In Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Father Flynn opens his sermon by saying, "Your bond with your fellow beings [is] your despair. It [is] a public experience, shared by everyone in our society" (5). Here he talks about a type of isolation and loneliness that everyone is bound to experience. September 12, 2012, University of Notre Dame's star linebacker, Manti Te'o, was struck with tragedy when his beloved "girlfriend" died from her short battle with leukemia just hours after his grandma had died. Following their deaths, Te'o then dedicated his season in honor of these two powerful women in his life. This all changed when on December 6th, Te'o found out that his relationship with his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, was a hoax. Not only had she not died, she never even existed. The story and the circumstances surrounding the story were so bizarre that the entire country was transfixed by how a well-respected, highly religious, all-American football pl

''Good Country People'' addresses themes of good versus evil, the possibility of redemption achieved through an encounter with violence, and the foolishness of intellectual pretensions.Manley Pointer, a young disillusioned country boy who sells bibles, is an illusion of appearance versus reality.He is a young man who is willing to do everything to break through in this life. We were manipulated by Manley Pointers acting talent,was he really in love with Hulga, or all this was a show with the goal of profit? Manley Pointer discovered what is morality by discovering himself and his needs and wants. Morality are the Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Regarding the fact that he had a difficult childhood and he had to work from a young age,his moral principles were on a low position. Things that were moral for Mrs Hopewell,might not be moral for him,for the good country people. Pointers background and the fact that he accepts it,he accepts the truths,helps him to get what he wants,by understanding and manipulating everyone around him. He knew that Mrs Hopewell thought that the people from the country were ha

War is always regarded as a sin (Aquinas Summa Theologiae Extracts II-II q.40 a.l). The great medieval thinker, Saint Thomas Aquinas, demonstrated and developed his ethical theory and limitations of waging war. It is unlawful to trigger warfare in any situation, in terms of the belief on Christianity. However, Aquinas objected to the theory, and claimed that war can be considered as a just war, under the certain circumstances for warring that are built upon three restrictions. Aquinas indicated these factors could promote war into the attribution of Just by giving the authority of the prince, judging the validity of doing things, and righteous intent (Aquinas Summa Theologiae Extracts II-II q.40 a.l). Based on these aspects, war is not evil as most people thought, because it concerns more about morality and virtue. In addition, Aquinas suggested that just also embodied the aspect of murder, such as innocent sacrifice,

I am writing a scholarship paper about Apple Incorporated, the most valued company in terms of marketed capital, and their fan club that continues to evolve over time into a cult-like religious society that shows no sign of reaching a limit of the brand's integration in their lives. It is my working hypothesis that Apple's exceptional marketing and advertising techniques have created a cult-like consuming culture, which religiously purchases Apple products and incorporates Apple into a myriad of aspects of their lives, resulting in altered perceptions on fundamental parts of our culture through science, interpersonal relationships, religion, and more. To conduct my research, I will review The Culting of Brands, 2004, by Douglas Atkin, which is a book discussing "when customers become true believers". Atkin's book offers ways in which consumer cultures can form to an influential brand such as Apple. Atkin introduces his book by delineating a cult brand as &q

The full implications of Copernicanism could be considered to have only emerged within the last century, sustained by the arrival of Quantum Mechanics and the breakdown of religious, political and ideological eschatology. Its principles can be seen to lead directly to the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann cosmological models, successful in predicting the existence and spectrum of cosmic microwave background radiation. However, despite the later successful nature of the Copernican model, the papal authorities only permitted the astronomer Joseph Settle in 1820 to declare that cosmological motion was such that the Earth and other planets rotated about the Sun. This principle of astronomy was an apex of Copernicus' proposals in the sixteenth century, and so it is interesting to consider why acceptance of his claims about the Universe was not widespread for nearly three hundred years. The eventual acknowledgement of a heliocentric Universe represented a paradigm shift away from the

For the Greeks, humanity was what mattered, and humans were, in the words of the philosopher Protagoras, "the measure of all things." The humanistic world view led the Greeks to create the concept of democracy (rule by the demos, the people) and to make seminal contributions in the fields of art, literature, and science. The Greek exaltation of humanity and honoring of the individual are so completely part of modern Western habits of the mind that most people are scarcely aware that these ideas originated in the minds of the Greeks. Even the gods of the Greeks, in marked contrast to the divinities of the Near East, assumed human forms whose grandeur and nobility were not free from human frailty. Indeed the only difference was that they were immortal. It has been said the Greeks made their gods into humans and their humans into gods. Humans become the measure of all things, in turn, must represent, if all things in their perfection are beautiful, the unchanging standard of the best. The perfect individual became the Greek ideal. The Greeks, or Hellenes (Helenes), as they called themselves,

