A Flood, an Ark, a Third Word I Am Missing

A Flood, an Ark, a Third Word I Am Missing Hello again, internet~ It has been a while. Well, actually, I’m on the internet everyday, so it hasn’t been that long at all. At most three hours, maybe. But as for this particular piece of the internet, I haven’t blagged since the fall semester started due to trying to get on top of everything and hopefully make academics run more smoothly this year.   So far, it’s been a lot more work already, but actually, I think I enjoy my classes and the work way more than last semesterwhich I guess means I picked the right major! (An example of some ridiculousness from one of my classes,  6.005: Elements of Software Construction) This is my first post of the academic year, so I’ll treat it as a bit of a new beginning, even though I still blogged over the summer (and all the other bloggers have been blogging a lot, too!). To returning readers, thanks for sticking around, and to new ones, I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself so far! As a recap, my name’s Selam; I’m a 2A-6 (Mechanical Engineering with Computer Science) sophomore. I’m from Colorful Colorado, with roots in my father’s nation, Ethiopia, and my mother’s, China. I consider myself both entirely Chinese and entirely Ethiopian rather than half of either (you may have two hands and two feet, I have two or three cultures!) (and also hands and feet, in case that wasn’t clear). I speak Chinese fluently; I can communicate pretty well in my dad’s regional language, Kafa Noo’no, and I know at least enough Amharic to maybe find my way home if I were lost in Addis Ababa. You’ve probably already guessed that I get excited by things like robots and engineering and sometimes, slaying one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse,  even though it isn’t my major. But I also get excited (really, really excited) by writing, social media, cultures, languages, and just people in general. Meeting people is pretty cool, both physically and virtually, so ple ase, send me emails! Last year, at the start of my admissions blogging in the spring and throughout the semester that followed, I talked/wrote/typed a lot about what it was like to be away from home, and what it was like facing real, raw feelings of failure or disappointment here at college. It was a pretty rocky road, but like climbing any mountain, now that I’ve done it once, I really do feel so much better prepared for this year and beyondand honestly, it was actually pretty fun most of the time! The most important things I gained were not necessarily academic skills or time management skills (though that definitely improved a lot too). It was the ability to separate myself from my troubles and my failures, to look at them objectively without succumbing to absolute despair. It was really hard to gain that, but also really powerfulonce you’re no longer scared of failure (because, well, it’s happened so much and so spectacularly already) you aren’t really scared of doing anything! That said, I a lso think a good lesson from freshman year could be summed up by a tumblr post I saw the other day: you can do anything, but you can’t do everything. If my previous year was about finding my “home” and facing failure, then this year, I can already see another theme of the semester taking shape, or at least an interesting tangent: Community. What is a community? This is probably the most cliche question I have ever let fall from my very own keystrokes, and doubtless, many of you applying to basically anything ever have had it asked of you in some way: how are you involved in your community, what impacts have you made on your community, how could you make your community better, and on and on. To answer these kinds of questions, you first have to ask yourself what your community is, and how you fit in it. When living at home with my parents, many of my communities were already defined for me. There’s the very obvious physical placesthe neighborhood we lived in, my school, our church. Then, there was a network of our family friends, often linked to us through Chinese or Ethiopian culture. Since all my extended family lived on other continents, many of these people were placeholder aunts and uncles and cousinsand emotionally speaking, I was just as close to many of them as my actual family members, if not closer. We spent holidays together, grieved together, and generally went through the vicissitudes of life together. When I was really little, for a long time I actually thought we were all biologically related, and was shocked to find out when I was maybe eight that “auntie”, “uncle”, “big sister”, and other words were actually just used as affectionate terms rather than literal familial bonds in both Mandarin and Amharic. Pre-defined places and communities are comfortable. They may not exactly be “your people” all the time, and when one is twelve to fifteen, might even seem horribly inane or irrational. But nonetheless, they are there, and they aren’t going anywhere, which is comfortable. In college, especially far from home, that isn’t true anymore. There is, frankly, nothing there with much certainty, and you have to find communities yourself. Last year, I lived in the lovely dorm of Simmons, whose culture I always compare to Canada (partly because there’s a GRT in it with a lot of Canadian pride). The building is very clean, the people are very nice, and it is quite large with lots of spacelike Canada. Canada is great, and so is Simmons! I really liked living there, and I also liked living inside of a piece of art, since the building is also an incredible architectural piece. (An eerily gorgeous Simmons pic from Snowpocalypse 2015; photo credits to my roommate last year, Ayesha B. 18!) This year, I moved to New House. I had planned it last year. I moved for two reasons; one was just because I wanted to experience another dorm’s culture at MIT, since there are so many and they are all so cool, and the other was that I wanted to be off the meal plan and experience cooking for myself. Simmons has a dining hall in it, so if you live there, you have to be on the meal plan. The reason I moved specifically to New House rather than another cooking dorm was that I had a lot of friends there, especially in Chocolate City, House 2, and Spanish House. I moved into House 4, thinking I’d be able to meet other people on the west side of the dormitory I didn’t know, and still be close to my friends in the first three houses. But there was no way I could have planned for the flood. Returning readers will know I like to use a lot of extended metaphorstempering iron, making porcelain, and