Electoral College System Essay Example for Free

Electoral College System Essay The Electoral College system is a part of the United States Constitution. It has been present since the creation of the nation. There has never been a United States presidential election not determined by the Electoral College system (Kuroda 127). In the first presidential election of 1789 George Washington was awarded 69 electoral votes to win his first term as the first president of the fledgling nation. The idea of eliminating what is seen as an archaic and unwieldy form of election has been considered for years, but what most politicians have found is that it is never easy to amend the United States Constitution, particularly in favor of an unknown. People believe they have a system, that while cumbersome and antiquated, still functions as the founding fathers intended it to do. With some of the founding fathers of the opinion that the average citizen was not well enough informed to make a logical or wise decision as to who should succeed to the highest office in the land, it was thought to be imminently better for a Congress to elect the president. When that idea was defeated, the proponents settled for having a group of unbound electors be sent to the capital each four years, and there decide for the people. Writing in the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton said: It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided. This end will be answered by committing the right of making it, not to any pre-established body, but to men chosen by the people for the special purpose, and at the particular conjuncture. (par. 2) And still today, while the electors are faithful to the point that an unfaithful elector is an aberration, the fact remains that electors have options and can, if they wish, simply deny the will of the people (Archives. gov 1). Besides the fact that the nation has had presidential winners who did not win a majority of the popular vote, which in essence denies the will of the people, this system is maintained (Abbott and Levine 21). There is a need for, at the very least, a major over-haul of the system, and possibly a totally new approach, allowing for the direct election of the president by the popular vote of the American people. The arguments in favor of the Electoral College are specious today, particularly in regard to the people being informed enough to make a decision, and for that reason, as well as numerous others, the Electoral College should be discarded in favor of a system which better expresses the will of We the People. The present system has its advocates, and they make some good points in favor of not scraping the Electoral College. They rightly point out that such an act would not only be difficult, requiring a Constitutional amendment, necessitating a two-thirds majority of both house of Congress to agree, but also three-fourths of all the states would also have to acquiesce on the matter. They point out that in the past there have only been 27 amendments to this blueprint of government so well written by the nation’s founders. They also point out that some amendments have proven to be national disasters, such as Amendment 18. This system, they argue, has served the nation for over near 220 years and it simply is not wise to exchange a system which works for an unknown, which could result in chaos or even massive civil disturbance. It offers, they argue, both parity and equity to the smaller states, which would have virtually no voice in a direct election system. Then comes the question of what system would be better. There are several ideas being floated occasionally as trial balloons. The Congressional District method has been proposed. It comes with its own problems, however, and fails to address some of the more troubling aspects of the Electoral College system. This system proposes that each Congressional District be given one vote and allotting the two Senatorial votes as a bonus for the winner of the statewide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska currently use this method. First, this system does not correct one of the perceived flaws of the current system, which is the extraordinarily disproportionate weight given the vote of citizens of less populous states. Under the present system Wyoming is given one electoral vote per 165,000 citizens, while Texas is given one electoral vote per 652,000 citizens. This makes the vote of a Wyoming citizen worth four times that of a Texas citizen. Secondly the Congressional District proposal does not take into account the self-serving gerrymandering which tends to carve up American votes as if in a feudal system, making incumbents virtually bullet-proof, so to speak, and guaranteeing a vote for the party in power when the district was drawn. Frequently Joe Six-pack will grumble and insist that the election should be decided in a winner-take-all popular vote. This system, usually put forth as a â€Å"Direct Vote with Plurality Rule† has its good points and its bad. It harkens back to the days of the Greek city-states, when the citizens of Athens would all gather to directly vote for their candidate. Under this system the Electoral College would be eliminated, which would require the above-mentioned amendment to the United States Constitution, which could take years to effect. Simplistically, this system would award the presidency to the candidate with the most popular votes, irrespective of whether he or she garners a majority. This system would not prevent the spoiler-effect from occurring when third-party candidates dilute the vote of one major party candidate, allowing the other to move ahead in the popular vote. And, in theory, a wide field of candidates could dilute the vote to such an extent that a winner could be declared although only winning a small plurality, should the field be large enough. With this concern, and the necessity to amend the Constitution, there are surely better alternatives.

