Harry Forster Chapin: Musician, Song Writer, Film Editor and Political

In the short thirty-nine years of the life of Harry Forster Chapin (1942-1981), he managed to distinguish himself as a creative genius in multiple fields, ultimately leaving a distinct mark on this world, though he received only moderate public recognition. Professionally, he was a musical performer and songwriter, a film editor, and a political activist and lobbyist, able to reach remarkable heights in all three fields. In the field of music, Chapin rose to stardom as a rock and roll performer and songwriter during the 1970's, introducing the world to a new style of music he created and popularized, the story-song. Within this new framework, Chapin was able to use his interest and proficiency in poetry to create song lyrics which told the story of a character or group of characters. He was able to weave wonderfully powerful tales of the lives of his characters in a few short stanzas, applying many traditional story-line techniques; a rising action which lead to a climax, followed by a falling action which usually revealed an unexpected twist, offering a recognizable message in the last few lyrics of the song. The subjects of these songs were generally based on Chapin's real life experiences and moods, and in this sense, he was able to express more honestly the feeling associated with the stories. Furthermore, Chapin went a step further by adding music to his stories, accentuating the changes in tone of the stories with musical accompaniments. His musical style contained many folk, rock and roll, jazz and blues elements, revealing his diverse musical background and familiarity with a variety of styles. The result was a remarkably popular style, which granted Chapin the ability to generate a strong connection to his audience during... ...o Gardner, another major milestone taking place around 1976, with the completion of perhaps his most comprehensive piece, an autobiographical song called "There Only Was One Choice". In it, Chapin mysteriously foretold of his tragic death at a young age: When I started this song I was still thirty-three. The age that Mozart died and Sweet Jesus was set free, Keats and Shelly, too soon finished, Charlie Parker would be And I fanaticized a tragedy be soon curtailing me. He also included in the song, the lyrics which have come to define his life more than any other: Inexperience - it once accursed me, but your youth is no handicap, it's what makes you thirsty. (From "Danceband on the Titanic" 1977) Bibliography: Coan, Peter M. Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story. New York:Carol Publishing Group. C. 1990. Http://www.littlejason.com/chapin/longbio.html

Assess the View That Life in a ‘State of Nature’

The state of nature Is the term used to describe a lawless state of human behavior, wherein all people are free of legal and moral restraint. It would create a state where all people would be able to act on their wants and desires without fear of punishment from a governing body, as there wouldn't be one, and that man would only have to fear the retaliation from other people against their actions. In this essay, I will be outlining the views of both Hobbes and Locke on the state of nature and drawing a conclusion from their opinions.Hobbes' view on the state of nature is that such a thing would lead only to a state of war. He believed that without moral or legal constraints, mankind will simply pillage, murder, and plunder In order to get what they desire, regardless of the views of others. In a state of war, man will use power as he sees fit In order to survive and with no clear definition of rights or duty, each Individual will be free to Judge the rights and duties of others and of themselves.There will be no duty to keep other people safe and out of harm and no-one will have the explicit right to live or to keep heir property. If another claims that you hold something he needs to survive, you would have no right to deny him as there is no law or right outlining that it was yours and yours alone. As our desires are never satisfied and we have a continuous want of things, man will continue to overturn others if it means he gets what he wants in life, whether or not he truly needs it.He believes in the state of nature translating to a state of anarchy, as no human will ever be satisfied with what they have and will always strive for more. Hobbes claims that In a lawless state, we may not wish direct arm onto others, but we will be constantly aware that other people may wish to harm us. In order to prevent being the volt, we would attack first In order to stay alive, thus becoming the aggressor. Self-preservation In a lawless state, In Hobbes' opinion, would o nly ever lead to conflict as man turns on man In order to keep themselves alive.Due to this, we would never trust another person and the lack of alliance or allegiance would lead to us all being equally vulnerable. So despite the lack of rights or duty, each of us are equal in a state of nature, as we are all equally able to be pushed over by the person beside us, whether they are friend or otherwise. Hobbes is very much in agreement that living in a state of nature would be truly awful. Locke, however, doesn't