climbing mountains are just a few. This time, I’m talking about an actual, literal flood. As in, water, pouring from everywhere and onto everything and destroying all that you love. A faulty fire sprinkler pipe burst and poured all of its reserves all over House 2, affecting houses 1, 2, and 3. Within the ridiculously short time span of an hour, a lot of students items in storage rooms were badly damaged, and the floors and walls needed intense repairs. I was very surprised over the summer when I received the email that half of New House was going to have to live in the Hyatt Hotel for all of first semester while repairs were made. Fortunately, House 4 was not affected, so I’m still living in New House proper, so to speak. Most unfortunately, everyone I knew left. Most of them did not seem particularly excited about it eitherthe hotel is not made for college students; it doe sn’t really have any community space, and they have to bring their laundry back to New House to do it. Most ironically, it was all caused by a fire sprinkler, something that’s supposed to protect against damage. There wasn’t even a fire. Well. I found myself, at the beginning of the semester, almost like a freshman all over again. I was in a place where I didn’t really know that many people, even if it was just my dormitory and I still knew people around campus. It’s a small change compared to last year; but still, I found myself thinking about it. I felt slightly uncomfortable again, in a new place where I didn’t know that many people, and I wasn’t sure what it was I was missing or I was looking for. Suddenly, maybe when I was sitting in my room watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and feeling a little melancholy for no real reason, I realized that I fully understood, in a way I had not before, what a community wasmostly because at the time, I felt like I did not have one. I had friends, but now it felt like they were separate points, not correlated or linked in any particular way. A community is a different concept than individual friendships or relationships, because in a community, one is not necessarily close with everyone in the group, but some shared value or bond creates a feeling of mutual obligation. For example, if I were anywhere in the world, I’d be pretty excited to run into another MIT student or alumn, even if I did not know them at all, just because we share the MIT community and its various goals and values. Greek life is a type of deliberately created community. I had a pretty negative view of greek life when I first came to MIT, mostly because my impressions of it came from other colleges or the media, where I’d heard mostly of the problems with greek life rather than its benefitsspecifically fraternities. While I still think at large there are a lot of serious social issues with greek life in the US, life is definitely different on an individual scale, and so I found my perspective more diversified when my own close friends were in fraternities and sororities. In college, a lot of students are looking for social support, and greek life provides an intentional network of support. I have a better idea of why people find that concept appealing now, having been in college for a year and felt a little lost or displaced for myself. You could argue a lot about whether or not greek life is the right solution to that problem depending on exactly how it is implemented and where, but my point is, fraternities and sororities are communities that have a sole purpose, really, of being communities, and this idea makes sense to me now. MIT’s Independent Living Groups, like Pika and WILG (Women’s Independent Living Group) are other structured, off-campus communities that a lot of people join for the same reason, and without some of the connotations greek life might have. MIT is different in a lot of ways from other schools, but one of the biggest I’ve actually been able to notice from just talking to my friends at other colleges is the dorm life. Dorm communities are taken very seriously at MIT; housing is guaranteed for four years so no one is forced to move off campus, and there’s no such thing as “freshman dorms”. Each of the dorms has its own culture, and students are given the freedom to choose between them. The dorms are not only where we live, but also where people form lasting relationships with each other and support one another. All the dorms are different, and what makes New House different is that, actually, the dormitory itself is a large community composed of smaller communities. This is definitely true of other dorms as well, with different floors having different cultures, but New House’s cultural living groups are formally recognized by MIT, and require applications to enter. New House is physically divided into six towers, called “houses”. Some of them connect across and some don’t. House 1 is home to iHouse and Chocolate City. La Casa, or Spanish House, is the 2nd floor of both Houses 3 and 4. French House and German House are arranged in Houses 5 and 6 (I can’t remember exactly how) and the rest of the dormitory is regular dorm space. I live in the regular dorm space of House 4. Finally, there are all the many, many student groups on campus where you can forge and find a community. Many are professional or activity based, like Sloan Business Club or Dance Troupe, and many are cultural, like the BSU (Black Students’ Union) or MIT CSC (Chinese Students’ Club). The first week I was back at MIT, I went from setting up my room in House 4, to hanging out with my friend Kevin P. ‘18 at his fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta, where I also knew a couple of his fraternity brothers. Afterward, I went to visit a few other friends at the Nu Delta fraternity. The next day, I went to set up and run the activities midway booth for Chinese Students’ Club (CSC), after preparing many, many dumplings, and talked to a lot of the freshmen interested in joining. All the while, I observed, perhaps more closely than before, how each place or group conducted itself as a community. They all had different cultures, different structures, different markers of membership. All fraternity brothers or sorority sisters are a part of their fraternity or sorority; in a dormitory or club you have to actively want to participate in activities to really become a part of the community. I could appreciate how each of these places offered different things to different people, and what they all gained from it. By the end of the week, I was much more comfortable in my room in New House 4. After being on campus a bit longer, I remembered that actually, I was part of many