Production Pit :: Essays Papers

Production Pit Zizek wants to know of Tarkovsky, â€Å"Does his cinematic materialism effectively provide the adequate â€Å"objective correlative† for his narrative of spiritual quest and sacrifice, or does it secretly subvert his narrative?† (254). He looks to Tarkovsky’s writings, which he takes as Russian obscurantist religious mysticism, but ignores the answers already present in Tarkovsky’s film. The basic dynamic he considers is a questioning of the relationship between two given elements of the film, its narrative theme (which Zizek takes as an overall gnosticism, along the theological lines that spirituality demands moving up and away from the body) and its textured visual/aural materiality (which is Zizek’s consideration of the dirt, blending of nature and civilization, and overgrown made world). To critically reassess this acrobatic relation between a filmic quality and a narrative one, I will consider the sole scene and setting of produ ction in action – that late scene in â€Å"The Bell† of plain heavy production. If this scene shows anything, it is production becoming more than a process of manufacture, but always a partially concealed smoky setting with ambiguities of depth and direction. The white smoke that seems present in so many scenes in the film passes through and obscures the thoroughly planned and understood processes that are absolutely crucial to the formation of the Prince’s bell. Water drops down just behind the mastermind of the project, and as Boriska walks right and up he passes the Russian workhorse of a man that seems the muscle of such industrial efforts. A mighty-chested man whose face is obscured by the bowl of water he pours into himself serves not only the Prince of the plot, but as a metonymy for the brute civic engineering that surrounds the decorative/religious world of monastic painters. Just as Tarkovsky’s landscapes are populated with humans, as if just another plant or animal on the horizon, the background, coming in and out of focu s as the image ponders losing its inertia into the workings of the furnace, the sparks, the bellows, and the molten metal that has been riches and will be the bell. Even synthesizer music becomes appropriate, with Andrei’s shoulders and head standing above it all. What we make of these gentle waves of the monastically introverted experience the film tries to get by as isn’t interesting.

The History of the American Bottom :: American History

Two of the nations largest rivers meet in the American Bottom. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers served as channels of change to the area, bringing outside influences of many different peoples to an Indian-inhabited land. Like the constant flow of the rivers, there was a constant change in the American Bottom. The progress eventually developed the area into a center of economic activity and gateway to the west, but also excluded native and long-time residents. The Illinois Indians long dominated the American Bottom. They were a unique and special tribe, who were complex politically, religiously, and socially. They were also an independent people until French colonizers came to settle in the area. The French Creoles became the dominant population in the region, effecting trade and implementing French Creole culture in the region. The French would not be the last group trying to develop and profit from the American Bottom. When the United States gained control of the territory, it ch anged even further and eventually Americanized into an U.S. State. The importance of the region increased as the U.S. continued to grow westward. The American Bottoms location between the two great rivers made it the ideal location for a center of economic growth. Prior to the contact period, or the time when the Illinois first came into contact with Europeans, the Illinois were a great and influential tribe. They were a very interesting tribe who had a culture all their own. They were also a very autonomous bunch never having to rely on anyone but themselves for survival. This was all to change with the introduction of European missionaries and traders. The Illinois were dwelling in territory that was in heavy demand by those who wished to exploit these Indians and their land in order to turn over a dollar. The frontier was moving farther west and the Illinois eventually fell into the chaos that followed. War, disease, alcohol, and new ways of life eventually exterminated the Illinois. Although the Illinois were not to make it through the development of the American Bottom, they played a crucial and fascinating role in its history. The land the Illinois lived was not only beautiful but also abundant with resources. The resources in the area amazed the French missionaries and explorers. Father Claude Allois, a Jesuit missionary, describes an interesting spectacle on a journey south. â€Å"The next day, we saw a rock seven or eight feet out of the water and two or three brasses in circumference, named ‘the pitch rock.

Prewriting Exercise Essay

STEP 2) Describe two controversies surrounding this topic The first controversy is with regard to the idea of a universal health care system for the United States as a solution to its current health care situation of having an increasing rate of uninsurance among its working populace. While there is considerable current literature that argue that government should be able to provide adequate health care for all of its citizens, the questions of prioritization and proper allocation of funding comes into play. Specific research would have to be found to quantify as well as qualify the problem of uninsurance so as to evaluate just how much government action ought to be necessary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second controversy is whether or not current government action in terms of federal funding for Medicare and Medicaid is sufficient to address the needs of Americans. This issue examines what both of the programs currently provide and how much each has actually helped the American public in facing health service issues. Again, factual research need to be complied in order to present a clear picture of how much these programs are helping so that a sound conclusion regarding whether they are helping enough can be reached. STEP 3) Describe which side of the argument you feel is right and why I believe that given the current health care needs of the American public, serious consideration of establishing a universal health are system should be deeply considered. I also believe that current measures are not enough. Of course, these are assertions that I’ve initially made based on personal experiences in my interactions with individuals seeking health care support from the government. Therefore, I would need to gather more solid, factual information to support my claims. I will need to explore the concept of a universal health care system better in terms of its application to other countries so that I can have a deeper perspective on what needs to be done. STEP 4) Formulate a working thesis sentence The development of a universal health care system is a positive step towards the solution of the American uninsurance problem.