completely agree.He doesn't believe – as Hobbes does – that scarcity In society and living in a state lawlessness would lead to man killing man In order to stay alive. He believes that people will provide themselves with natural moral principles that we are all inclined towards. Locke drew this belief from his belief in God and the creation of Man and all things on the Earth. By this logic, we have a duty to protect others from harm. We are therefore obligated, as God's creations, to punish those that cause harm to others, and those principals would be our natural obligations.He also believes that we cannot claim property unless our labor helped create what is on the land, but we still have no lawful right to it and the supposed right to it is not dependable. He proposed that removal from a state of law would create a form of democracy among men where they would govern themselves and keep themselves in equal measure in order to create a fair semblance of society. Locke thinks that society can exist in a state of nature and exist informally, so he disagrees with the statement that living in a state of nature would be awful in any sense.He believes that people can and will work together to protect themselves and each other as we have an obligation to care for other people as a natural instinct. By Locker's reasoning, man would eventually enter into an unspoken social contract and form a crude government to better protect their rights and pro mote organization in their society. I believe that although a state of nature would initially lead to man taking whatever he pleased from others and doing what he had been previously unable to do, eventually a form of society would emerge.People cannot continue without governing themselves and eventually they would create some form of law in order to govern themselves and protect their rights and duties. Initially living in a state of nature would be awful because there would be the breakaway from lawful restraint and that new freedom would lead to complete uproar as the population of the world indulged in all they had been unable to do. I still, however, believe that Locker's state of things would prevail and that man would find a way to organize themselves in order to survive and beat the inevitable scarcity.

Mary Celeste

MARY CELESTE The Mary Celeste was a ghost ship found off the coast of Portugal in 1872. The Mary Celeste is a ship was discovered atlantic ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned and she was fine and the people and it remain a mystery. Her cargo was virtually untouched and her crew was never seen or heard from again. The crew’s disappearance was the greatest mystery of all time. Eyewitness Account The only eyewitness is Captain Morehouse. Captain Morehouse said that he thought that the crew was panic. Reports that likely to be true.The weather was very bad and for four days before the storm was very heavy and they found and maybe they have unlikely survive but the ship remains good and thus it remains a mystery. It seems reasonable to suggest that in order to take a break from the pounding sea, the captain gave the order to sail to the lee side of Santa Maria Island where the cook started a fire in the large galley stove to make hot food while other members of the crew furled most of the sails, leaving just enough canvas up to hold her heading as they made their way slowly along the lee shore of the island.Other crew members set about pumping the bilge and doing other chores. When the food was ready, the men stopped what they were doing and ate. After taking a smoke break, the Captain gave orders to get underway and the crew went back to work. Some went back to pumping the bilge; others started to set the sails they had recently furled. Just then the seafloor near Mary Celeste was ripped apart by a shallow-focused earthquake, a relatively common occurrence in the Azores.Report that might be exaggerated Conan Doyle (the author) was dramatized the Mary Celeste's story by adding such touches as meals laid out on the table, tea boiling on the stove, and the ship was sailing boldly into the harbor at Gibraltar with nobody at the helm. Today, most people who have heard of the ship think these details are part of what actually happened. They aren't. Conan Doyle 's was only the first of many such treatments.A 1913 magazine article was forged account of a man named Fosdyk who claimed the stowaway on board the Mary Celeste, witnessed the entire crew fall overboard as they pressed against the rail to watch three men have a swimming race, then managed to be the only one not eaten by sharks and eventually washed ashore on Africa. In the 1920s an author named Keating forged an article for Chamber's Journal telling the story of a man named Pemberton who survived. Keating soon expanded the fictitious Pemberton's tale into a book called The Great Mary Celeste Hoax.Unfortunately, the book's success has became its downfall: Interviews with Pemberton were widely sought. Keating tried to weasel his way out with excuses, and even offered a picture of his own father as a photograph Pemberton; but it was soon discovered that he made the whole thing up. Some information about the court inquiry held in Gribraltar