communities, formal and informal, with a varying role in each of them. I met a lot more of the people in New House 4 and discovered they were all pretty awesome, and I’m glad I get to live with them. Though I’m still sad my friends are so horribly far away (like a whole six minute walk!) at Th e Hyatt, I also visited them there and hung out for a bit. Structured or unstructured, I realized the best way to find a community is to really participate, to get to know other people, to find that value or connection you might share with them. If you don’t participate, you don’t walk out into the lounge and ask your floormate’s name, you don’t go on the late-night IHop trip, you don’t take the time to do any of these things for whatever reason, then it becomes a lot harder to “find your people”, as some might say. New House 3, or NH3 (yes, they do have ammonia as their logo) has actually already had most of its repairs completed already, so you can usually find at least one of their house’s members lounging about or working in their brand new first floor kitchens at any given time of day. I honestly sometimes forget that they actually live at The Hyatt, because they’re in their kitchens all the time. Once as a group of them were headed back for the night, I heard someone say, “well, let’s go back to the ark” “The ark?” I asked curiously. “Well, yes. We all have to live in doubles at the hotel, so you know, there was a great flood, we went two by two.” They smiled at each other and we all had a good laugh about it. But I also thought about how interesting the comparison was. The reason that so many of the New House students live in the Hyatt instead of filling up other dorms is only partly due to the fact that there wouldn’t be enough space. In fact, I think if MIT really wanted to, we could find a way to cram people into each crevice of each dormitory (I mean, have you seen the forced quads in Maseeh?) or at least enough so that very few people would have to live in some sort of extra housing, like the Hyatt. Rather, the reason they all mutually came to the decision to live there is because they did not want to be separated from each other. They wanted to keep their communities together, and in their case, the communities were partly defined by physical space. And MIT actually recognized this need, working to accommodate it somehow. That should show how important it is, both to the students and the Institute, that these communities all exist. We are at an exciting, but potentially fragile ti me of life, and in a place that really doesn’t treat us very mildly. We can be incredibly smart and incredibly strong, facing academic blows with nothing but a laptop and pure grit!but we also need the space to be vulnerable, and we need people we can safely open up to. While that other,  biblical flood and ark indicated the wiping out of the world, this flood only physically wiped out a very small part of it. The residents could have easily been dispersed elsewhere. And yet, we needed the ark anyway. It was that important, keeping everyone together. (True story: agonized over this title for days before giving up and going with that.) (A Flood and an Ark just sounds like its missing something.right??) (If you have any idea of what the Third Word should be, you should totally comment it below) (because I could not figure it out) (lol) (interactive blagging?)

Definition and Examples of Non Sequiturs

A non sequitur is a  fallacy in which a conclusion does not follow logically from what preceded it. Also known as  irrelevant reason and fallacy of the consequent. As illustrated below, nonsequiturs are the products of many different kinds of errors in reasoning, including begging the question, false dilemma, ad hominem, the appeal to ignorance, and the straw man argument. Indeed, as  Steve Hindes observes in Think for Yourself  (2005), A  non sequitur  is any pretended jump in  logic  that doesnt work cleanly, perhaps because of unfounded  premises, unmentioned complicating factors, or alternative explanations, such as This war is righteous because we are French! or You will do what I say because you are my wife! The Latin expression non sequitur means it does not follow. Pronunciation: non SEK-wi-terr Examples and Observations Savannah City Manager Stephanie Cutter: We realize that it would be in the best interest of the community and our children to address the issue expeditiously. In order to make this happen, I respectfully request an eight-month payment delay calling for payment of the $10 million obligation on August 31, 2015. John Llewellyn: Warming was caused by sunspots, or fluctuations in the Earths orbit, or volcanic eruptions. Therefore it cannot be caused by mankind. The therefore is the giveaway, the delicious non sequitur: just because Earth has warmed for one or another reason in the past is no reason why it cannot warm for a completely different reason in the future. Justin E.H. Smith: Immanuel Kant, considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the modern period, would manage to let slip what is surely the greatest non-sequitur in the history of philosophy: describing a report of something seemingly intelligent that had once been said by an African, Kant dismisses it on the grounds that this fellow was quite black from head to toe, a clear proof that what he said was stupid. Nigel Warburton: Non sequiturs are most obvious when absurd. For instance, from the facts that most cats like milk and some cats have tails I could not derive the conclusion that David Hume was the greatest British philosopher. That would be a complete non sequitur that borders on the surreal, whether or not its conclusion is true. Non sequiturs are often advertised by the spurious use of so and therefore..., but the context of a statement can also suggest that it is a conclusion derived from what has gone before even when there is no such word used to indicate it.Any formal fallacy will have a non sequitur as its conclusion, though most of these non sequiturs will be less obvious than the one above. Bill Bryson: Non sequiturs are most often encountered in newspapers, where constructions such as the following are common: Slim, of medium height, and with sharp features, Mr. Smiths technical skills are combined with strong leadership qualities (New York Times). What, we might ask, do Mr. Smiths height and features have to do with his leadership qualities? Mabel Lewis Sahakian: The difference between the post hoc and the non sequitur fallacies is that, whereas the post hoc fallacy is due to lack of a causal connection, in the non sequitur fallacy, the error is due to lack of a logical connection.

