Introduction Part philosophy lesson, part love story and part human story, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera is as much about people as it is about human nature. Taking this in mind, this essay looks at the two main characters of the book. Tomas' Views To begin, it is important to understand where Tomas comes from in an intellectual sense. In the book, Tomas is shown to have come from the higher intelligence levels of Czech society- a part of society that was almost outlawed after the Soviet Union took over the city of Prague. This invasion also took away Tomas' method of making a living, so what is seen in Tomas is a brilliant mind that is damaged by the evil deeds of others (Kundera). To put it simply, Tomas is

Observing and Assessing young Children Throughout a student's academic life, short quizzes, periodical exams, and assignments are given to assess his progress. An educator attempts to quantify his cognitive abilities to see if a student qualifies to advance in the next grade. Written exams are part of a process called assessment. Assessment is the process of collecting information about children's development, learning, health, behavior, academic progress, and the need for special services in order to plan and implement curriculum and instruction (Morrison, 2006). Children in early childhood programs are no exemption. Assessment should be done by early childhood professionals not only to check for the child's progress but also test the effectiveness of a teacher's method. Assessment of a child's learning is done through observation, commercial and teacher-made tests and checklists, and other school projects. Assessment of children serves several purposes. Aut

Polonius is a one-dimensional character in William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, but that does make him any less perplexing. Polonius is a father, a politician, and a comic throughout the play, making his character interesting. Polonius is a politician and under close observation, we can see how politics plays into his life. He is the king's right-hand man and knows how to play the games, talk the talk, and walk the walk. He is not below trickery – in fact, that is what gets him killed. Part of Polonius' appeal comes from the fact that Shakespeare is willing to make a fool out of him. While it would be normal for us to see him as a wise old man, Hamlet seems to defy this notion at every opportunity. It does not help that Polonius also seems to go against this idea at times when he becomes consumed with his social position. It could also be construed that Polonius was also being confused with something he was not and the final testament to this was Hamlet's mistaking him for the

The situation in the Middle East represents one of the most important international conflicts since the end of the Second World War. The ongoing disputes related to the existence of a Jewish state at the expense of the Palestinian people has drawn the attention of the international community which has been trying for more than half a century to find a proper resolution to the wars that represent an everyday reality for both the Israelis and the Palestinians1. Along the history of the conflict there have been numerous attempts and plans that tried to offer feasible solutions and compromise plans that would cater for the needs for nationality, security, and economic prosperity of all the parties involved. However, to this day, the major issues that affect the region have remained unsolved, despite these efforts. The reason for the failure to implement a viable solution to the problem at hand is hard to ascertain. However, different plans such as the Clinton Parameters, Taba, and other

Introduction: The New York Times editorial, "Rethinking Help for Children" points out the insufficiency of a thirty year-old federal program to achieve its goals. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food assistance program was established in the mid 1970s and intended to provide financial help to approximately 8 million individuals that includes about half of all American infants and one-quarter of children (NYT 2008). According to the criticisms highlighted by the article, the structure of the program provides food vouchers to low-income families, but those vouchers are usable mainly for high-fat and high-sugar foods that contradict some of the basic dietary principles that nutritionists have developed in the three decades since the inception of the WIC program. Under pressure from the Institute of Medicine, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) updated WIC regulations to improve the nutritional value to recipients, but even

In her article, author Nada Elia describes what she refers to as the privileging of Arab-American women, at the same time that their male relatives are being subjected to an increasingly hostile environment. She criticizes the governments of both the United States and Israel as oppressors of Arabs and Arab-Americans. She discusses the fact Arab-American women are not seen as the same type of threat as Arab-American males, but as victims of their religion. She blames American culture at large, but also Western feminism, which she feels is very exploitative of non-mainstream American culture. She believes that the "othering" of Arab-Americans has occurred since the beginning of the country. She attributes some of this to the unsuccessful claims of separation of church and state, the fact that Christianity (especially Christian fundamentalism) has had a major impact on American political thought, and what she considers America's Zionist worldview. She believes that Am