Hypertension And Blood Pressure

Hypertension And Blood Pressure Hypertension is a common and major cause of stroke and other cardiovascular disease. There are many causes of hypertension, including defined hormonal and genetic syndromes, renal disease and multifactorial racial and familial factors. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world and will increase in worldwide importance as a public health problem by 2020 (Murray and Lopez 1997). Blood pressure (BP) is defined as the amount of pressure exerted, when heart contract against the resistance on the arterial walls of the blood vessels. In a clinical term high BP is known as hypertension. Hypertension is defined as sustained diastolic BP greater than 90 mmHg or sustained systolic BP greater than 140 mmHg. The maximum arterial pressure during contraction of the left ventricle of the heart is called systolic BP and minimum arterial pressure during relaxation and dilation of the ventricle of the heart when the ventricles fill with blood is known as diastolic BP (Guyton and Hall 2006). Hypertension is commonly divided into two categories of primary and secondary hypertension. In primary hypertension, often called essential hypertension is characterised by chronic elevation in blood pressure that occurs without the elevation of BP pressure results from some other disorder, such as kidney disease. Essential hypertension is a heterogeneous disorder, with different patients having different causal factors that lead to high BP. Essential hypertension needs to be separated into various syndromes because the causes of high BP in most patients presently classified as having essential hypertension can be recognized (Carretero and Oparil 2000). Approximately 95% of the hypertensive patients have essential hypertension. Although only about 5 to 10% of hypertension cases are thought to result from secondary causes, hypertension is so common that secondary hypertension probably will be encountered frequently by the primary care practitioner (Beevers and MacGregor 1995). In normal mechanism when the arterial BP raises it stretches baroceptors, (that are located in the carotid sinuses, aortic arch and large artery of neck and thorax) which send a rapid impulse to the vasomotor centre that resulting vasodilatation of arterioles and veins which contribute in reducing BP (Guyton and Hall 2006). Most of the book suggested that there is a debate regarding the pathophysiology of hypertension. A number of predisposing factors which contributes to increase the BP are obesity, insulin resistance, high alcohol intake, high salt intake, aging and perhaps sedentary lifestyle, stress, low potassium intake and low calcium intake. Furthermore, many of these factors are additive, such as obesity and alcohol intake (Sever and Poulter 1989). The pathophysiology of hypertension is categorised mainly into cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistant, renin- angiotensin system, autonomic nervous system and others factors. Normal BP is determined and maintained the balance between cardiac output and peripheral resistant. Considering the essential hypertension, peripheral resistant will rise in normal cardiac output because the peripheral resistant is depend upon the thickness of wall of the artery and capillaries and contraction of smooth muscles cells which is responsible for increasing intracellular calcium concentration (Kaplan 1998). In renin-angiotensin mechanism endocrine system plays important role in maintain blood pressure; especially the juxtaglomerular cells of the kidney secrete renin in order to response glomerular hypo-perfusion. And also renin is released by the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system which is later convert to angiotensin I then again it converts to angiotensin II in the lungs by the effect of angiotensin- converting enzyme (ACE). Angiotensin II is a potent vasoconstrictor and also it released aldosterone from the zona glomerulosa of the adrenal gland which is responsible for sodium and water retention. In this way, renin-angiotensin system increases the BP (Beevers et al 2001). Similarly, in autonomic nervous system sympathetic nervous system play a role in pathophysiology of hypertension and key to maintaining the normal BP as it constricts and dilates arteriolar. Autonomic nervous system considers as an important in short term changes in BP in response to stress and physical exercise. This system works together with renin-angiotensin system including circulating sodium volume. Although adrenaline and nor-adrenaline doesnt play an important role in causes of hypertension, the drugs used for the treatment of hypertension block the sympathetic nervous system which had played proper therapeutic role (Beevers et al 2001). Others pathophysiology includes many vaso active substance which are responsible for maintaining normal BP. They are enothelin bradikinin, endothelial derived relaxant factor; atrial natriuretic peptide and hypercoagulability of blood are all responsible in some way to maintain the BP (Lip G YH 2003). The seventh report of the Joint National Committee (JNC-VII) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure defines some important goals for the evaluation of the patient with elevated BP which are detection and confirmation of hypertension; detection of target organ disease (e.g. renal damage, congestive heart failure); identification of other risk factors for cardiovascular disorders (e.g. diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia) and detection of secondary causes of hypertension (Chobanian et al 2003). Most hypertensive patients remain asymptomatic until complications arise. Potential complications include stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, aortic aneurysm and dissection, renal damage and retinopathy (Zamani et al 2007).The drug selection for the pharmacologic treatment of hypertension would depend on the individual degree of elevation of BP and contradictions. Treatment of non-pharmacologic hypertension includes life-style, weight reduction, exercise, sodium, potassium, stop smoking and alcohol, relaxation therapy and dietary improvements, followed by pharmacology therapy. Commonly used antihypertensive drugs include thiazide diuretics, ÃŽ ²-blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, direct vasodilators and ÃŽ ±-receptor antagonists which are shown in the following table. Diuretics have been used for decades to treat hypertension and recommended as first-line therapy by JNC-VII guidelines after antihypertensive and lipid-lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trail (ALLHAT) success. They reduce circulatory volume, cardiac output and mean arterial pressure and are most effective in patients with mild-to- moderate hypertension who have normal renal function. Thiazide diuretics (e.g. hydrochlorothiazide) and potassium sparing diuretics (e.g. spironolactone) promote Na+ and Cl- excretion in the nephrone. Loop diuretics (e.g. furosemide) are generally too potent and their actions too short-lived, however, they are useful in lowering blood pressure in patients with renal insufficiency, who