The First Atomic Bomb Of President Harry S. Truman

Walker Response Paper On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb that the world had ever seen was dropped onto Hiroshima on orders of President Harry S. Truman. Three days later, a second bomb fell onto Nagasaki. While not all may find the bombs necessary to end the war with Japan, Truman had his own reasons for causing such devastation. He wanted the fastest possible end to the war to save soldiers’ lives, many Americans, as well as his key advisor, Byrnes, wanted the â€Å"unconditional surrender† (Walker 46) of Japan, and there was hatred still harbored against the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As Truman addressed Congress, he â€Å"reaffirmed his support for the unconditional surrender policy† (Walker 46), and was cheered for it. As the war†¦show more content†¦Truman was warned that, â€Å"to dethrone, or hang, the Emperor would cause a tremendous and violent reaction from all Japanese. Hanging of the Emperor to them would be comparable to the cru cifixion of Christ to us† (Walker 43). Truman was stuck with this decision. There was a possibility to hasten the Japanese surrender with the promise of keeping the Emperor on the throne, but the American people wanted the â€Å"unconditional† kept in surrendering. As he debated his options, soldiers continued to die, on both sides of the war. Ultimately, Truman wanted to end this war quickly as to spare both combatant and noncombatant lives. He â€Å"not only sympathized with Roosevelt’s strategy of winning the war at the lowest possible cost in American casualties on a policy level, he empathized with it on a personal level† (Walker 10), being a former soldier himself in World War I. The American people’s desire for unconditional surrender of Japanese leaders were distinctly clear. In polls of 1945, people polled in a nine-to-one margin that the United States should do what was necessary for the enemy to be â€Å"completely beaten† (Walker 46), and they also strongly supported the idea of the Emperor being punished. This weighed on Truman, as negotiating with the enemy, with the brutish Japanese to the American’s eyes, could undermine the morale of his people. The American peoples’ animosity towards the JapaneseShow MoreRelatedTruman and Atomic Bombs649 Words   |  3 Pagesare to take a side and then write an editorial on Harry S Truman’s decision to order the dropping of the atom bomb. HARRY S TRUMAN amp; THE DECISION TO ORDER THE DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB Boom! Boom! Seventy thousands Japanese citizens were perished instantly after the first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Japanese still refused to surrender to Allied forces. On August 9, 1945, with the dropping of the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki, where eighty thousands people wereRead MoreThe Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb1207 Words   |  5 Pagesdropping of the atomic bombs in Japan was a very helpful source for the United States during the WWII. President Truman, took the responsibility of dropping and creation of the atomic bomb. For the reason that The United States was seeking revenge on Japan for the attack at Pearl Harbor. The atomic bomb caused a high number of innocent Japanese deaths and also awful sickness. The atomic bombs left a big impact in the Japanese empire; also effected the Japanese at the time of the atomic bomb and the generationRead MoreThe Atomic Bomb : A Significant Period Of Time That Molds The United States980 Words   |  4 Pag esThe Atomic Bomb in Japan President Truman, decision over booming Japan is a significant period of time that molds the United States. The crucial decision that was made on August of 1945, brought World War II to an end. While bringing the WWII to an end, it attracted a lot of debates over the use of the atomic bombs in the war. Even though the WWII has ended decades ago debates still lingers to this point. Having people in both sides of the debates, makes people wonder if the use of the first atomicRead MoreEssay on The Decision of the Century1031 Words   |  5 PagesThe Decision of the Century On August 2, 1945, Harry S. Truman made the toughest decision of his life. He knew that if he made the right decision, he would save hundreds of thousands of American lives. In making this decision, he would also be responsible for the deaths of hundreds and thousands of Japanese lives. If he made the wrong decision, the war would drudge on as the death count rose higher and higher as each new battle was fought. Japan would not surrender unconditionally, as theRead MorePresident Truman: The Reasoning for Dropping the Atomic Bomb1230 Words   |  5 PagesHarry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States of America. He became president because Franklin D. Roosevelt died during his term; Truman was Roosevelt’s Vice President at the time. Truman found himself facing some of the greatest challenges met by any 20th-century president. He discovered in July 1945 that some scientists working for the United States government had successfully tested an atomic bomb in New M exico. President Truman wanted to use the atomic bomb to end the war in theRead MoreHarry S. Truman s President Of All Time1478 Words   |  6 PagesHarry S Truman was the 33rd president of the United States and according to the Harry S Truman website, the 5th most popular president of all time. Truman played a big part in ending World War II and beginning the Cold War. He was elected in 1945, after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in April 1945. He also ended racial segregation in the civil service and the armed forces in 1948. Which will all be covered in this topic of Harry S. Truman, also discussing his presidency, personal accomplishmentsRead MoreThe Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki700 Words   |  3 PagesThe Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States was completely unjustified in dropping the atomic bomb because it was used so we could have a sense of â€Å"power† over the rest of the world. President Harry Truman had paid no heed to his prior statements as to the intended use of the bomb; and not only had