The deal struck between Novell and Microsoft was a â€Å"we don’t sue you and you don’t sue us† which indicates that not only was FOSS involved in patent infringement but also Microsoft. The Deal included over 200 million dollars to Novell and 43 Million to Microsoft for â€Å"license distribution† of Novells’ Server software.Linux has grown from its earlier days as a fringe operating, evolving more and becoming more wide spread as a use for servers. What impact have these event s made since then, or will they make? The threat of a lawsuit had little if any impact on the free open source market at all. People continued to download just about anything these days. Why you ask? It simple, FOSS has good quality codes that can be changed, shared, copied at will, and downloaded. It's adaptable and it can be tailored to perform almost any large-scale computing job and it is almost crash proof.Software that is free is good to anybody no one can deny that. Many individuals that used open source applications on their smart devices, as well as large companies which use these applications for daily activity for their need in their company. FOSS is great for everyone because it can be shared, copied, changed and of course downloaded. FOSS is not going anywhere just for the reason being that it’s free. Has FOSS been hurt, helped, or neither? Big corporate companies have been changing their philosophy on open source software since Microsoft posted their findings in 2006.Major corporations like IBM, Oracle and Google have been using FOSS. They are big allies to FOSS so in my opinion I think it has helped them because then other small companies that actually look up to these powerful corporations would later start using FOSS. When something is starting to being used and downloaded on a constant basis, this means it’s becoming popular and it is in high demand. So it has helped them since then. Free software is great, and corporate America loves it. What in FOSS’s or Microsoft’s actions against FOSS has changed since then?Microsoft actions towards FOSS since then allegations were published is to get paid, the company is trying to still get royalties from developers that use FOSS. After the deal between Novell and Microsoft, Novell continued getting open source software getting their royalties and charging for them instead of being free. Microsoft did not sued FOSS but are lobbying their hardest (unsuccessfully I might add) in getting most of the large corporations to not join or ally themselves with FOSS. Bibliography Parloff, R. CNN Money, â€Å"Microsoft Takes on the Free World. † Last modified may 28,2007. Accessed July 29, 2012. http://money. cnn. com.

Divorce Rates in America

America’s Divorce Rates: Why Are They So High? The sanctity of marriage is a tradition that has been entered by generations over the past thousands of years. In the United States alone, 2,200,000 people choose to enter the lifetime commitment of marriage every year. Yet, less than half of that population is expected to keep that commitment. In a 1999 Rutgers University study, it is said that only 38 percent of Americans consider themselves happy in their married state, which has decreased from 53 percent 25 years ago.With the current, alarming statistic of over half of marriages resulting in divorce, there is much reason to take notice of how these numbers got so high. Although I personally have not grown up in a divorced household, I sought to understand why so many other people have, and in turn possibly gain knowledge to avoid becoming a part of the divorced population as well. In Steven Nock’s article, â€Å"America’s Divorce Problem,† he encloses the important point that â€Å"Divorce is not the problem, but rather a symptom of the problem† (1 Nock).With varying symptoms such as the feminist movement in the 1960s, an increase in financial dependence, increased career mobility, and the overall changed perception of marriage, the divorce rates have increased rapidly since the 1960s and deserve further explanation. The overall family structure has been challenged, and fault lines in American families have widened since the 1960s and the 1970s, which is when the divorce rate doubled.In the magazine article, â€Å"The Pursuit of Autonomy,† Alan Wolfe states that â€Å"the family is no longer a haven; all too often a center of dysfunction, it has become one with the heartless world that surrounds it. † While this statement may be a slight exaggeration of the family perception, reasons remain for the rapid increase of 30 percent in the divorce rate since the 1960s. Discussed in Barbara LeBay’s article, †Å"American Families Are Drifting Apart,† there are supposedly four main societal changes that occurred in the 1960s, which have greatly impacted today’s traditional family structures in America.Such societal changes include the sexual revolution, women's liberation movement, states' relaxation of divorce laws, and mobility of American families and are said to be responsible for many of our family alienations. During this time frame, society’s youth fled from the confines of family, while other family members sought to keep them close and as a result, it is said that there were most likely more problematic issues between children and parents during the 1960s and early 1970s than ever before.More importantly, the women's liberation movement in the workplace played a large role in changing the values and perceptions of family structure in America. Before this time, men were the assumed leader of each household and were given the