Government Regulation of Climate Change Essay

For all nations, adapting to climate change has become a key issue. Governments are mandated to formulate policies aimed at safe guarding lives and livelihoods for their people and at the same time attain their development goals. As cities continue to grow, more people moving to urban centers, and nations working to become industrialized, climate change is here to stay, all that can be done is formulation of policies that will help reduce and adapt to the change. These regulations should put into consideration sustainability. In its short term policy, the government has formed a wide array of public private partnerships aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions. Focus is put on use of renewable energy, efficient use of energy, methane and other non carbon gases agricultural practices, and projects to achieve reduction in greenhouse gas emission. ( U. S. Climate Policy and Actions) . In its quest to reduce green gas emissions, the government has established a multi agency climate change technology programs to develop and implement the technologies. Climate change being a global challenge, no nation can satisfactorily claim to have fought it within its jurisdiction. It is on this ground that the government has formed international cooperation with other nations in areas of science, mitigation and environmental monitoring. To some extent, large (mostly industrializes nations) green gas emitters are made to compensate the small (developing world) green gas emitters. The government has set threshold for green gas emissions. These defines the acceptable limits of green gas emissions by firms . The regulations here targets large and stationary greenhouse gas emitters. EPA estimates these large emitters to contribute about 70% of green house gases in the country (EPA regulatory initiative, p3). Programs targeting reduced green gas emission and increased fuel economy for cars and trucks used in United States have been established. Under the regulation general suppliers of fossil fuel and industrial green house gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines and any other green gas emitting facility that emits above 250000metric tonnes of green house gases annually to submit annual reports to the regulation body EPA. These regulations aim at collecting timely information for better planning. Different views have been given on climate change . Arguments that there is no scientific proof showing that increase in global temperature is brought about by heat trapping gases in the atmosphere have been raised. It also has been claimed that despite the claims that these gases are as a result of man’s activities, for instance burning of fossil oil or deforestation, still no scientific proof on this has been given. In his view Brzorad, scientists in addition to doing their work, have other motives, their research are at times biased based on the desired outcome . The bias could be politically motivated, need for firms to make more profit, or personal urge for recognition (p2). In my view, climate change is a reality. As a result of industrialization, increased life expectancy and a generally growing population, human activity is putting pressure on the limited natural resources. These acts of man has led to more green house gases being generated from power plants, automobiles and other firms accumulating in the atmosphere, trapping heat from the sun and increasing global temperatures. Policy makers have several options to choose from as they consider how to reduce green gas emissions. Of the many options, the most practical ones are command and control regulation where regulatory authorities directs on how emission limits will be achieved, and the incentive based regulation where forces of supply and demand are used to change behavior and achieve environmental goals. Command and control regulation are enforced by fines if pollution is above the set limits or threshold. In this system, pollution is monitored and laws enforced. This is done either under a tax regime or a regulatory regime. The system applies uniform emission limits on polluters despite each firm having a different cost on emission reduction. The regime is considered rigid as it also controls the emitter choices on how to reduce emissions. In the incentive based regulation, pollution reduction is achieved through tradable emission limits where and if allowed pollution can be achieved at lower costs. It is a market based approach to pollution reduction achieved by providing economic incentives. In this system, a regulatory body or the government sets a limit on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. The limits are sold to firms in forms emission permits. Each firm is required to hold permits equivalent to its emission. Each firm is only entitled to a certain specific number of permits. A firm emits higher levels of pollutant than the maximum allowed permits then the firm buys the extra permits from other firms. In the set up, the buyer pays for extra pollutant while the seller is rewarded for causing less harm to the environment. The approach leaves the burden of reducing emission to the emitter. It offers reduced social cost due to its flexibility. It also creates a single price for emission. If in Federal Congress or administration, I would recommend an incentive based approach for greenhouse gases. These gases have the same effect on the environment regardless of where pollution is occurring and are also perfectly mixing. The approach gives the polluter the freedom to look for most economical ways to reduce emission and continually reduce emissions to be below the set standard to avoid buying more permits or enjoy selling the permits if emission is blow the set standards. For other types of pollutants, including solid waste I would recommend command and control regulation the polluter would be made to pay for the actual damage made to the environment. List of references Brzorad John, (Feb. 9, 2009) opposing views on climate change. Retrieved from http://www2. hickoryrecord. com/content/2009/feb/05/just-science-opposing-views-climate-change/news-opinion National Center for Environmental Economics (May 31, 2010). Retrieved from http://yosemite. epa. gov/ee/epa/eed. nsf/3cdbd09d7c867d9785256c9200548b12/988c90eb8ee77035852574ce000e9724! OpenDocument U. S. Climate Policy and Actions (February 22, 2010). Retrieved from http://www. epa. gov/climatechange/policy/index. html