often does not respond to other diuretics. Diuretics may result in adverse metabolic side effects, including elevation of creatinine; glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride levels, hypokalemia, hyperuricemia and decreased sexual function are potential side effects. The be st BP lowering response is seen from low doses of Thiazide diuretics (Kaplan 1998). Î’-blocker such as propranolol are believed to lower BP through several mechanisms, including reducing cardiac output through a decrease heart rate and a mild decrease in contractility and decreasing the secretion of renin, which lead to a decrease in total peripheral resistant. Adverse effects of b-blockers include bronchospam, fatigue, impotence, and hyperglycemia and alter lipid metabolism (Zamani et al 2007). Centrally acting ÃŽ ±2-adrenergic agonists such as methyldopa and clonidine reduce sympathetic outflow to the heart, blood vessels and kidneys. Methyldopa is safe to use during pregnancy. Side effect includes dry mouth, sedation, drowsiness is common; and in 20% of patients methyldopa causes a positive antiglobulin test, rarely haemolytic anaemia and clonidine causes rebound hypertension if the drug is suddenly withdrawn (Neal M J 2009). Systemic a1-antagonists such as prazosin, terazosin and doxazosin cause a decrease in total peripheral resistance through relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. Calcium channel blockers (CCB) reduce the influx of Ca++ responsible for cardiac and smooth muscle contraction, thus reducing cardiac contractility and total peripheral resistant. Thus long-acting members of this group are frequently used to treat hypertension. There are two classes of CCB dihyropyridines and non- dihyropyridines. The main side effect of CCB is ankle oedema, but this can sometimes be offset by combining with ÃŽ ²-blockers (Lip G YH 2003). Direct vasodilators such as Hydralazine and minoxidil lower BP by directly relaxing vascular smooth muscle of precapillary resistance vessels. However, this action can result in a reflex increase heart rate, so that combined ÃŽ ²-blocker therapy is frequently necessary (Neal M J 2009). ACE inhibitors works by blocking the renin-angiotensin system thereby inhibiting the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. ACE inhibitors may be most useful for treating patients with heart failure, as well as hypertensive patients who have diabetes. Using ACE inhibitors can lead to increased levels of bradikinin, which has the side effect of cough and the rare, but severe, complication of angioedema. Recent study demonstrated that captopril was as effective as traditional thaizides and ÃŽ ²-blockers in preventing adverse outcomes in hypertension (Lip G YH 2003). Angiotensin II antagonists act on the renin-angiotensin system and they block the action of angiotensin II at its peripheral receptors. They are well tolerated and very rarely cause any significant side-effects (Zamani et al 2007). Another helpful principle of antihypertensive drug therapy concerns the use of multiple drugs. The effects of one drug, acting at one physiologic control point, can be defeated by natural compensatory mechanism (e.g. diuretic decrease oedema occurring secondary to treatment with a CCB). By using two drugs with different mechanisms of action, it is more likely that BP and its complication are controlled and with the low dose range of combined drugs also help to reduce the side-effects as well (Frank 2008) . The following two-drug combinations have been found to be effective and well tolerated which are diuretic and ÃŽ ²-blocker; diuretic and ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor antagonist; CCB (dihydropyridine) and ÃŽ ²-blocker; CCB and ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor antagonist; CCB and b-diuretic; ÃŽ ±-blocker and ÃŽ ²-blocker and other combinations (e.g. with central agents, including ÃŽ ±2-adrenoreceptor agonists and imidazoline- I2 receptor modulators, or between ACE inhib itors and angiotensin receptor antagonists) can be used (ESH and ESC 2003). If necessary, three or four drugs may be required in many cases for the treatment. The use of a single drug will lower the BP satisfactorily in up to 80% of patients with hypertension but combining two types of drugs will lower BP about 90%. If the diastolic pressure is above 130 mmHg then the hypertensive emergency is occurred. Although it is desirable to reduce the diastolic pressure below 120 mmHg within 24 hours in accelerated hypertension, it is usually unnecessary to reduce it more rapidly and indeed it may be dangerous to do so. This is because the mechanisms that maintain cerebral blood flow at a constant level independent of peripheral BP are impaired in hypertension. However, it is important to reduce the BP quickly by giving the intravenous drugs but caution should be taken to avoid cerebrovascular pressure inducing cerebral ischemia (Grahame-Smith and Aronson 2002). In conclusion, hypertension emerges as an extremely important clinical problem because of its prevalence and potentially devastating consequences. The major classes of antihypertensive drugs: diuretics, ÃŽ ²-blockers, CCB, ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor antagonists, are suitable for the initiation and maintenance of antihypertensive therapy which helps in reduction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Pompidou Centre Design Concepts

Pompidou Centre Design Concepts This essay looks at the Pompidou Centre of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, in terms of how its design can be understood as a product of its cultural, social, political and economic context, including a discussion of the influences and relationship between the philosophical ideas underpinning the movement and the resulting building. The essay first provides a brief overview of the Pompidou Centre’s history and the architecture of the Pompidou Centre and its external spaces (recognising that the Pompidou Centre is more than simply the High Tech structure; it is also composed of its plazas and external pedestrianised spaces). The essay then moves on to discuss the philosophy behind the Pompidou Centre, in terms of the intersection of the philosophy for the building and the resulting design for the building. The essay then discusses how the design of the Pompidou Centre can be understood as a product of its cultural, social, political and economic context, and ends with a brief co nclusion. The Pompidou Centre was the result of an architecture competition aimed at producing an â€Å"architectural and urban complex to mark our century† (Bachman, 2003). Bachman (2003) identifies the Pompidou Centre as belonging to the high-tech style, due to its construction, namely its revealed structures, its exposed ducts and the sharp, inside out, industrial aesthetics of the entire structure. As Bachman (2003) argues, the process of revealing normally internalised sections of such a structure led to the re-thinking of these sections, in terms of their workings, their function and the ways in which they are organised and work in concert with each other. This led, implicitly, to a