The Inquiry into the Mary Celeste An inquiry of  Mary Celeste  disaster was held at the Admiralty Court by the British Royal Navy. Witnesses, experts, sailors, friends, business-partners and  acquaintances  were all questioned and interrogated.It was a slow, frustrating process. Not least a man who’s name was Flood. Flood was the Attorney-General of Gibraltar at the time. During the inquiry the judge listened acutely listened that was told and praised the crew Dei Gratia for their attention to detail and their bravery and skill in rescuing the ship , and bringing it safely back to land. Frederick Flood, however, had his own agenda. Flood was hell-bent on proving that the passengers was Mary Celeste had all met with some horrible and violent bloody end was suggested the theory of a drunken mutiny.He even rowed out to the ship to find evidence! He found the broken leaking barrels and the alcohol and the captain’s sword had cut-marks along the railings. He proposed the theory that the crew got an alcohol, dr ank themselves blind, murdered the captain, his wife, his daughter, his first mate has chucked them all overboard, then into the lifeboat and rowed†¦away†¦from a perfectly good ship†¦ Indeed, not a single piece of ‘evidence’ Flood submitted was found to be what it was!The barrels were empty because they were leaking (they’d been built of red oak, a porous wood which would’ve explained the empty barrels). The damage of railings? Ropes across the wood. The blood on the captain’s sword? It wasn’t blood. It wasn’t even the captain’s sword†¦that sword was stored under his bed! The sword that Flood found was an old, rusty knife lying on the deck. Scientists examined the blade and determined that the red substance was nothing but rust and old paint. It was probably used to lever open paint-cans and stir coagulated paint around!Examples of theories about the Mary Celeste crew’s disappearence Theories range fro m, alcoholic gas or smoke (fumes) to underwater earthquakes, to waterspouts, to paranormal explanations involving extraterrestrial life, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), sea monsters, and the phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle, although the Mary Celeste is not known to have sailed through the Bermuda Triangle area. The Mary Celeste is often described as the ghost ship, since she was discovered without any apparent explanation, and her name has become a synonym for similar occurrences.The ship was said to be â€Å"cursed† and had a long history of disasters and catastrophes, and three captains died on the ship. The ship was destroyed in 1885 when it was intentionally wrecked off the coast of Haiti in an attempted insurance fraud. My opinion about Mary Celeste I think the story is half true and half right. The truth part is the storm and the earthquake in the water. The false part is the curse or the ufo and the phenomenon of the Bermuda triangle.

Profit Maximization Model

SAMPLE ANSWER FOR QUESTION 5 Profit-making is one of the most traditional, basic and major objectives of a firm. Profit-motive is the driving-force behind all business activities of a company. It is the primary measure of success or failure of a firm in the market. Profit earning capacity indicates the position, performance and status of a firm in the market. In spite of several changes and development of several alternative objectives, profit maximization has remained as one of the single most important objectives of the firm even today.Both small and large firms consistently make an attempt to maximize their profit by adopting novel techniques in business. Specific efforts have been made to maximize output and minimize production and other operating costs. Cost reduction, cost cutting and cost minimization has become the slogan of a modern firm. It is a very simple and unambiguous model. It is the single most ideal model that can explain the normal behavior of a firm. Main proposit ions of the profit-maximization model The model is based on the assumption that each firm seeks to maximize its profit given certain technical and market constraints.The following are the main propositions of the model. 1. A firm is a producing unit and as such it converts various inputs into outputs of higher value under a given technique of production. 2. The basic objective of each firm is to earn maximum profit. 3. A firm operates under a given market condition. 4. A firm will select that alternative course of action which helps to maximize consistent profits 5. A firm makes an attempt to change its prices, input and output quantity to maximize its profit. The model Profit-maximization implies earning highest possible amount of profits during a given period of time.A firm has to generate largest amount of profits by building optimum productive capacity both in the short run and long run depending upon various internal and external factors and forces. There should be proper balan ce between short run and long run objectives. In the short run a firm is able to make only slight or minor adjustments in the production process as well as in business conditions. The plant capacity in the short run is fixed and as such, it can increase its production and sales by intensive utilization of