The 1988 film "Eight Men Out" directed by John Sayles is a retelling of the tale of how the great Chicago White Sox, the idols of millions of fans, agreed to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The team was famed for their great fielder 'Shoeless Joe' Jackson, and the other notable ballplayers that made up their historically great line-up. However, rather than a condemnation of the ballplayers, the movie instead functions as a critique of the men who run baseball, particularly Charles Comiskey, the White Sox owner. Comiskey refused to pay any of the members of his winning team what they were worth, even to the point of compromising the team's performance on the field. He benched his best pitcher after twenty-nine winning games, for example, because he promised to give the man a bonus after winning thirty games. Comiskey's actions were often so cheap they seemed more disrespectful than thrifty.

1. What is the relationship of the Four Noble truths to the Eightfold Path? The Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths constitute the gist of Buddhism. The Eightfold Path describes how suffering in one's life can be overcome, as taught by SiddhartaGautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions (BigView, 2008). The aim is to reach the highest level of existence through practice; finally, Nirvana can be attained. The fourth item of the Four Noble Truth comprises of the Eightfold Path. At the same time, the first item of the Eightfold Path, the Right View, constitutes the realization of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths constitute views about life. The first Noble Truth dictates that suffering does exist. As human beings living in this imperfect world, we experience suffering in all its degrees: sadness, fear, frustration, disappointment, depression. Suffering is seen in all stages of life; as we were born, age, or

1.A brief overview of the meaning of compassions in Buddhism In essence, the concept of compassion is fundamental and foundational to all schools and variations of Buddhism, including Zen Buddhism. Buddhism as a philosophy or spiritual practice emerges and originates for the primary insight that all beings are suffering and that this suffering is a result of illusion. The entire Buddhist oeuvre, as is evident in the experience of Siddhârtha Gautama, is therefore based on the sense of compassion for the individual and all sentient beings in the world and the larger universe who suffer under the illusion of Maya. It is the inner logic of compassion, which is in effect the understanding of this suffering and the desire to release oneself and others for the false immersion in the material world, that shapes the various schools of Buddhist thought in different degrees. However, the Mahayana school or perception, which is usually distinguished for the Theravada school

Urban Spatial Structure was published in the autumn of 1998 in the Journal of Economic Literature, under the signature of editorialists Alex Anas, Richard Arnott and Kenneth Small. It addresses a highly debated issue, namely the impact and importance of city structures upon several features of life, including economics. The article is rather comprehensive and destined for the specialized reader, moreover when it was written in a time of major structural changes. The article brings into discussion a subject of great interest, namely the close correlation between the development of an urban center in terms of size and structure and the factors affecting this, be they of economic, social or political nature. The article is focused on the way economic growth, economic diversification and the different economic sectors that are predominant in the city determine the way a cities spreads out, but the length to which the authors go is vast in covering employment, economic growth etc. as facto

From reading, "Malignant aggression: Cruelty and destructiveness. The Anatomy Of Human Destructiveness" by Erich Fromm, it indicated that if children do not obtain the proper attention in the classroom or at home, their aggression will eventually turn into malignant, which can lead to them murdering someone or a living creature. An example of this would be if a child beats and murders animals for the fun of it and showing aggression without any remorse. This type of aggression will eventually should up in the classroom by the child expressing it towards t

A primary issue is that of healthcare increasing costs (Walker, 2004). The matter is becoming more and more serious when the expenses with employee medical coverage continue to rise so high that they even place the employer in financial difficulty. The matter of increasing costs is worth debating upon due to the implications it generates on both employee and employer. In this sense, the contemporaneous society has thought the manager to cherish, respect and value the employee as his most important asset. This approach of the human resource brought about several employee rights and benefits. And companies offer more and more benefits in order to be a competitive employer and maintain their employees by increasing their loyalty. But the employee demands more and more benefits, and eventually firms reach a financial impasse. A second major issue regards the retirement plans implemented by companies and forwarded to employees. This matter is highly important as it regards the future lif