re-thinking of the idea of a ‘cultural space’ and ideas about what a cultural space should be used for, and who it should be used by (Thompson and Bell, 2007). The Pompidou Centre was novel in many ways, not simply in its design, but also in the ways in which the whole space was designed t o be user-friendly, to attract a variety of different users to the space for multiple purposes (Bachman, 2003). The structure, and its surroundings, were also entirely novel, with the building essentially being turned inside out, with long facades that could act as ‘information surfaces’ and a plaza that was designed to act as a meeting point for the various visitors the Centre would attract. Casati (2007), interviewing Richard Rogers, discusses the idea of the Pompidou Centre stemming from the idea of uniting machinery with a cultural centre, which essentially means the idea of containing the cultural aspects of the centre in an innovative way, to allow multiple users to use the space in many different ways. As Richard Rogers says in this interview, â€Å"†¦.we very quickly realised†¦.a need not only for a museum but also for a place for people in this area to do other things: a place to go on Sunday morning with children, with dogs, with girlfriends, or to go to all manner of activities not specifically stated in the programme. It became something in which both culturally oriented people and the public could participate.† (Casati, 2007). On this understanding, then, it becomes clear that the multi-functionality of the space was a basic design concept, a basic philosophy, for the design of the Centre, and, as Rogers says, â€Å"†¦I have always drea med of this piazza becoming the Parisian Hyde Park Corner† (Casati, 2007). From this interview with Rogers, it becomes apparent, therefore, that the space around, and including, the Pompidou Centre, should be a public space, drawing people in from the community and wider afield, not only for cultural events and happenings, but also to come together to enjoy the space, for itself, as a place to come together or to simply enjoy some alone time, enjoying the space created. Indeed, with the construction of the Pompidou Centre, Rogers and Piano managed to pedestrianise a large section of this part of Paris, ensuring that people could use the space around the building for precisely this objective, in order that there be a ‘physical space where there would be no traffic, noise or danger, that would be suitable to pedestrian activities or to leisure activities.† (Casati, 2007). As Rogers explains, â€Å"The centre needed†¦a surface of contact with the rest of the city†. (Casati, 2007). This external space, the plazas surrounding the actual s tructure, were thus fundamentally important to Rogers and Piano, as an integral part of their design, to achieve the vision they had of the Pompidou Centre as being a space for people to interact with in the manner in which they wished to interact with it. As Rogers also notes in his interview with Casati, â€Å"†¦the word which most stood out on the brief was ‘information’†¦that (the Pompidou Centre) should be a ‘building for information, culture and entertainment’.† (Casati, 2007). Parts of the design of the building conform to this brief, in terms of the long facades, for example, which allow information to be displayed. Parts of the overall design also conform to this overarching design ideal, in that the plazas and pedestrianised spaces surrounding the actual structure also became regenerated following the opening of the Pompidou Centre; bookshops opened around the plazas, and informational and cultural events began to spring up in the plazas, from the wider city, in terms of impromptu circus events, markets and concerts, for example, all of which served the function of inviting a wider audience to the Pompidou Centre as a whole. Rogers’ and Piano’s overarching philosophy fo r the design of their Pompidou Centre, the need to create a space for multiple activities, for multiple users, was therefore realised through their careful design of not only the structure they designed, but also via the structure’s surroundings. As Rogers states, in his interview with Casati, â€Å"†¦if nothing else, the building will be a surface of contact with a non-specialised public, with the public at large. People know how to read it instantly. It’s entrails are on the outside.† (Casati, 2007). This idea of the structure being turned inside out was obviously, therefore, a major philosophical starting point for the design for Rogers and Piano who were concerned, as has been seen, with designing a space that could be used by many different types of users, for many purposes, not only for cultural events: under this concept, therefore, it was important that the actual structure itself not be forbidding, not be off putting to all visitors that might pass by it. This idea, of opening up dialogue with culture, to people who may not normally have been open to culture, or who may have thought that culture was not open to them, was facilitated by opening up the building, by turning it inside out, as a way of saying, ‘Here I am, I am exposed, you can see what I am, I am not forbidding, I am open’ and, through this, taking the intimidation out of visiting a cultural space. The surrounding plazas and pedestrianised areas facilitate this open invitation to visit the spaces w ithin the structure, inviting visitors in, enticing them to pass through the doors in to the Pompidou Centre itself. As Levy (2007) states, Rogers’ and Piano’s design was chosen for its simplicity, a work of high-tech modernity, that would, through its steel, glass and stone work, open up a pedestrianised space in the heart of the city of Paris, allowing visitors from all walks of life, and all persuasions, to partake of it’s offerings how, and when, they wished to do so. The great success of the design of the external spaces, and the construction itself, is precisely that. It’s simplicity allows people to feel comfortable within it’s spaces and to explore themselves in relation to their surroundings in a way that was extremely novel at that time in the history of architecture. The structure itself, a giant enveloped space, with its innards on show, is simple in the context that has been discussed, that it reveals itself to newcomers on first contact, and, through this, presents visitors and users with a simple task: to feel welcome enough to approach, to enter an d to use the space in the ways in which they wish to use the space. The greatness of the Pompidou Centre design is this simplification, this opening up of cultural spaces for the visitors, making the spaces a function of the visitors, and not vice versa. The guiding philosophy of this project was opening, welcoming, of providing spaces for information sharing and retrieval and for exchanges of all kinds, cultural and otherwise. In this sense, the Pompidou Centre is a resounding success, given the uses to which the spaces within the structure, the plazas and the pedestrianised areas are put, by many and varied visitors. As Proto (2005) argues, the great vision of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano was to realise the need for an information centre, for a centre that would facilitate many different types of exchanges. As Proto states, â€Å"..the hyper-objectification of it’s form and the consequent transparency of its content led†¦to a new type of architectural fruition: that in which the ideological perception of the building exceeded the real possibilities suggested by it’s hyper-flexibility.