Psychology experiments Essay

When conducting psychology research, there are several important standards that must be observed in order to protect study participants. Ethics are a set of moral principles used to guide human behaviour. When these guidelines are breached, they become ethical issues. Nowadays the British Psychology Society (BPS) uses a set of ethical guidelines for all psychology experiments to be bound to.  Most ethical problems in human research stem from the participant being typically in as much less powerful position then the experimenter. It follows that steps need to be taken to ensure that the participant is not placed in a powerless and vulnerable position. All participants must have the basic right in experiments to stop their involvement at any given point. Furthermore, they do not have to feel obliged to explain the basis on which they have decided to withdraw if they choose not to, and they may also insist the data they provided during the experiment should be destroyed. Informed consent is also another safeguard taken by psychologists to indicate a formal agreement between the experimenter and study participant.  However the experimental design, eg. field experiment, may not always enable this as it could potentially seriously affect the validity of the results. Yet a precaution used is to debrief participants on the true aim of the study after if has been conducted, in order to justify deception and then to obtain informed consent off the participants once valid results have been produced. A cost-benefit analysis helps weigh up the cost experienced by the participants as a consequence of their involvement in the study, to the social benefit of the results on society. This helps justify many experiments as the outcome of some studies could be of huge beneficial value to society and the cost of participants seems insignificant to the influence it has made outside the study. Despite many ethical guidelines, previous psychological experiments have breeched these, therefore leading to significant ethical issues. In order to compensate for these downfalls, the experimenters can justify them or use techniques after the experiment is over to restore their ethical values. Milgram’s (1974) research on obedience to authority was carried out in the days before most ethical guidelines were in place, however is still regarded unethical. The experiment involved asking participants to administer very strong electric shocks to another participant (although was in fact an experimenter who was involved in the study). The participants were deceived about key aspects of the study, such as the fact that the other person didn’t actually receive any of the shocks the true participant was administering. However you must consider the affect having the participants know about the false shocks would have on the study. The results would be totally invalid as they would not then be measuring the obedience to the participants. They were also deceived in that they believed they were participating in a memory learning experiment, yet really were involved in obedience to authority experiment. This was again necessary to obtain valid results. However this point also raises issues on informed consent, as p’s only gave consent to the fake experiment, not the true one. This was justified by the experimenters by giving all participants a full debrief of the true nature of the experiment after it had been conducted. During this debriefing the p’s were asked for informed consent to the true experiment instead, therefore making up for the lack of informed consent to start. One of the main ethical concerns which arose form this study was the high level of psychological harm caused to the p’s as a direct result of the experiment. Visible signs of distress, nervous behaviour, sweating, uncomfortable laughter, trembling and even seizers were recorded form the participants during the study. This strongly suggests to us that the participants were very effected by their participation in the experiment. Additionally after the experiment they may have been left feeling ashamed, lower self esteem and degrading thoughts of themselves for have acted like they did. However again the debrief at the end reassured that they had not actually harmed anyone and that the electric shocks were false. They were also told that their behaviour was normal and that many others had acted in similar ways. All p’s later received a detailed report on the study to illustrate the significance of their involvement in the study. Over 80% of the p’s said they were glad to have taken part and only 1% expressed negative feelings. Overall despite the cost to the participants, the results produced from this experiment have been invaluable in extending knowledge on obedience. Still years after this experiment was conducted, the study holds massive insight into obedience and remains one of the most influential psychology studies in this area. Thus justified by the cost- benefit analysis.