Introduction: One of the most dramatic events in the immediate aftermath of World War II was the series of Nuremburg Trials for the Nazi atrocities during the war, held in the German city by that name. The trials lasted almost as long as the war itself and much of civilized society was appalled as one Nazi defendant after another disclaimed any personal responsibility for their actions because they all claimed merely to be "following orders." The crimes that they perpetrated were so heinous and brutal that many concluded that the Nazi regime was run by a collection of society's worst sociopaths most of whom would likely have committed equally savage crimes under ordinary circumstances. Hardly more than two decades later, two landmark psychology experiments were conducted by Stanley Milgram – who examined the phenomenon of obedience to authority – and by Phillip Zimbardo – who examined the potential for abuse of authority in his famous Stanford Prison experiment. The results of those two experiments caused the psychological community to reevaluate conclusions about

Throughout the play "The Glass Menagerie," Tennessee Williams uses glass as a reflection of how the characters' are being trapped by their situations (Capasso). Tom is anxious to leave his mother because he is a grown man. Laura only has her glass figurines to keep her busy, and Amanda continues to live in the past instead of dealing with the present. In the end, it is only Tom who is able to move out of the past and into the future. According to Capasso (210), the glass symbolizes a trap in two ways. First, the word "ménage" in French means "apartment," which is keeping the three characters away from the outside world. Laura is trapped inside her house because of her self-consciousness. Amanda remains there because she continues to relive her past, and Tom stays because of the obligation to his family with his father gone. Amanda tries to be a caring mothe

What is Information Warfare? "Information warfare is about the exercise of power on the information front. ... It is about using information to influence others in ways that serve your mission." (Dorothy Denning, p. 1). Information warfare is the use of information to combat an opponent. Ever since wars between humans began, information about the enemy's whereabouts, their habits, schedules, how they got their supplies, what their weapons were like, how powerful they were and the way they fought (tactics and techniques) have been sought in order to be able to fight a specific enemy more efficiently and successfully. Information may have been important, but so was "disinformation," which was spread through traveling storytellers, soldiers' bragging and deliberate spreading of false rumors in order to debilitate and stymie the wills of the enemy. False information about oneself was sent to the enemy in order to demoralize and frighten the opposition. If the enemy wa

For the first time in several years – or even decades, the Canadian dollar is worth more the American green buck. This is one indication that our neighbors to the north are enjoying a hefty economy while that of ours is in dire straits. With an election year at its full swing, the Democrats must soon realize that their winning the election in 2006 based on the "public disgust with the Iraq war (Krugman, 2008)" will not be effective anymore. Fewer Americans are concerned with the war in Iraq but rather, they are more anxious about the sad state of the nation's economy. Although some of the voting populace still believed that this year's presidential election should also be "another referendum on the war, and, perhaps even more important, about the way America was misled into that war (Krugman, 2008),"

As the Republican Party hunkers down and get down to business of winning the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election with their "last man standing" candidate John McCain, the Democrats are still on a slugfest between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. True to the cliche, "the battle lines have been drawn in the sand" Clinton and Obama are bringing opposite styles of politics to the election arena. For Obama, he brings with him a theory of what governance should and must be when and if he wins the presidency. He believes "the voters are tired of the partisan paralysis of the past 20 years and he could inspire a grass-roots movement with a new kind of leadership, he could ride it to the White House and end gridlock in Washington (Brooks, 2008)." On the other hand, Clinton is sticking her guns with the brand of politics she has known e

In her recent New York Times article, Katherine Seelye reports that certain aspects of media coverage about the respective Democratic rivals for their party's Presidential nomination has changed in the last week. Previously, many believed that Senator Barack Obama had assumed a significant lead over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, due in part, to the different way they have been portrayed and scrutinized by the media. Likewise, some observers credit the February 23rd episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live with helping change some of the different ways the media have been covering the two candidates. Senator Clinton had already been complaining that the media were scrutinizing and criticizing her much more harshly than her opponent and taking a g