† (Proto, 2005). The Pompidou Centre not only invites, facilitates, different kinds of exchanges, and multiple exchanges, but also allows for self-empowerment through self-learning via these exchanges, such as inter-personal interactions, and interactions with culture and with one’s surroundings, for example (Proto, 2005). In this sense, again, the Pompidou Centre was visionary in terms of creating a physical space designed to enable these interactions, these exchanges. As Stephen ( 2001) notes, Rogers and Renzo’s idea, and the realisation of this idea was also visionary in terms of the realisation that museums, cultural spaces, have to serve a leisure function, in terms of benefiting the wider public through the provision of leisure opportunities (Stephen, 2001). The Pompidou Centre, through its many different spaces, designed for different ends, allows users to spend their leisure time in and around the Centre, very comfortably, something that, in 1977, when the Centre was designed and built, was forward-looking, to say the least. In terms of the Pompidou Centre’s design being understood as a product of its cultural, social, political and economic context, as has been seen, the building, and its surroundings, were very much intended to become a unified enabling space, through which visitors could interact with their surroundings in novel ways, initiating, directing and thus controlling their own experience whilst in the Pompidou Centre. The approach of visitors to the culture presented at the Pompidou Centre was this very different to how culture was, and is, presented at many other cultural centres and museums. Socially, as has been seen, the ethos of the Pompidou Centre was to bring together a wide variety of visitors, from many different backgrounds, and experiences, for many different purposes, from partaking in the cultural events on offer to enjoying the open spaces around the structure. Socially, therefore, the philosophy behind the design of the Pompidou Centre was to unite previously often soci ally disjunct visitors, through its welcoming, inside out, structure and through the offering of many different recreational spaces, in which visitors are free to choose, and direct, their own visitor experiences. The Pompidou Centre space attracts not only visitors one would normally associate with cultural attractions, but also visitors who would not normally visit museums and other such sites (Thompson and Bell, 2007); on this basis, then, the design, and its intentions, have been entirely successful, allowing for multiple visitors, undertaking multiple activities, within the umbrella of the Pompidou Centre spaces (both internal and external). Under this view, as Rogers argued (Casati, 2007), the Pompidou Centre does indeed act as a ‘Parisian Hyde Park Corner’, a place in which people can air their views, express their desires for their free time and enhance their lives through multiple exchanges. Politically and economically, the Pompidou Centre, has, as has been seen, led to a large amount of redevelopment and regeneration in the surrounding areas of Paris. The plazas and other external spaces have been filled with complimentary shops, stores and cultural/entertainment activi ties (circuses, for example), leading to a general regeneration of the area surrounding the centre. This essay has looked at the Pompidou Centre of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, in terms of how its design can be understood as a product of its cultural, social, political and economic context. This analysis included a discussion of the influences and relationship between the philosophical ideas underpinning the movement and the resulting building. As has been seen throughout the essay, the whole concept of Rogers and Piano was to use the entire space they had been given in order to create a variety of spaces in which multiple users could interact in multiple ways, with the spaces and with each other. Philosophically the main driving force behind the Pompidou Centre seems to have been to offer culture to the masses, to enable interaction with culture, in a novel way, in such a way that this offering would be embraced, by multiple users, in a myriad of different ways. This aim seems to have been achieved, and even surpassed, in terms of how visitors use the spaces within the Pompidou Centre and in terms of the sheer numbers of visitors to the Centre. Adapting the High Tech style to a cultural centre elicited novel design features, such as the use of the inside out design, which, in turn, enabled the philosophical aim of the Centre to be enacted; the walls of the structure have everything on display, nothing is hidden, welcoming visitors through its honesty and openness. The design is the Centre’s genius, the key to the realisation of its governing philosophy. As has been seen, the sheer number of visitors, who use the Pompidou Centre and its external spaces in multiple ways, is the proof of the validity, and success, of the philosophical underpinning of the project. Not everyone likes the Pompidou Centre, and politically it has been greatly debated, but, as an architectural project, it wholly met it’s brief and has surpassed expectations in terms of user satisfaction. In conclusion, with the Pomipdou Centre, Rogers and Piano, who at the time were relatively unknown architects, showed how an unused section of a city can be regenerated, and opened up to a mass of users who previously would not have considered using a ‘cultural centre’. It is, through its High Tech design, as Proto (2005) argues, a successful exercise in showing how visitors can be enabled to direct their own self-learning, through multiple, previously unexpected, and un-hoped for, exchanges. Rogers’ vision for the Pompidou Centre as a ‘building for information, culture and entertainment’ (Casati, 2007) has been realised, and its aims and hopes surpassed in this sector of Paris. Bachman, L.R. (2002). Systematic Centre Pompidou. In Integrated Buildings: The Systems Basis of Architecture. John Wiley. This extract is also available from Architecture Week, via [Accessed 6th July 2008]. Casati, C. (2007). The Parisian Hyde Park Corner. The Guardian Tuesday October 9th, 2007. Kron, J. and Slesin, S. (1997). High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for the Home. Levy, B-H. (2007). A monument of audacity and modernity. The Guardian Tuesday October 9th 2007. Proto, F. (2005). The Pompidou Centre: or the hidden kernel of dematerialisation. The Journal of Architecture 10(5), 573-589. Stephen, A. (2001). The contemporary museum and leisure: recreation as a museum function. Museum Management and Curatorship 19(3), 297-308. Thompson, H. and Bell, J. (2007). The Pompidou Centre. The Guardian Tuesday October 9th 2007.