In the year of 1603, William Shakespeare created a play that was mainly written for the current king of that time period, King James I ("Macbeth- What"). Because of the king's interest in witchcraft, Shakespeare ensured that witchcraft was a main contributor within the play in order to satisfy and thoroughly entertain the king. Quite interestingly, the topic was not a very popular one of that time since witchcraft was seen to be a crime, and punishment could be fatal to those who participated or those who were thought to practice witchcraft ("Macbeth- What"). Even though such a topic was believed to be a major problem of the time, the play that was written by Shakespeare would not exist without the witches and their position that plays such a major role in the plot of the play, the prophecies that decided the ultimate fate of Macbeth, as well as what the witches symbolize. Throughout the play, the witches appear within only four of the twenty nine scenes, whi

If you were to look at much of today's advertising, you would find a common overarching theme, and that is: "Sex Sells". That same theme can be seen woven throughout the fashion and music industries as well. Far ahead of her time, Madonna played a major role in changing the landscape of music and fashion, from a slightly unadventurous market to a let loose crazy party scene, through her use of sexual themes. Born on August 16, 1958, in Bay City, Michigan, Madonna Louise Ciccone was destined to become one of the most famous entertainers of all time. Her parents, both white-collar workers and very strict Catholics, raised Madonna. In an interview she explained, "There were always priests and nuns in my house growing up" and described her mother as a "religious zealot" (Madonna Biography). This would become a major factor in Madonna's attitude and outlook on life. Sadly, when Madonna was only 5 years old, her mother died from breast cancer. Her father later remarried a woman named

Pinnacle West is an organization that provides energy, energy related services and products to both residential and businesses in the state of Arizona. In the early 2000's the organization came to the realization that after being in business for over 120 years, its current processes were no longer as efficient as they once had been. Essentially, a determination was made that the company's traditional functional model was costly and ineffective, and that a change to a more process-oriented model would yield more impressive results in the coming years. To be successful when implementing a process-oriented enterprise there are a number of essential points that must occur to guarantee the process will be effective and efficient. James Champy identified a number of these points in his article "People and Processes". According to Champy, some of the key ingredients for successful process transformation include the following: high level executive engagement; groups of smal

Nearly all teenagers play video games. A 2008 study conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that 97% of teenagers ages from twelve to seventeen years old play computer, web, and portable or game console games. Cheryl K. Olson's main point in her article, "It's Perverse, but it's Also Pretended," is that there is not enough evidence or research that shows violent video games can cause children's psychological or neurological harm to make them more aggressive to others. She goes on to argue that many people assume that video game violence is bad for children, even though they have never played any video games and therefore they might not be that educated on the subject. Olson also points out even though teenage boys may be more interested in violent video games; there is no evidence that shows a connection to violent behavior in real life. I disagree with Cheryl K. Olson's claim that there is not enough evidence on how violent video

Fifteenth century improvements in the ability to wage war developed by leveraging gunpowder technology allowed western civilization to create the first truly global empires. As a result, between 1500 and 1800, these empires expanded their influence to about 35 percent of the world's surface.[1] Those civilizations that succumbed had no time to adopt western military technology, failed to integrate it into their existing system, or didn't properly deploy it in battle. The first of these improvements was the siege gun. Its use during the French invasion of Italy in 1494-1495 reduced the time it previously took an army to breach a town's walls from days to hours.[2] Cities once thought impregnable were captured with ease. In 1519, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote, "No wall exists... that artillery cannot destroy in a few days."[3] Invariably, this led to a new system of defense. First, fortress walls were built lower and thicker. The new wall design included artillery towers built at r

Everyone understands that graduating from high school is one of the major milestones of life. Walking across the stage and receiving your diploma signifies that you have acquired the knowledge and skills to begin pursing your career in a college institution. I think I can speak for all high school students when I say that choosing the right college is difficult. By the time your junior year starts, you begin to receive countless offers from hundreds of colleges, and you must work to eventually narrow it down to your top five. Afterwards, you must apply and see if you get accepted. Then you go on visits and review the pros and cons of each, and eventually, you choose the best fit for you. You may not see the parallels at first, but choosing a college is a lot like shopping. You are, in a sense, the consumer, and the colleges use marketing techniques to get you to choose their institutions. The marketing techniques colleges use today try to ensure that they attract the best students i