largest responsibility of advancing i n their careers to make a living, while women were for the most part financially dependent upon them. However, starting in the 1960s women with a college degree could live independently and establish a life for themselves.There was a new recognition in society that civil rights meant equal rights for everyone, including women (243 Finsterbursch). Women sought sexual equality, which included a wider range of career opportunities and promotions that were once available only to men. By having this form of financial independence, women also had more of the freedom to break away from destructive or unhappy marriages. Although this movement is an important and productive one, it also impacted the traditional notions of marriage.Marriage had suddenly become a â€Å"choice,† rather than a â€Å"necessity,† and the entire concept of divorce became less of an issue. Another great change during this time period was the increase in mobility of families in which many family members were no longer living in the same household with one another. Men and women began to move to wherever they could advance in the corporate ladder in the shortest amount of time. Despite how far it was from where they grew up, college students took more jobs away from home, jeopardizing family unity.People needed to invest lots of time and energy to recreate their lives without the support of their family with these relocations, and still today many are willing to sacrifice their family relationships in order to advance in their careers. Barbara Lebay makes the important point that strangely, the more financially independent people become, the more families scatter and grow apart and tolerance levels decrease as their financial means increase (1 Lebay).In relation to this observation, Joseph Ducanto makes a similar point about the financial effects of divorce on poverty, along with the idea that while fixing the divorce system will not eliminate the future of poverty, certain changes can help to bring the problem into an easier resolution. In the article, â€Å"Divorce and Poverty are Often Synonymous,† there is praise for the concept of prenuptial agreements due to the fact that in recent years, prenuptial agreements have been adopted by many states of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.The adoption of this Act is said to â€Å"significantly strengthen the legal basis for acceptance and enforcement of these agreements within marital proceedings† (90 Ducanto). In today’s society, the need and importance of prenuptial agreements signifies our priority of finances being a common theme to marriage termination. Often times, who makes the money in the family and just how much can determine whether a marriage will stay together or not, an issue that was not common before the 1960s. The accumulation of marriage and divorce laws over the years are also said to have affected our increasing divorce rates.Since the 1970’s, all states have had access to what are called â€Å"no-fault divorces,† with the only real restriction being a waiting time limit of a few months to a year. The motivation for this concept came from the movement of people who felt this would benefit women and children who were stuck in verbally or physically abusive marriages. However, in Steven Nock’s article, â€Å"America’s Divorce Problem,† he discusses that many believe that the facility of this idea has also created somewhat of a â€Å"divorce culture† to the United States in which the traditional sanctions of marriage are no longer respected as much.Others also disapprove of the no-fault divorce saying that it often leaves women dependent, harms the interest of the children, and deteriorates the general social welfare (1 Nock). Although I personally have not grown up in a divorced household, I sought to understand why so many other people have, and in turn possibly gain knowledge to avoid becoming a part of th e divorced population as well.With varying symptoms such as the feminist movement in the 1960s, an increase in financial dependence, increased career mobility, and the overall changed perception of marriage, the divorce rates have increased rapidly since the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, there came the beginning of what some would describe as a â€Å"divorce culture† for America in which divorce was not seen as such a serious matter, with even the electing our first divorced President of the United States, Ronald Regan.Although events and movements of this era such as women’s empowerment in the workplace are very important to history, they have also impacted the traditional notions of marriage. Marriage has become a â€Å"choice,† rather than a â€Å"necessity,† and the entire concept of divorce is much less of an issue. This new attitude on divorce has clearly prevailed to current times and will hopefully correct itself throughout more changes in ev ents to our society. Works Cited Ducanto, Joseph N. â€Å"Divorce and Poverty Are Often Synonymous.   American Journal of Family Law  24. 2 (2010): 87-94. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. Finsterbusch, Kurt. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Social Issues. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print. LeBey, Barbara. â€Å"American Families Are Drifting Apart. †Ã‚  USA Today Magazine  130. 2676 (2001): 20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Nock, Steven L. â€Å"America's Divorce Problem. †Ã‚  Society  36. 4 (1999): 43-52. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.