In this essay I will be investigating the fate and characteristics of

In this essay I will be investigating the fate and characteristics of a tragic hero in a play A View From The Bridge written by Arthur Miller. The character discussed in this essay is a longshoreman named Eddie Carbone. In this essay I will be investigating the fate and characteristics of a tragic hero in a play "A View From The Bridge" written by Arthur Miller. The character discussed in this essay is a longshoreman named Eddie Carbone - a responsible family man living in the rough neighborhoods of Red hook, Brooklyn, New York. A Sicilian community bound by a strict social code. Eddie's credentials are compared against Aristotle's view of a tragic hero " one who is neither villainous or virtuous, moving from a high happy status to a miserable one through some frailty or error in judgment." Through out the play we witness the development of this as we see Eddie fall from his high status in the community to losing everything, his family, respected name in the community and even his life. By witnessing his downfall (nemesis) the audience is moved to pity (pathos) because he suffers from a frailty that we recognize which could have happen to us. This is what makes him a tragic hero. Although fate plays a large part in his downfall, much of the events conspiring against him are caused by his flawed characteristics and wrong doings. So in this essay I will be determining whether Eddie Carbone disserves our pity. Eddie Carbone is respected in his community, seen as a reliable dominant longshoreman who "was as good as a man he had to be in a life that was hard and even." His name represents a lot in his community and brings pride back home. He is a caring family man, Beatrice usually gives in to his dema... ...he cruel reality of the society. Being an uncle, the level of incest is not as strong compared to father and daughter relationship. The gap between illegal family laws is smaller creating a stronger temptation for Eddie which makes his incestuous feeling difficult to ignore. And after all "Eddie was never meant to have a destiny" Eddie has lost everything, his family, his confidence in the community, friends etcetera. Basically eddie has already been paid back for all the faults he uncontrollably committed. I believe miller has succeeded in making us feel pity for Eddie. I think Eddie has represented a lot of individuals with incest problems, shown us how easily it was to be a victim and how emotionally difficult it is to free yourself. Finding your own daughter sexually attractive is an easy thing. He has made us wonder " Is incest really that bad?"

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace Essay -- Literary

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, and since then she has lived in various places such as Boston, London, France, Italy, Germany, and Alabama. She currently resides in Toronto. Atwood has written numerous poems, novels, short stories, children’s books, magazine articles, and works of nonfiction. She has also written three television scripts, and she has edited anthologies. Some of her well-known novels include The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, and Alias Grace ("Atwood"). Alias Grace is a fictional work based on the true story of Grace Marks, a servant who was accused of murdering her employer and his mistress in Canada in 1843. Grace was a servant in the home of Thomas Kinnear, whose housekeeper and mistress was Nancy Montgomery. When Thomas and Nancy were found murdered, Grace and James McDermott, another servant, were arrested for the crime, and James was hanged. Grace was imprisoned for several years during which people who believed her to be innocent petitioned for her release, which finally occurred in 1872. Atwood’s novel is a blend of fact and fiction in which writers who wrote about Grace during her life are quoted. The story revolves around repressed memories, a common theme in Atwood’s novels. Grace is the only living witness to the murders of Thomas and Nancy, but she claims that she does not remember exactly what happened. Whether she was involved in the murders or the helpless victim of James McDermott is a mystery. Most of the action in the novel occurs during Grace’s imprisonment. She tells her life story to Simon Jordan, a doctor who visits her with the goal of restoring her memory and learning what really happened. In additi... ...possessed by the spirit of her friend Mary Whitney. As in much of twentieth century literature, no definite answers are given, and the reader is left to draw her own conclusions. Atwood’s ambiguity is similar to that of James Joyce’s in "The Dead" and Franz Kafka’s in "The Metamorphosis." In these and other twentieth century works, there are more questions raised than answers given. There is no known solution to the real mystery of Grace Marks, and Atwood leaves the solution to her character’s mystery to the reader’s interpretation. Clues are scattered throughout the novel, and any answer is possible. One can accept the spiritual answer that arises during the hypnotism or choose a more realistic interpretation. It is up to the reader to decide. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Margaret Atwood Information Web Site. 21 Apr. 1999. .

