Plato and Moral Authority

Kathryn Kelsven Dr. David Sgarlatta Humanities 253 December 21, 2012 Comparing Two Readings After reading Plato’s Apology and Leviticus 17-27, I found several differences in the way people are judged for the crimes they have committed as well as, by what are actually considered crimes or sins. I want to explore these differences by asking two questions to each reading: What kind of behavior constitutes as a sin or a crime? What is the source of moral authority behind laws and legal judgments? In Plato’s Apology, what constitutes as a sin or a crime?Socrates was accused of being a â€Å"doer of evil, and a corrupter of the youth, and he does not believe in the gods of the state, and has other divinities of his own† (Apology 1). These are all things that Meletus has brought Socrates to court for. These are all these that are considered to be a crime to Meletus and the Athenians throughout Apology, as Socrates proves this by continuously taking each item he is accus ed of and asking Meletus and the Athenians if they believe it to be true. In Leviticus 17-27, what constitutes as a sin or a crime?Throughout the reading there are several different times where the LORD speaks to Moses and tells him to let the people know that if they do not follow his command then they are disobeying him. In Leviticus chapter 22:1-2, it states. † The LORD said to Moses, â€Å"Tell Aaron and his sons to respect the sacred offerings which the Israelites consecrate to me; else they will profane my holy name. I am the LORD. †(Leviticus 22). Here, disrespecting a sacred offering is considered a sin. There are also many other examples of what is considered a sin.In chapter 19:4, â€Å"†Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I, the LORD, am your God. †(Leviticus 19). In this case, you should not worship idols or make idols because that would be going against the LORD who is your God. Also in Chapter 17:3-4 it says, †Å"Any Israelite who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat, whether in the camp or outside of it, without first bringing it to the entrance of the meeting tent to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of his Dwelling, shall be judged guilty of bloodshed; and for this, such a man shall be cut off from among his people. (Leviticus 17). In this section, anyone who does not first present his killing as an offering is automatically considered guilty for bloodshed and is cut off from the people. All of these examples show what are considered sins in Leviticus, and there are many more. In Plato’s Apology, what is the source of moral authority behind laws and legal judgments? Socrates is brought before judges. After asking Meletus what he means by calling him an Atheist, Meletus says, â€Å"I assure you, judges, that he does not believe in them; for he says that the sun is stone, and the moon earth. (Apology 3). Meletus is trying to prove to the judges, being the ones that w ill make the ultimate decision of what happens, that Socrates does not believe in any gods. In the very beginning of all of this, after Socrates makes his opening statement, he says, â€Å"Tell the judges, then, who is their improver; for you must know, as you have taken the pains to discover their corrupter, and are citing and accusing me before them† (Apology 1). Again the judges are to be told something in order to prove a point.This all shows that in Plato’s Apology the judges are the moral authority behind laws and legal judgments. In Leviticus 17-27, what is the source of moral authority behind laws and legal judgments? In each chapter we see that the very first statement is always â€Å"The LORD said to Moses† (Leviticus 17-27). This statement is not only at the beginning of every chapter but it is also throughout the chapters. Each time this statement is made it is followed by a law that the LORD is giving to the people. There will also follow some sort of punishment if that law is not followed. The LORD said to Moses,†Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall be put to death† (Leviticus 20). This is a perfect example. The LORD tells Moses what the law is and then follows up with how the people will be punished if not to follow the law; in this case they will be put to death. The LORD is clearly the one and only one to be of any kind of authority when it comes to laws and legal judgments. Both of these readings have very different ideas as to what a sin or a crime is, as well as who is the authority on the laws that have been made.Leviticus is based on there being one authoritarian who decides the laws and decides your punishments if you disobey those laws. In Leviticus you have no way to argue against you convictions. What the LORD says, goes. Also, in Leviticus there are several different criteria for what is considered a sin as com pared to Apology, where there are just a few things brought up that are considered to be a sin or a crime. Apology is based off convincing the people or the judges of what is right or wrong and letting them decide your fate. You have a chance to fight for yourself and prove yourself to be innocent.