it violated the Hague Convention, but it also caused lifelong repercussions for Japan’s land and people. The United States, nearly 70 years later, has yet to apologize to the victims orRead MoreEssay Pres, Truman Atomic Bomb Decision1421 Words   |  6 PagesPresident Trumans Decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki During World War II the war in Europe ended after the unconditional German surrender at General Eisenhowers Headquarters in Reims, France, May 7, 1945. After the unconditional German surrender in Europe the war shifted to Asia and the Pacific. As the war continued against Japan the Allied forces captured islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinaawa close to Japan brought the Japanese homeland within range of naval and airRead MoreUnderstanding the Decisions to Drop The Atomic Bomb Essay873 Words   |  4 PagesWorried about Nazi Germany’s technological advances earlier in the war, the United States began to research atomic energy and the possibility of creating an atomic bomb (Walker 10). When the bombs were created, the arguments for and against the use of it were gruesome, lengthy, and all understandable in some way. During the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, President Harry S. Truman and his fellow politicians had to consider the ethical arguments provided by the scientif ic community and theRead MorePresident Truman And The Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb1280 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout history there have been many important decisions made by our presidents that have affected our country for the better and for the worse. Even though people claim that they could have made better judgement calls than what have been decided, no one knows exactly what circumstances the president is under when the decisions have to be made. In the case of President Harry Truman and the dropping of the atomic bomb, many speculators say that it was a great way to resolve the war with Japan while

Cultural Differences Between The East And West Essay

Yejin You Prof. Patrick Johanson Writing 21 October 2016 Cultural differences between the east and west There is a great different between the cultures of western country and eastern country. The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole. Due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and West, they grew up in their own ways with few cultural exchange so cultural differences has been formed a lot. I’m going to describe the differences in three big ways. Firstly, I’m going to talk about some differences with people’s habits and ideas. Every culture has religion. In western, religion is a very much existent concept. But it’s bit different with eastern. Their society is given more importance. It can be gauged by the events related to religion that still stir societies in this part of the world. The idea of independence in its true context exists more in the western culture. As basic as children moving out of the parents’ house after a certain age which is very much common but this could be seen as blasphemous to family in eastern. Most eastern culture’s independence comes with â€Å"ifs† and â€Å"buts† or laden with various other conditions. No individual can be truly independent in the east because they regard as the family precedes related to the self. In brief, The East stands for spiritualism, the West for materialism, people of the East care more for the developmentShow MoreRelated Cultural Differences between the West and East716 Words   |  3 Pagesgoal to compare Western World, here represented by Europe and the USA, and Eastern World, represented by the Eastern and the Southeastern Asia. While most of the Eastern Asia is heavily traditional because of influence of Confucianism and Taoism, the West is more liberal and atheistic. Because of this, these two cultures parts away in questions of family traditions, family bonds, general respect towards elders, and also the value of education. As mentioned before, tradition has a very strong unshakableRead MoreCultural Differences Between The East And West Ideologies Essay1672 Words   |  7 Pagesmanagement methodologies? Looking at some of the differences between the East and West ideologies there are several areas to compare and contrast the principles. Hence, these cultural differences play an important role in how life and work are perceived and offer key markers into the differences that have allowed the Japanese to develop a unique style of management that pervades the entire culture. Another contributing aspect of the differences in Japanese management styles focuses upon the century’sRead MoreApril 1971 Colonel M.A.G Osmani was selected as Commander of Bengali armed forces. Organized1100 Words   |  5 Pagesseveral factors such as Language issue, cultural differences, contemptuous attitudes in the government especially the behaviour of government officials, the demands of Six-Point of Awami League and economic differences. The physical distance was insignificant compared to the cultural, economic and environmental difference of two parts. The only connection religion was not enough to balance the enormous disparity created through economic oppression and cultural exploitation. Language issue is the mostRead MoreThe Effects Of Historical Effects On Modern Economic Development1637 Words   |  7 Pagesstarted to explore the persistence of less quantifiable institutions, such as value differences. In general, values tend to persist over generations if circumstances do not change dramatically (Giuliano Nunn, 2017). For example, Becker et al. (2015) found that the population residing within the former border of the Habsburg Empire has a more trusting attitude towards state institutions. Since value differences persist across populations, and are inherently linked with decision-making, it is importantRead MoreThe Release Of India From The British Grip Of Power Seemed1728 Words   |  7 Pagesgrip of power seemed to be a historic victory, but it soon posed problems for the inhabitants the subcontinent. Ever since the formation of Pakistan and India, the East Pakis tani population saw a cultural divide between themselves and their Western