Tourism and it’s negative Effects

While tourism can be a powerful positive force for change in poor countries, it can also be seriously damaging for the local environment and culture. An increase in mass tourism that is not controlled responsibly can ruin areas of natural beauty. com/the-economic-impact-of-tourism/">Tourism can damage coral reefs, pollute beaches and destroy the habitats of wildlife as roads and hotels are built. Ironically, damage to these natural resources is likely to reduce future numbers of visitors. Another negative effect is that the increasing numbers of aeroplane ?ights are a major cause of global warming.A second problem is that the tourist resorts are frequently owned by large Western companies and all too often the pro?ts earned from tourism go straight into the bank accounts of these companies. Moreover, the well-paid managerial positions are often held by foreigners, and the wages given to local hotel employees are usually very low. Where this is the case, very little money enters the l ocal economy at all. By purchasing souvenirs, food and other goods from local people you can help to spread the bene?ts of tourism.Finally, tourism can have an adverse effect on local culture, traditions and the way of life. Large numbers of tourists can undermine traditional beliefs, values and customs and in particular risk commercialising the culture that they ?nd so interesting. And where these tourists are insensitive to local traditions their behaviour can cause great offence. Tourism Fact File  · Tourism employs 250 million people, roughly one in ten of the world's workforce.  · 80% of the people that travel internationally come from the USA, Canada, Japan and 17 European countries, including the UK. · 15 million Britons take package holidays abroad each year.  · The developing world's share of the tourist trade has increased by an average of 9. 5% a year since 1990.  · The amount of money that leaves a destination country (the country where people spend their holid ay) varies from 40% out of India, and 80% out of the Caribbean islands.  · The UN calculates that the amount of water used by an average tourist in 24 hours would be enough to grow rice for an individual for 100 days.  · An 18-hole golf course in a dry country can use as much water as a town of 10,000 people.

Ethnic Unbonding in South Africa Essay

Manuel Castells plan of hea thenish un puzzleing refers to the gradual withdrawal current blacks atomic number 18 undergoing, so that they no bulky argon a member of their sign heathenish throng. ethnic unbonding is a solve where individuals remove themselves from their pagan roots, because they argon every ashamed or humiliated to be associated as break off of a stigmatized heathenal indistinguishability. So, race matters a lot. But, at the homogeneous time, the class divide among blacks has created such(prenominal) essentially different living conditions that there is growth hostility among the poor against those former brothers that go forth them out.Most middle-class blacks strive to pass water ahead not only from the creation of the ghetto, only from the stigma that echoes from the dying ghetto puke on them by their flake. They do so particularly, by insulating their children from the poor black communities (moving to suburbs, desegregation them int o innocence-dominated private schools), turn, at the same time, reinventing an Afri outhouse-American identity that revives the themes of the past, African or American, objet dart keeping silent on the pursue of the present Castell, M p.57. Manuel Castell raises cognizance to the occurrence that black atomic number 16 Africans are in stages disassociating themselves from their original heathen identities. (Black southeastern Africans refers to the non-white individuals of southern Africa, those who were disadvantaged and traduced in the country of origins during the Apartheid regime). These ethnic unbonding patterns were first noticed among African-Americans and now southwestern Africans too are gradually adopting them.Citizens profligate from their ethnic groups to principally check their lives, since macrocosm a part of a stigmatized ethnic group cannot ensure a favored and pleasant liveness-timestyle. Parents pauperism a die life for the children and they find that to live a better quality lifestyle single needs to firstly get an gentility. So they get a good education and come a success in life only to put their stigmatized ethnic background behind them, to avoid risking the blemish of their achievements. Ethnic performances are rarely proficient and individuals lose sight of where they come from.In the termination two decades, geographers lease become extremely inte tolerateed in the egress of ethnicity. Ethnic groups are found in essentially all societies. Ethnic groups are macrocosms that feel a harsh bond and have a sense of habitual origin that nockes them from other groups. Religion, language, national origin, and skin garble are all employ to various degrees by ethnic groups to distinguish themselves from others. It is estimated that the 200 or so independent countries accepted by the united Nations are made up of about 5000 ethnic groups.Increased migration of plenty in the last 200 long time has produced a labyrinthian pattern of ethnic groups. Essentially, ethnicity is a spacial ideal. Ethnic groups are associated with clearly recognized territories, either some large homeland district or some smaller urban or rural enclaves in which they are the primary or liquid ecstasy occupant. In addition, they have somehow attach these places with received distinguished heathen signs. (http//teacherweb. ftl. pinecrest. edu/snyderd/APHG/Unit%203/culturenotes. htm).Ethnicity is socially important. It gives indisputable individuals a olfactory sensation of belonging and pr up to nowts one from feeling stray and alone. It contributes immensely to ones shopping mall identity, focusing mostly on the formulation of ones personal identity, and in turn having an effect on the lineament of person an individual turns out to be in the future. It forms the basis of an individuals structure and agency. Ethnicity also promotes national potency which can be built from the versatile cultural resources present in southwestern Africa.It brings together a national identity. Afrikaners historically considered themselves the only true atomic number 16 Africans and, while granting full citizenship to all residents of European descent, denied that situation to mass of colour until the democratic alteration of 1994. British southeasterly Africans retain a sense of cultural and social inter-group communication to Great Britain without weakening their identity as South Africans. A similar concept of primary local and secondary patrimonial identity is prevalent among people of Indian descent.The Bantu-speaking black peoples have long regarded themselves as South African disdain the attempts of the white authorities to classify them as less than full citizens or as citizens of ethnic homelands (Bantustans) between 1959 and 1991. Strong cultural loyalties to African languages and local political structures such as the kingdom and the chieftaincy watch an important compone nt of identity. National identity comes first for all black people, but belonging to an ethnic, linguistic, and regional grouping and even to an ancestral clan has an important secondary status.