Introduction Obesity affects millions of people every year because of the changing world, which makes things easier for individuals not to exercise. With that knowledge, it is apparent the changing world has also created ways to where people can get the fat removed by surgery, which is a major health risk. "Atul Gawande tells the story of Vincent Caselli, who underwent a gastric bypass to lose weight by surgically reducing the size of his stomach, thus making him physically unable to eat and absorb the nutrients from more than an ounce of food at a sitting. The statistics on the gastric-bypass procedure, the last resort of people who cannot shed weight in other ways, confirm the sharp rise of obesity in this country. According to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, in 1992 surgeons performed 7 6,200 of the procedures. In 2002, the number jumped to 63,100 and one year later to 103,200. Gawande, who assisted on the surgery, calls this "among the strangest operations

The Great American Novel by Phillip Roth is about the great American game of baseball and its players, both good and bad-but mostly bad. In fact, the title of Roth's novel is bitterly ironic, given that the subject of the novel is the worst team of the Patriot League, the bottom-tier league of all of the various baseball leagues playing during the era of World War II. At the beginning of the novel, most of the best players are fighting in the war, and the starting lineup of the Mundys of New Jersey consists of prepubescent tee

In 1846, American author and poet Edgar A. Poe wrote in "The Philosophy of Composition" that the most melancholy of all topics, "according to the universal understanding of mankind" which serves as the foundation for poetry is death. Poe then asks himself, "And when is this most melancholy of topics the most poetical?" The obvious answer for Poe is "When it most closely allies itself to Beauty," i.e., "the death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world," especially when the narrator of the poem is that of a bereaved lover" (Mabbott, 679). Thus, in Poe's "The Sleeper," originally entitled as "Irene" in 1831 and then changed several times over the years up until 1845, the main subject matter is the death of a beautiful woman, an unknown (or perhaps imaginary) fair lady who will never awake from her death-sleep. In order to extrapolate on the topic of the death of a beautifu

1. Probably the most attractive thing about moral relativism is that it reflects your own morals and philosophy, rather than that of someone else who may have little in common with you or your ideas. It relates more to circumstances, and it seems that can be more relevant in many people's lives. It also believes that judging another person morally or ethically has no meaning, and that means that people are less judgmental and more open to others thoughts and ideas, at least in principle. The most unattractive thing about moral relativism is that it can tend to support your own principles and ideals, no matter how warped or "wrong" they may be. Many people find it racist and supporting hatred and those kinds of values, and that is not attractive at all, and in fact, it could be dangerous to society as a whole. It also looks at the individual and their needs, rather than the overall needs of society, and so, it can be very self-centered. It is about a scale of three on the scale o

1.Discuss three characteristics of Sanatana Dharma which have resulted in an inclusionary worldview, so that in Hinduism there is a range of worship from polytheism to monotheism and non-theism. Sanatana Dharma is the oldest religion known by the Hindus and its meaning is i¿½Eternal Lawi¿½. There are three characteristics of Sanatana Dharma and these are Sruti (Vedas); Smritis are the walls; the Itihasas and the Puranas are the buttresses or supports (Hinduism.com.za Website, 2008). The beliefs and practices of the Santana Dharma were accepted as a worldview since there are different nationalities that believe in this religion such as Indians. This is an ancient religion; several nations are familiar to these such as the Chinese that believe in the existence of Dharma. The philosophy of the Chinese belief in terms of eternal life is much the same with the philosophy of the Dharma itself. Here are some of the information about the range of worship to Dharma according to Morales

Many of Robert Coover's novels and short stories are formidable expressions of imagination and creativity and The Universal Baseball Association is no exception to this rule. Henry Waugh is an accountant during the day for Dunkelmann, Zauber, & Zifferblatt and, during the night, he turns himself around as a creative inventor of new worlds, new characters and, above all, new games. One of the most interesting a

"Fences" is set in an African-American section of Pittsburgh, PA during the 1950s and 1960s. The play gets its title from the fence that the main character, Troy, is building for his wife Rose at the beginning of the play while chatting with his friend Bono. Bono has bet his wife Lucille that he will buy her a refrigerator if the fence ever gets built, which it does, by the end of Act 1. The play revolves around the father-son conflict between Troy and Cory Maxson. Troy is an African-American garbage collector who was a great ballp