The Debate on Executive Compensation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Debate on Executive Compensation - Essay Example Instead of the inverse proportionality of their pay to the performance of the firm, it should be such that the relationship is directly proportional to each other. Usually, the executive pay is a combination of the salary, extra bonuses, reimbursements, and shares on the company stocks. The compensation is given a stringent configuration to comply with the necessary legal requirement, which includes tax law, regulations of the government, the desires of the company as stipulated by the executives and the organization itself, and of course the reward and performance. Most important is the fact that the executive pay is always a subject of approval from the board of directors and meanings that the salary is predetermined before the actual performance of the executives is noticed (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2001, p.62). Different schools of thoughts have thus arisen over the executive pay by hypothesising on the motivating factor for the increasingly rising pay for the CEOs and two schoo ls of thoughts have been brought forth. ... The other thought process perception is rather opposed to the compensation level and asserts that it is a socially unaccepted phenomenon that is largely fuelled by the social and political order that allows the executives to self-determine their own pay and have absolute control over it (Chen, Liu and Li 2010, p.54). Thus, the payment of the executives is not a covert that is whimsically decided by the CEOs themselves but is also approved by the board of directors who also determine and give consent to the figures. Despite this, the economists are not persuaded by this and therefore maintain that the executives’ pay must be aligned to the performance of the company, without which it is irrational and unjustified (Bruce, Buck and Main 2005, p.41). In reference to the objective brought by the economist over the hefty pays that go to the executives even during the period of economic crunch, this paper critically examines the agency theory and explains why it is impossible to expl ain the compensation of the executives with the provision of the theory. Besides that, the paper also gives comparative approach of evaluation from other theoretical sources that consider the relationship between the principal and the agents apart from the agency theory. The Agency Theory This theory shows the connection that exists between the principals and the negotiators in a business scenario through managing the business affairs to the best interest of each. The principals in the case companies are the shareholders while agents are the executives; in this relation, the agency theory tackles any problem that may arise between the principal and the agent in the course of running the business. Thus, the agency theory is known to be instrumental

Gandhi's ethic of nonviolent civil disobedience Essay

Gandhi's ethic of nonviolent civil disobedience - Essay Example The Holocaust and more recently, the attacks on the World Trade Center may be considered as examples of an unfortunate inversion of sacred beliefs and moralities, that led to the attempted annihilation of two distinct groups of people and their cultures. In the first instance, it was the Jews, who were the target, and in the second it was the American people. The responsibility for these two subversions of the holy can be narrowed down and fixed on two powerful personalities, Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden. But what motivated these two to such actions'Hitler firmly subscribed to the belief that the Germans were of Nordic/Aryan origin, and were a superior race; if they mixed with the inferior race of Jews, racial purity would be diluted. (Jewish Virtual Library, para 4) This view may have also been exacerbated by his personal dislike of Jews; he felt they, along with the Communists, (most Communists were Jews too!) were responsible for the defeat of Germany in the First World War, a defeat that led to the Fatherland's total humiliation. (Burleigh qtd. in Spartacus.schoolnet) Germany had to pay 38% of its national income in war reparation. In the spirit of a Plato advocating regulated breeding of humans to ensure better 'quality', Hitler went a step further by advocating ethnic cleansing, which would set the stage for building a strong and pure Nordic race. Hitler gave his eugenic program a 'scientific' base too. He referred to Nietzsche's and Darwin's theories to justify it. He firmly believed that he would be helping to achieve the evolutionary ideal of getting the best to survive by wiping out the inferior Jewish race. (Brief History: Evolutionary Theory)The Jews were first isolated in ghettos in order to be stopped from 'polluting' the pure Nordic race. The next step taken by Hitler was to exhort his countrymen to partake in a cleansing pogrom devised for the complete annihilation of the Jews. And Hitler, being the demagogue that he was, was also able to co nvince his compatriots that it was a sacred duty to wipe out an inferior race, thus paving the way for making Germany a great country.As for Osama, his belief was (is) that Islam is the only true religion, and Mohammed, the only Prophet, and all those who did not agree were infidels. It was God's great plan that the infidels should be wiped out through the process of 'Jihad' (Holy War). It was a devout Mussalman's sacred duty to kill or forcefully convert the infidel to Islam. '''''As Fasching says: Bin Laden and the al Qaeda, according to a discovered terrorist manual, are clear about the goal - "overthrow of the godless regimes and their replacement with an Islamic regime." This goal authorizes Muslims to kill Americans and all unbelievers. The killing of even innocent women and children is not only permitted but religiously required. (2002) Bin Laden justified his aggressive anti-American stand by stating that the Americans caused offence to Islam and its followers by their very presence in the Holy Land (Saudi Arabia) during the Gulf War of the early 1990's. The most holy of Islamic sites are located in Saudi Arabia, and Islam forbids a non-Muslim to visit these sites (Mecca, for instance) even under normal circumstances of peace. Thus the presence of American soldiers during the war was seen as a wanton desecration of the Holy Land of Islamic tradition. (Fasching 2002) From Osama's perspective, secularism as a way of life, accepted by the modern Western outlook, is itself profane, with its implications of a free intermingling of different religious groups, and a negation of religious and cultural identities. Bin Laden's antipathy to the outsider, encompasses all the nations of the UN, including "those who pretend(ed) they are leaders of the Arab world" and continued with their U.N membership. Bin Laden, it must be