(http//www. everyculture. com/Sa-Th/South-Africa. html). As a endpoint of years of racial separation and discrimination, the majority of South African citizens of which are black, have been heavily ill-treated based on the colour of their skin. A race is a population that shares visible physical features from inbreeding and that thinks of itself or is feeling of by outsiders as distinct. It has been used by societies to justify poor treatment of minority groups ( http//www. sociologyguide. com/questions/ethnicity. php).For decades black people have been slandered and pigeonhole by the white superior citizens, to be uncultured individuals. White people were whole prejudiced against the black people. preconceived notion is a judgment based on group membership or social status. Prejudice may be formed through both individual and group influences including socialization, rationalizing through stereotypes, the scapegoating process, reinforcement of a self-fulfilling prophecy forking of an authoritarian personality and degree of touch sensation with minority groups. http//www. sociologyguide. com/questions/ethnicity. php.How black ethnic groups emerged? macrocosm ethnic is relating to or a characteristic of a sizable group of people sharing a common and characteristic racial, national, religious, linguistic or cultural heritage. (http//www. thefreedictionary. com. ) fair like the trends in America, black citizens of South Africa formed groups based on commonalities. These people shared hardships and sufferings, as a result of being excluded from having any opportunities and privileges, by the white superiorities.The white citizens undermined the black citizens for centuries and hence blacks were pressure to form close relationships with one some other based on the fact that they had common deprivations. Bantustans were formed in South Africa and these areas were wastelands of hardship. Residents of these areas were coerce to deal with struggle and poverty thus leading to an increase in discourtesy rate. lot did what they could to survive. Stealing, drug dealing and so forth all the forms of violence and corruption detonate from these areas.Put a group of stateless and poor people together and what do you get? Chaos. White people were cognisant of the disorder in the homelands and ever since then stereotypes were given to black people. What provoked ethnic unbonding? Ethnic unbonding is when individuals from an ethnic group move over away from their core cultural identity and instead pursue an identity of their own. Individuals mainly do this to change their standards of living. The stigmas attached to certain ethnic groups are undesirable and individuals are afraid of being part of these rough stereotypes.Certain groups especial ly ethnic groups have harsh associations linked to them and for these people to improve their quality of life they need to distract themselves from their ethnic groups. The negativity one receives from being part of a stigmatized ethnic group for some is too oftentimes to handle. People want to be freed from the harmful judgements of the past, and thus all detaching themselves from their core ethnic identity is the best way out.Race and ethnicity are central to America, as to other societies kinetics their manifestations seem to be deeply modify by current social trends. (Castells, 1997 53). internationalization affects peoples choices on being or not being part of an ethnic group. Westernization transforms certain cultures and moulds them into a much modernized culture, with less practices and more simplicity. heathenish identity is a victim of globalization. agriculture is being altered so much by globalization and media effects that in brief the culture will transfor m into something completely different.According to Tomlinson, J. p. 23 states that it is fair to declare that the impact of globalization in the cultural sphere has, most generally, been viewed in a pessimistic light. Typically, it has been associated with the destruction of cultural identities, victims of the accelerating infraction of a homogenized, westernized, consumer culture. Conclusion Ethnic unbonding is inevitable. all(prenominal) single individual wants a respectable lifestyle and a decent life is one with no racial, gender or ethnic inequalities.Ethnic unbonding will stay put to take place in South Africa as well as the rest of the world, because the desire for one to have an amend standard of living exceeds the desire to want to belong to an ethnic area. Castells concept of ethnic unbonding is a notion un acutely dear amongst the people of South Africa. Castell believes that individuals belonging to certain ethnic groups are developing boundaries in spite of appe arance themselves. However, I think that people can still live a better life and yet maintain a part of their ethnicity.Lifestyles can be familiarized so that some form of their holiness and culture is integrated into their everyday life and not forgotten. Future generations might be at risk of never knowing exactly where they come from, and being clueless about their ethnic and cultural heritage. 1. Castells, Manuel. 1997. The index of identity. Cambridge, MA. Blackwell, 52-59 2. Tomlinson, John. Globalization and cultural identity http//www. polity. co. uk/global/pdf/gtreader2etomlinson. pdf(12September 2011) 3.Definitions of race, prejudice and discrimination http//www. sociologyguide. com/questions/ethnicity. php (12September 2011) 4. Countries and their Culture South Africa http//www. everyculture. com/Sa-Th/South-Africa. html (12September 2011) 5. THE GLOBALIZATION OF CULTURE, AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF discrimination RACE, ETHNICITY & GENDER http//teacherweb. ftl. pinecrest. e du/snyderd/APHG/Unit%203/culturenotes. htm (12September 2011) 6. Definition of Ethnic http//www. thefreedictionary. com (12September 2011).