Congestive heart failure is the most common health problem with the elderly. Some health organizations believe that men are more prone to congestive heart failure than women. In a study performed on 3,000 men, it was determined that men can inherit heart disease from their fathers through the Y chromosome, but, as to which gene causes this problem, it is not known yet. Dr. Maciej Tomaszewki states, "We are very excited about these findings as they put the Y chromosome on the map of genetic susceptibility to coronary heart disease." In an earlier inquiry it was stated that heart disease is the number one killer in females, which is true, but it is also a problem for men. Males are more likely to experi

On April 23, 2010 the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, signed Senate Bill 1070 Immigration Law. This controversial bill, which abuses immigrants, recalls the racial laws of Nazi Germany in which the Jews were persecuted during Hitler's regime. In the Arizona case, the target of this law is the Latin American immigrant population, especially natives from Mexico. This bill has caused a lot of national and international controversy, as well as demonstrations against it. Arizona Senate Bill 1070 is an anti-immigrant law and should not has passed because it is targeting a certain group of immigrants, and it is increasing racial profiling. Entering the country without having legal papers to stay in the country, not carrying a green card, and being transported in a car by an illegal alien (even if you are family with small children), has become a crime in the state of Arizona. This law obliges the local police officers of Arizona to detain any person, suspected of being illegal, to verify

Freedom of expression in the military, is it really freedom when it has limits? Many people might not take into consideration what one gives up when they join the military. It's not just one's freedom, it's also the freedom to speak one's mind. Now I do understand that a certain amount of secrecy is needed in order to not let the enemy know about certain plans of action the armed forces are working on, but having an opinion about your boss or your job should not be limited when you are in the armed forces. When a member of the armed forces chooses to talk about their personal feelings regarding a particular branch of service they are conflicting with the military's hierarchical nature and the military's increasingly antiquated desire to command and control its personnel (Guardiano, 2010, NewsRealBlog). As part of the military one still has rights, once one becomes a service member one does not give up his or her First Amendment right. It merely means that

#1) (A) Issac Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation is: Two bodies attracted to each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that the further apart these two attracting bodies are from each other, the less the gravitational force between them is. The force of gravity depends on the product of the mass of the two attracting bodies. If the distance between the two bodies doubles, the force between them becomes one quarter of the force it was before. The Law of Universal Gravitation is vital because it mathematically proves Kepler's Three Laws of Planetary Motion. The Planets follow the same laws of motion as objects on the surface of the earth. (B) Newton discovered other types of orbits that have circular of elliptical paths. However, if the velocity of an orbiting body were increased, its orbital path would change to a parabola or hyperbola and it

Offensive lyrics should be monitored for the safety of America's youth. Any further use of censorship by the United States government would violate the First Amendment, and the public's right to freedom of speech. Satellite radio provides listeners with an outlet to listen to their favorite music genres without the interference of the Federal Communications Committee. All CD's are clearly marked when use of profane or distasteful lyrics are used, and it is up to the consumers whether they will buy the music in question. A piece of art, music in particular, can be expressed anyway the artist sees fit unless their art is deemed obscene. "The debate over music censorship in the United States is marked by strongly held opinions on both sides of the issue." - Heather Newton, Music Censorship: An Overview The Federal Communications Committee (FCC) is a government agency tasked with regulating media and broadcastings. FM and AM

When formulating my definition of democracy, I was forced to use other examples of democracy as a basis, a starting point. One of the greatest sources of this information lay in Arend Lijphart's book, "Patterns of Democracy." In this book, Lijphart discusses different definitions of democracy, exemplified through the use of models. In examining models such as the majority model, and the consensus model, Lijphart offers different definitions of what democracy really is. However, though these definitions may suffice for Lijphart, for me these definitions simply serve as a basis for a more complete and well-rounded definition of democracy, pulled from all of the aforementioned subjects. Before I may give my complete and concise definition of democracy, I must first examine some of the models of democracy that Lijphart mentions in his book. One of the first models of democracy mentioned in Lijphart's book is the majoritarian model of democracy. The to-the-point mode

In the October sky over the mining town of Coalwood, a satellite from the Soviet Union reaches the small town, arousing not only the hope of these teenagers but also the inner desires of town people. The story starts with a boy, Homer Hickam, who can not achieve scholarship to enter the college but does not want to become a miner as his father or all town people do. Although Homer's father expects Homer to take over his job after his brother Jim has enrolled in a college, Homer still tries to figure out a personal way to get himself out of the mining town. He teams up with Quentin Wilson, Roy Lee and Sherman O'dell. As a team, they benefit from each other's strong points, support and dreams. They dedicates their own knowledge and passion, consequently, win the National Science Fair which means chances of enrolling in colleges. In the beginning of the movie, Homer said "I'm gonna build a rocket. Like Sputnik." His family laughs, telling him that it is unrealized to build a rocket to create a chance of achieving a college scholarship. Homer tries to build his first mini rocket, however, he is stuck by the blast of rocket. Since