counterpart. Although there were numerous other factors that had contributed to this difference, language was the one critical catalyst for Bengali self-determination. The formation of Bangladeshi nationalism began with the Bengali Language movement, whichRead MoreAladdin And Orientalism : A Little Bit Of The Middle East1239 Words   |  5 Pagesthought that the movie Aladdin had more to it than just showing a little bit of the Middle East? That is because the movie Aladdin shows Orientalism in many ways. Orientalism is a canonical text of cultural studies where Said has challenged the concept of Orientalism by: the difference between east and west, the start of European colonization the Europeans came in contact with the lesser developed countries of the east and found their civilization and culture very exotic and established the science of orientalismRead MoreThe Attacks of 9/11 and the Subsequent Global War on Terror: Primordialist and Constructivist Perceptions1439 Words   |  6 Pagessee it in primordial terms? How would a primordialist and constructivist each explain these events? Primordialism The primordialist view would suggest that the attacks were prompted by irreconcilable differences between Islamic culture and the West and that Islam felt threatened by the West. Essentially it states that ethnic groups and nationalities exist because there are traditions of belief and action towards primordial objects such as biological factors and especially territorial locationRead MoreAmy Tan s The Joy Luck Club1023 Words   |  5 PagesBetween Two Worlds: Chinese Diaspora in America Stuart Hall points out that â€Å"Identity is a production rather than an already accomplished fact.† The quest of the identity is the never-ending journey of every person. As a Chinese, after reading Clifford, Peteet, Halls and other scholars’ articles, a diasporic and often considered as postcolonial discourses- Amy Tan’s debut novel The Joy Luck Club comes to my mind. Amy Tan, as one of the renowned contemporary Chinese American writers, and alsoRead MoreButterfly : A Romantic Drama Directed By David Cronenberg1515 Words   |  7 Pagesbased on the written by David Henry Hwang on his play with the same name. Jeremy Irons and John Lone presented as the main characters of this film. The time shown in this film is from 1958, before the outbreak of the Vietnam War; across the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) until 1986, which situated in Beijing, China and Paris. Rene Gallimard as Jeremy Irons, is a diplomat at the French Embassy in Beijing, China, at a time when France and the People’s Republic of China are establishing diplomaticRead MoreResearch Paper957 Words   |  4 Pages3 Data I use data from the German Socioeconomic Panel administered annually from 1984 by the German Institute for Economic research (Wagner, Frick Schupp 2007; Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), 2017)). Starting 1991, GSOEP started including East German data. More than 10’000 individuals are resurveyed and asked a variety of questions concerning their education, employment, life satisfaction, family relations, etc. Each individual is also linked to a household, and household-specific questionnaires are

The Love of a Mother free essay sample

Different people influence our lives everyday. Friends, teachers, parents, even strangers can influence us. Some are positive to who we are as a person†¦Others, not so much. For me, the person who has had the most significant influence on me is the most important person in my life. That person is my mother. In my opinion, it’s natural for a parent to have a very significant influence on their children. But in my case, my mother has gone beyond just having an influence on me. She has made me who I am today. She has not only been an influence, but she’s raised me to have values that I treasure. My mom is a strong Christian woman. Since I was a baby, we’ve always gone to church, and she’s always taught me how to live right in the eyes of the Lord. Mom has never been overly strict, but she never let me get away with lying, stealing, or anything else society disapproves of. We will write a custom essay sample on The Love of a Mother or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Because of this, I do my best to always be honest and follow any rules given to me. This has given me a positive reputation with my teachers and friends. My mother is very supportive. She always stands behind whatever I want to do, especially when it comes to my music. I’ve been performing since I was five, and she’s been to every concert and show. She loves to hear me sing, and never fails to help me when I need it. The support has impacted me in a very strong way. I don’t get nervous on stage, and I have a great amount of confidence due to her encouragement. To mom, schoolwork is extremely important. Ever since Kindergarten, she has made sure my grades are good. Luckily, I’ve never really struggled, so she didn’t have much to worry about. Without her want for me to succeed, my grades might not be as good as they are. I don’t want to disappoint her, so I always do my best. Doing my best has made me a good student, and I also excel in music. It’s gotten me into habits that make me work hard and help me to stay focused. In today’s society, people are rude, selfish, and often untrustworthy. But my mom would never allow me to have these characteristics. Instead, she made sure that I had manners, and that I was polite and friendly to everyone I meet. I say please and thank you and I usually have a smile on my face. She taught me to be selfless, much like herself. She is constantly serving other people. I strive to be that way, too. She never let me be selfish, and taught me to share and to give. Recently, I’ve become very involved in community service to try and give back to society. This is a result from my mom’s influence. Mom also taught me to be honest in everything I do. I don’t lie. Mom’s expectations for me have shaped me into a person who gets along with everyone, and avoids drama at all cost. Because of my mother, I am a better person than I ever could hope to be without her. She has taught me how to be a good person, and given me confidence through her love and support. Our relationship is far from perfect. But I love her, and she is truly an amazing woman. Her influence on me has impacted me more than anyone else, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Case Study - Cineplex Essays - Loews Cineplex Entertainment