existing plants and machineries, having over time work for the existing staff etc.Thus, in the short run, a firm has its own technical and managerial constraints. But in the long run, as there is plenty of time at the disposal of a firm, it can expand and add to the existing capacities build up new plants; employ additional workers etc to meet the rising demand in the market. Thus, in the long run, a firm will have adequate time and ample opportunity to make all kinds of adjustments and readjustments in production process and in its marketing strategies. It is to be noted with great care that a firm has to maximize its profits after taking in to consideration of various factors in to account.They are as follows – 1. Pricing and business strategies of rival firms and its impact on the working of the given firm. 2. Aggressive sales promotion policies adopted by rival firms in the market. 3. Without inducing the workers to demand higher wages and salaries leading to rise in operation costs. 4. Without resorting to monopolistic and exploitative practices inviting government controls and takeovers. 5. Maintaining the quality of the product and services to the customers. 6. Taking various kinds of risks and uncertainties in the changing business environment. . Adopting a stable business policy. 8. Avoiding any sort of clash between short run and long run profits in the business policy and maintaining proper balance between them. 9. Maintaining its reputation, name, fame and image in the market. 10. Profit maximization is necessary in both perfect and imperfect markets. In a perfect market, a firm is a price-taker and under imperfect market it becomes a price -searcher. Assumptions of the model The profit maximization model is based on tree important assumptions. They are as follows – 1.Profit maximization is the main goal of the firm. 2. Rational behavior on the part of the firm to achieve its goal of profit maximization. 3. The firm is managed by owner-entrepreneur. Determination of profit – maximizing price and output Profit maximization of a firm can be explained in two different ways.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total Revenue and Total Cost approach.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost approach. Profits of a firm are estimated by making comparison between total revenue and total costs. Profit is the difference between TR and TC.In other words, excess of revenue over costs is the profits. Profit = TR – TC. If TR is equal to TC in that case, there will be break even point. If TR is less than TC, in that case, a firm will be incurring losses. In this case, we take in to account of total cost and total revenue of the firm while measuring profits. It is clear from  the following diagram how profit arises when TR is greater than that of TC. 2. MR and MC approach In this case, we take in to account of revenue earned from one unit and cost incurred to produce only one unit of output.A firm will be maximizing its profits when MR= MC and MC curve cuts MR curve from below. If MC curve cuts MR curve from above either under perfect market or under imperfect market, no doubt MR equals MC but total output will not be maximized and hence total profits also will not be maximized. Hence, two conditions are necessary for profit maximization- 1. MR = MC. 2. MC curve cut MR curve from below. It is clear from the following diagrams. Justification for profit maximization 1. Basic objective of traditional economic theory.The traditional economic theory assumes that a firm is owned and managed by the entrepreneur himself and as such he always aims at maximum return on his capit al invested in the business. Hence profit-maximization becomes the natural principle of a firm. 2. A firm is not a charitable institution. A firm is a business unit. It is organized on commercial principles. A firm is not a charitable institution. Hence, it has to earn reasonable amount of profits. 3. To predict most realistic price-output behavior. This model helps to predict usual and general behavior of business firms in the real world as it provides a practical guidance.It also helps in predicting the reasonable behavior of a firm with more accuracy. Thus, it is a very simple, plain, realistic, pragmatic and most useful hypothesis in forecasting price output behavior of a firm. 4. Necessary for survival. It is to be noted that the very existence and survival of a firm depends on its capacity to earn maximum profits. It is a time-honored hypothesis and there is common agreement among businessmen to make highest possible profits both in the short run and long run. 5. To achieve ot her objectives.In recent years several other objectives have become much more popular and all these objectives have become highly relevant in the context of modern business set up. But it is to be remembered that they can be achieved only when a firm is making maximum profits. Criticisms 1. Ambiguous term. The term profit maximization is ambiguous in nature. There is no clear cut explanation whether a firm has to maximize its net profit, total profit or the rate of profit in a business unit. Again maximum amount of profit cannot be precisely defined in quantitative terms. . It may not always be possible. Profit maximization, no doubt is the basic objective of a firm. But in the context of highly competitive business environment, always it may not be possible for a firm to achieve this objective. Other objectives like sales maximization, market share expansion, market leadership building its own image, name, fame and reputation, spending more time with members of the family, enjoying leisure, developing better and cordial relationship with employees and customers etc. lso has assumed greater significance in recent years. 