I. Introduction "We are concerned about the direction of Canadian equality rights jurisprudence, the positions being advanced by governments in equality rights litigation, and the apparent unwillingness of the courts to be a counterbalancing influence when governments ignore women's interests and voices. How courts treat the relationship between the right to equality and economic policy is important because of its potential impact on women. What courts say about rights also influences the understanding people have of their relations to others, and how governments view their roles and responsibilities." - Shelagh Day and Gwen Brodsky. There is a specific disconnection between the social policies that are affecting women's lives and the commitments that have been made, domestically and internationally, to the equality of women. If women are to advance then economic and social policies need connect with women's right to equality. Many Canadians are suspicious of the

Is this the right place for me? Which classes should I take? How am I going to pay for all this? Everyone in the world goes through cognitive dissonance at least once a day. But when it comes to college students, cognitive dissonance happens more often than it should. The stress that students have to go through in order to make it through a year at a college or a university is over whelming. Determining the problem, why the college or university should be concerned, the solutions, and a short-term plan should put everything in perspective. Cognitive dissonance is defined as, "When people recognize inconsistency between their values or opinions and their behavior, they tend to feel an inner tension," (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel, pg 80-81). Before a student even enters college, they are under the stress of having to choose what campus to apply for, being accepted, declare a degree, and then determine what classes to sign up for. After they get into the university then are under more stress! Determining transportation, whether to buy or rent textbooks, and mainly how to balance your time between school

Right from the start of "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings," a dull world meets a magical world in a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He is known in Latin America for being one of the most famous Latin American authors who came screaming into this world in 1955. He smoked over 60 cigarettes a day while his imagination ran wild, and ink met paper in this rising art form of the mid-twentieth century. The main character of the story, Pelayo, was on his way back to his house after tossing out the crabs that had come inside his house. Pelayo and his wife Elisenda thought that a stench from the crabs was the main cause of their infant's fever. As Pelayo returned home after removing the crabs from the courtyard, he noticed something moving and groaning coming from the rear of the courtyard. At first glance, Pelayo thought what he saw was and old wanderer. He had to get extremely close to see that it was an old man lying face down in the mud. After further examination, Pelayo notic

"Madonna and Child," a tempera on panel piece from about 1215, utilizes rich, deep tones and smooth brush strokes to convey the reflective nature of this piece. Mother and child are shown both looking down, which leads one to believe that they are in deep reflection. The overall tone of the painting is rather somber, as expressed by the deep colors and shadowed effect on the subject of the piece. The composition is traditional portrait style, with a naturalistic approach to the subjects in a plain, centered orientation. This allows for the focus to lie on subject and child, which can be inferred to be "Madonna and Child". The background of the painting shows a supposed view of a country road through the window,

Through Kyriacos Markides book, The Magus of Strovolos, the esoteric teacher and healer Dr. Stylianos Atteshlis also known as Daskalos , shows his own understanding of Christianity. Throughout Daskalos' teachings you can see how his perception of the religion challenges and somewhat moves away from a normative view of Christianity. His teachings consist of many esoteric themes. He also believes and supports the idea of reincarnation and states that there is a universal law of balance by settling debts with karma. He defines himself as a Christian that whole-heartedly believes and loves Jesus but others might say his way of life opposes true Christian belief. Daskalos introduces the idea of karma by saying "all illnesses are due to karma. It is either the result of your own debts or the debts of others you love" (Markides, 66). Here we can see where the universal law of balance comes in. Daskalos explains how karma has to be paid off in one way or another and so you or

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden, and "Secret Heart" by Robert Tristram Coffin, both tell the story of a father's love and share the common theme that actions speak the language of love louder than words. Although the speaker in Hayden's poem realizes his father's love too late to express his gratitude, the son in Coffin's poem knows of his father's love throughout his life. The first versus third person narration and the tone of admiration versus the tone of regret, communicate that acts of love win a son's hero-worship for his father. Though the overt expression of love by the parent is especially treasured by the child, the acts of love done in silence have as great an impact on a child's sense of well-being and are treasured as well. Coffin's choice of third person narration best expresses the story of a son's enduring love for his father "kindled" at the moment the son discovers the secret and sile