Case Study - Cineplex Company Background In 1979 Garth Drabinsky and Nathan Taylor formed Cineplex. From early on Cineplex saw itself as a niche player. They used small screens to show specialty movies and they employed this strategy not to challenge major chains, but to compliment them. Cineplex did well primarily because of their concept for carefully planned use of shared facilities. With this success they began to expand across Canada with a very rapid rate of expansion. During this expansion however they amassed a 21 million-dollar debt. Also, distributors became reluctant to supply Cineplex for fear of alienating the two largest Canadian chains. In 1983 to avoid bankruptcy, Cineplex reduced its debt by selling off some of its recently purchased assets. Darbinsky also took legal action to win back access to major releases. Son after this time he also purchased the Odeon chain so that he would be able to bid for early runs of movies. This gave Cineplex a major position in the industry. Through Darthbinsky's relentless tactics Cineplex Odeon was the second largest motion picture chain with 1,800 screens in over 500 locations. Now that Darthinsky owned one of North America's major theater chains he sought to change the movie going experience by changing the layout and atmosphere of the theaters to attract even more moviegoers. Drabinsky endeavored to use the size of his chain to obtain added clout with film studious and distributors. Drabinsky had no plans to slow his companies' rapid pace of expansion and he extended Cineplex Odeon's production activities through other branches of the entertainment industry. His unrelenting drive for growth placed tremendous pressure on the company's finances. As doubt grew about the financial health of Cineplex Odeon, Drabinsky reputation as a brilliant strategist was gradually subject to increased scrutiny. He realized his weaning support and ho sought to gain control by buying a large stake in the company. MCA, one of the controlling stockholders, blocked this successfully and forced Darbinsky from his leadership position with the company. When Darbinsky left he left a company carrying a massive $655 million dollar debt. Alan Karp assumed the leadership role and immediately began to cut costs and divest some of Cineplex Odeon's assets. He also took steps to increased concession revenues. In a short amount of time Karp was successful in cutting the debt by ? and was able to switch back to more of a strategic focus. He began to show interest in further growth. As of 1995 Cineplex Odeon reported a loss of $30 million for the 1st 6 months of the year. These numbers started to raise concerns about Karp's ability to turn things around. His attempt to merge with a major chain failed a few months earlier. Although the merger was called off Karp remained enthusiastic about the potential of the company. Analysis Financial I would rate their current financial condition as fair to poor. Return on Total Assets ? not significant Current Ratio ? .22891 (very poor) Long-term debt to equity ratio ? 81.85 Many of their financial ratios are significantly insignificant with profits being negative. SWOT Potential Resource Strengths 1. 85% percent of the company's U.S screens were in the top 15 U.S. markets, while 75% of its Canadian screens were in the top 10 Canadian Markets. 2. Cineplex recently spent $57.5 million in refurbishment and construction of new theaters. This included introducing DTS sound systems in many of its locations. 3. Now embraced a strategy of cautious growth and more sound financial management. 4. With its relatively large size Cineplex could use some muscle to get first run movies and demand bigger revenue splitting. 5. Had very strong concession sales. Potential Resource Weaknesses 1. Seemed to have no clear strategy or business plan ? at one point Karp stated ?that he had not even begun to consider what strategic benefits Seagram might bring to Cineplex?, something he should have been looking at. 2. Fair to poor financial condition with in the company. Weak balance sheet and excess debt. 3. History of overaggressive expansion ? weary shareholders and stakeholders may prevent or slow future mergers or acquisitions. Potential Company Opportunities 1. Alliances or mergers to expand coverage. Karp believed Cineplex was capable of running a theater chain twice as big. 2. The international exhibition business. 3. Case Study - Cineplex Essays - Loews Cineplex Entertainment Case Study - Cineplex Company Background In 1979 Garth Drabinsky and Nathan Taylor formed Cineplex. From early on Cineplex saw itself as a niche player. They used small screens to show specialty movies and they employed this strategy not to challenge major chains, but to compliment them. Cineplex did well primarily because of their concept for carefully planned use of shared facilities. With this success they began to expand across Canada with a very rapid rate of expansion. During this expansion however they amassed a 21 million-dollar debt. Also, distributors became reluctant to supply Cineplex for fear of alienating the two largest Canadian chains. In 1983 to avoid bankruptcy, Cineplex reduced its debt by selling off some of its recently purchased assets. Darbinsky also took legal action to win back access to major releases. Son after this time he also purchased the Odeon chain so that he would be able to bid for early runs of movies. This gave Cineplex a major position in the industry. Through Darthbinsky's relentless tactics Cineplex Odeon was the second largest motion picture chain with 1,800 screens in over 500 locations. Now that Darthinsky owned one of North America's major theater chains he sought to change the movie going experience by changing the layout and atmosphere of the theaters to attract even more moviegoers. Drabinsky endeavored to use the size of his chain to obtain added clout with film studious and distributors. Drabinsky had no plans to