3. Separation of ownership and management. In many cases, to-day we come across the business units are organized on partnership or joint stock company or cooperative basis. In case of many large organizations, ownership and management is clearly separated and they are run and managed by salaried managers who have their own self interests and as such always profit maximization may not become possible. 4. Difficulty in getting relevant information and data.In spite of revolution in the field of information technology, always it may not be possible to get adequate and relevant information to take right decisions in a highly fluctuating business scenario. Hence, profits may not be maximized. 5. Conflict in inter-departmental goals. A firm has several departments and sections headed by experts in their own fields. Each one of them will have its own independent goals and many a times there is possibility of clashes between the interests of different departments and as such always profits may not be maximized. 6. Changes in business environment.In the context of highly competitive and changing business environment and changes in consumer’s tastes and requirements, a firm may not be able to cope up with the expectations and adjust its policies and as such profits may not be maximized. 7. Growth of oligopolistic firms. In the context of globalization, growth of oligopoly firms has become so common through mergers, amalgamations and takeovers. Leading firms dominate the market and the small firms have to follow the policies of the leading firms. Hence, in many cases, there are limited chances for making maximum profits. 8.Significance of other managerial gains. Salaried managers have limited freedom in decision making process. Some of them are unable to forecast the right type of changes and meet the market challenges. They are more worried about their salaries, promotions, perquisites, security of jobs, and other types of benefits. They may lack strong motivations to make higher profits as profits would go to the organization. They may be contented with only satisfactory level of profits rather than maximum profits. 9. Emphasis on non-profit goals. Many organizations give more stress on non-profit goals.From the point of view of today’s business environment, productivity, efficiency, better management, customer satisfaction, durability of products, higher quality of products and services etc. have gained importance to cope with business competition. Hence, emphasis has been shifted from profit maximization to other practical aspects. 10. Aversion to reduction in power. In case of several small business units, the owners do not want to share their powers with many new partners and hence, they try to keep maximum powers in their hands.In such cases, keeping more power becomes more important than profit maximization. 11. Official restrictions over profits of public utilities. Public utilities or public corporations are legally prohibited to make huge profits in many developing countries like India. Thus, it is clear that a firm cannot maximize its profits always. There are many constraints in the background of multiple objectives. Each one of the objectives has its own merits and demerits and a firm has to strike a balance between all kinds of objectives.

The Columbine Incident Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Columbine Incident - Essay Example Twelve youngsters who had all their life before them were wantonly and mercilessly murdered, and dozens of others were seriously injured. On recovering from the initial shock of hearing or reading about this incident, if one starts thinking about it, it seems very likely that the two sick villains perpetrating this crime were probably taking revenge of some sorts. For the simple reason that if not one but two persons randomly opened fire within the premises of a fully populated high school, with hundreds of students moving around, there would have definitely been more casualties. One must remember that the perpetrators knew their way with guns, and had indeed used powerful weapons, walking down the length and breadth of the school building hunting people down, while everyone was frantically trying to escape or hide. Another important fact of this incident is that the killers killed themselves in the end. Such prima facie impressions engendered by this tragic incident may have prompte d the various theories that circulated in the media as to the murderers' possible motives, in the immediate aftermath of the event. The fact that they killed themselves suggested a strong possibility that these guys could somehow have been underlings victimized by the school bullies, and this is their way of evening the scores.

Book of Hosea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book of Hosea - Essay Example God's love is so great that it surpasses the transgressions of the Israelites. With this experience, Hosea has become an authentic and effective prophet of God. The following ideas and interpretation of the Book of Hosea are taken from various sources. The Book of Hosea is divided into two parts. The first part is about the Prophet's Marriage and Its Lesson (Hosea 1:1-3:5). The second part is Israel's Guilt and Punishment (Hosea 4:1-14:9 (New American Bible)). According to John Shelby Spong (2005), Hosea lived at the Northern Kingdom and started being a prophet in the last years of Jeroboam II (786-746 B.C.). There are several speculations about this person. Some say he is a priest while others call him a cult prophet. Spong says Hosea is "very sensitive, emotional man who could pass quickly from violent anger to the deepest tenderness." He is married to Gomer, who caused him so much trouble and pain. She is described as very beautiful and the favourite sex partner of the upper class men. When she became older, she is reduced to a slave. Spong describes it dramatically in the following passage: And one day he went to a slave market sale, and this haggard old woman with matted hair and bloodshot eyes was brought out on the slave auction block, and the crowd around there began to laugh. Who in the world would pay anything for that hag But Hosea recognized that as his wife. And in a strange and bold act he stood up when the bidding was open and he offered the highest price that anyone would pay for the strongest young male servant That's the only way Hosea knew how to begin to restore Gomer's dignity and he brought her to his home, and he installed her as his wife, the head of his household. Such sacrifice could surely not be done by an ordinary sinful and selfish person. This is indeed an impressive way of showing the credibility and sincerity of the message of Hosea to the adulterous Israelites. Got Questions Ministries gives a detailed outline of the Book of Hosea. The main points and subdivisions of the Book are outlined as follows: 1. Author: Hosea "is the only prophet of Israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life." 2. Date of Writing: "Hosea, the son of Beeri, prophesied for quite some time, from 785 to 725 B.C. The Book of Hosea was likely written between 755 and 725 B.C." 3. Purpose of Writing: The Book is written to show "a loving God whose loyalty to His covenant people is unwavering." Moreover, Richard D. Patterson, in his "Introduction to Hosea: Historical Context," details the milieu when the Book of Hosea and the events therein. The setting is said to be during the eighth century B.C. at the Northern Kingdom. Also mentioned in the Book, four eighth century kings of Judah, thus making the setting to be in Judah. The kings mentioned are: Uzziah (c. 792-740 B.C.), Jeroboam II (c. 792-752 B.C.), Jotham (732 B.C.) and Hezekiah in Judah in (729 B.C.). This shows that Hosea lived a long life and cautioned and encouraged the people of Israel. This also implies that the Israelites are a difficult people to lead and it is only God's great unconditional love that makes them survive the tests of time and pressures from the neighbouring tribes. The era is described as "a period marked by great economic and political success but growing spiritual apostasy." Patterson continues

Critique of quantative research article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critique of quantative research article - Essay Example In HFHS, the candidate is evaluated using their reaction to a human like a mannequin that responds to external stimuli like a real patient would. The study used two other evaluation methods to augment the results of VTV and HFHS in relation to critical thinking. These were the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) and California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST). CCTDI and CCTST join the link between physical performance and the mental capacity engaged in this type of response. The study aims at establishing if there is a link between critical thinking and the overall performance of a practicing nurse in the real world clinical situations. This is done by comparing the performance scores in HFHS and VTV assessments and determining if there is a relationship between simulations based performances and critical thinking. In the nursing profession, there is the need for a high degree of competency in handling medical situations and emergencies. How a nurse respond s to a situation is meaningful for a patient’s recovery or their demise. The proper identification of a problem and the appropriate subsequent response to the problem is linked to how effective that person is at handling such situations, and it has been linked to a person’s state of mind. ... The assessment of critical thinking through the use of question and answer methods fail to bring out the actual capability of a nurse in a real clinical situation. They do help to gauge their cognitive abilities, but do not show their level performance, in a practical scenario, where their actions and judgments are required immediately to save a life. The development of simulated assessment methods present a better method of assessing the performance of an individual, and it makes it easier for them to provide rationale, for their actions because simulations engage multiple sensory pathways making them dynamic, thus giving the nurse a variety of options to choose from, in regards to the one that is best suited for the situation at hand. Videotape vignettes (VTV) is an assessment method that requires a test candidate to watch a video where an actor assumes the condition of a patient suffering from a specific ailment and the candidate writes down how they would respond in such a situat ion and reasons supporting their decisions. In the assessment method of High fidelity Human Simulation (HFHS), the candidate is exposed to controlled experimental type scenario where a human like mannequin that can respond to external stimuli is programmed to mimic a person who is suffering from a certain ailment. The candidate’s performance is evaluated by gauging how they handle the ‘patient’ and what type of actions they initiate to mitigate the unfolding situation. To be able to gauge the critical thinking capacity of candidate accurately, these assessments are coupled to California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) and California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST) as a way of trying to create a link between