slow his companies' rapid pace of expansion and he extended Cineplex Odeon's production activities through other branches of the entertainment industry. His unrelenting drive for growth placed tremendous pressure on the company's finances. As doubt grew about the financial health of Cineplex Odeon, Drabinsky reputation as a brilliant strategist was gradually subject to increased scrutiny. He realized his weaning support and ho sought to gain control by buying a large stake in the company. MCA, one of the controlling stockholders, blocked this successfully and forced Darbinsky from his leadership position with the company. When Darbinsky left he left a company carrying a massive $655 million dollar debt. Alan Karp assumed the leadership role and immediately began to cut costs and divest some of Cineplex Odeon's assets. He also took steps to increased concession revenues. In a short amount of time Karp was successful in cutting the debt by ? and was able to switch back to more of a strategic focus. He began to show interest in further growth. As of 1995 Cineplex Odeon reported a loss of $30 million for the 1st 6 months of the year. These numbers started to raise concerns about Karp's ability to turn things around. His attempt to merge with a major chain failed a few months earlier. Although the merger was called off Karp remained enthusiastic about the potential of the company. Analysis Financial I would rate their current financial condition as fair to poor. Return on Total Assets ? not significant Current Ratio ? .22891 (very poor) Long-term debt to equity ratio ? 81.85 Many of their financial ratios are significantly insignificant with profits being negative. SWOT Potential Resource Strengths 1. 85% percent of the company's U.S screens were in the top 15 U.S. markets, while 75% of its Canadian screens were in the top 10 Canadian Markets. 2. Cineplex recently spent $57.5 million in refurbishment and construction of new theaters. This included introducing DTS sound systems in many of its locations. 3. Now embraced a strategy of cautious growth and more sound financial management. 4. With its relatively large size Cineplex could use some muscle to get first run movies and demand bigger revenue splitting. 5. Had very strong concession sales. Potential Resource Weaknesses 1. Seemed to have no clear strategy or business plan ? at one point Karp stated ?that he had not even begun to consider what strategic benefits Seagram might bring to Cineplex?, something he should have been looking at. 2. Fair to poor financial condition with in the company. Weak balance sheet and excess debt. 3. History of overaggressive expansion ? weary shareholders and stakeholders may prevent or slow future mergers or acquisitions. Potential Company Opportunities 1. Alliances or mergers to expand coverage. Karp believed Cineplex was capable of running a theater chain twice as big. 2. The international exhibition business. 3.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Essays - Ahmedabad, Free Essays

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Essays - Ahmedabad, Free Essays Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Press Note AHMEDABAD - SMART CITY Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has started preparation of its Smart City Proposal for Stage 2 of the Smart City challenge. Ahmedabad had been selected as one of the 100 cities in Stage 1 of the challenge and will be competing to be in the list of top 20 cities selected in the first year of the challenge. Other cities from Gujarat to appear among the top 100 are Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Dahod. Cities judged to have the best proposals will receive funding under the smart city program in the first year of the challenge while the remaining cities will have the chance to compete again next year. AMC seeks active citizen consultation in the formulation of its smart city vision, mission and plan and would be inviting suggestions through social media, direct consultations and various forums shortly. Citizens are encouraged to participate in the process of achieving the vision of a smarter Ahmedabad by sharing their views and aspirations from a Smart City. In the initial stage, an online survey would be floated to gauge the major issues and citizen suggestions towards a Smart Ahmedabad. These would include opinions and comments on the current status of the city as well as suggestions on potential service improvements and citizen expectations. AMC is also considering competitions such as logo design and tagline contests for Ahmedabad Smart City with prizes to be given to the winning entries. Citizen inputs would be instrumental in creation of a smart city vision and plan for Ahmedabad. Further, multiple rounds of citizen engagement would be undertaken to focus on vision creation, co-creating solutions and finalization of city plans through various competitions, focus group discussions, discussions on citizen engagement platforms such as MyGov.in and direct consultations through public meetings, workshops, etc. Based on citizen inputs, AMC would devise area-based and pan-city initiatives to be incorporated in the smart city proposal. Specific solutions would be identified and citizen views would be sought in the second round of citizen engagement. Finally, citizen engagement would be held to gather feedback on the unique solutions identified towards making Ahmedabad a smart city. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has appointed Feedback Infra Private Limited, one of the leading integrated infrastructure services companies in India, to assist in the formulation of its Smart City Proposal. The firm is currently conducting a baseline survey of the city in consultation with various municipal departments. Winning the Smart City Challenge would provide a significant impetus to the next phase of city development and towards the goal of a Smart Ahmedabad. Citizen of the Ahmedabad are requested to provide their valuable suggession and feedback for the preparation of Smart city Proposal. The Suggession/Feedback forms are availabel on official website of Ahmedabad Municiapal Corporation (www.ahmedabadcity.gov.in) and social media pages. Municipal Commissioner