Thank You for Smoking

Ethical issues brought up in the movie, â€Å" Thank You for Smoking† : When Nick Naylor appears on the talk show along side with the cancer patient and he basically turns the situation around so that the tabocco industry isn’t to blame for the young boy being diagonosed with cancer from smoking, and in fact by people dying from using their product the industry wouldn’t be making any profit. The â€Å"mod squad†, which stands for merchants of death, in the movie, all the people who are a part of this group are well aware that the products that they sell and promote are generally appealing to the younger generation that contributes to hundreds and thousands of deaths a year, yet they continue to defend them. In one scene Naylor is helping his son do homework, he teaches his son about how to argue something he is writing about. Naylor says ,† that’s the beauty of arguement, because if you argue correctly you’re never wrong†. This is teaching his son that no matter what he side he decides to be on, if he keeps on argueing and finds some usable facts to support his arguement he will always be right. Naylor doesn’t address the issues head on necessarily, in fact the way he approaches how to argue that tobacco is poison and that you shouldn’t smoke it etc, is he simply just goes with his theory of every individuals has the right to choose what they what to do, or listen too. When a member of the mod squad is visiting Nick in the hospital after he nearly died of a nicotine over dose, he places a gun on the table right in front of Joey, Nick’s son. Immediatly Joey is intrigued with the weapon, then retracts his actions and says, â€Å" gunsshould be treated with respect†. The other member swats his hand away, and is clearly annoyed by his behaviour which then makes me think of them as hypocrits. The captain sends a briefcase full of money to Naylor’s hotel when he is in California and tell’s him that he must visit â€Å"Marlboro Man†, Lorne Lutchwho has been diagnosed with Cancer. Naylor is to try and bribe Lutch into accepting the money in exchange for silence, and to retract all his previous comments towards the tobacco industry. In this scene Naylor is very good at convincing the Marlboro Man into taking the money, simply because he uses his best tactics of negotiation to lure him into thinking that by taking the money he might feel better about himself in the sense that now he has money to perhaps be able to pay medical bills to help him prolong his life. Give him the right reatment and he might just fight the cancer. Social Responsibility in Thank You for Smoking I think that the part when Senator Finistirre is doing his speech about putting the poison logo on every cigarette package is an example of social responsibility. Because as the Senator of Vermont, he is standing up against the tobacco industry and educating the younger generation as well as the older, of how harmful it is. Society as a whole will eventually embrace this campaign and learn how to educate others of tobacco use. In 1952, Readers digest slammed the tobacco industry by stating that it had some health risks associated with smoking. This then lead to the invention of â€Å"filters† in cigarette’s and thus resulted in more people buying the product. This is an example of social responsibility because when there were public outcry’s of how unhealthy it was smoking the cigarette’s (back in the 50’s) the tobacco industry improvised and came out with a solution to diminish the amount of chemicals being inhaled. Speaking to the press, Naylor swears he will clear the names of those mentioned in the Heather Holloway’s recent article, where she bashes Naylor as well as the Mod squad. (? ) Ethics and Social Responsibility – Tana In the movie Thank You for Smoking, there are quite a few examples where you will find how ethics and social responsibility is exercised, and not always in a positive way. The main character Nick Naylor, is a lobbyist who works for a Tobacco Company. Naylor is a smooth talker who slyly turns the words around in a conversation and turns it on the people who are against him. Thank You for Smoking Ethical issues brought up in the movie, â€Å" Thank You for Smoking† : When Nick Naylor appears on the talk show along side with the cancer patient and he basically turns the situation around so that the tabocco industry isn’t to blame for the young boy being diagonosed with cancer from smoking, and in fact by people dying from using their product the industry wouldn’t be making any profit. The â€Å"mod squad†, which stands for merchants of death, in the movie, all the people who are a part of this group are well aware that the products that they sell and promote are generally appealing to the younger generation that contributes to hundreds and thousands of deaths a year, yet they continue to defend them. In one scene Naylor is helping his son do homework, he teaches his son about how to argue something he is writing about. Naylor says ,† that’s the beauty of arguement, because if you argue correctly you’re never wrong†. This is teaching his son that no matter what he side he decides to be on, if he keeps on argueing and finds some usable facts to support his arguement he will always be right. Naylor doesn’t address the issues head on necessarily, in fact the way he approaches how to argue that tobacco is poison and that you shouldn’t smoke it etc, is he simply just goes with his theory of every individuals has the right to choose what they what to do, or listen too. When a member of the mod squad is visiting Nick in the hospital after he nearly died of a nicotine over dose, he places a gun on the table right in front of Joey, Nick’s son. Immediatly Joey is intrigued with the weapon, then retracts his actions and says, â€Å" gunsshould be treated with respect†. The other member swats his hand away, and is clearly annoyed by his behaviour which then makes me think of them as hypocrits. The captain sends a briefcase full of money to Naylor’s hotel when he is in California and tell’s him that he must visit â€Å"Marlboro Man†, Lorne Lutchwho has been diagnosed with Cancer. Naylor is to try and bribe Lutch into accepting the money in exchange for silence, and to retract all his previous comments towards the tobacco industry. In this scene Naylor is very good at convincing the Marlboro Man into taking the money, simply because he uses his best tactics of negotiation to lure him into thinking that by taking the money he might feel better about himself in the sense that now he has money to perhaps be able to pay medical bills to help him prolong his life. Give him the right reatment and he might just fight the cancer. Social Responsibility in Thank You for Smoking I think that the part when Senator Finistirre is doing his speech about putting the poison logo on every cigarette package is an example of social responsibility. Because as the Senator of Vermont, he is standing up against the tobacco industry and educating the younger generation as well as the older, of how harmful it is. Society as a whole will eventually embrace this campaign and learn how to educate others of tobacco use. In 1952, Readers digest slammed the tobacco industry by stating that it had some health risks associated with smoking. This then lead to the invention of â€Å"filters† in cigarette’s and thus resulted in more people buying the product. This is an example of social responsibility because when there were public outcry’s of how unhealthy it was smoking the cigarette’s (back in the 50’s) the tobacco industry improvised and came out with a solution to diminish the amount of chemicals being inhaled. Speaking to the press, Naylor swears he will clear the names of those mentioned in the Heather Holloway’s recent article, where she bashes Naylor as well as the Mod squad. (? ) Ethics and Social Responsibility – Tana In the movie Thank You for Smoking, there are quite a few examples where you will find how ethics and social responsibility is exercised, and not always in a positive way. The main character Nick Naylor, is a lobbyist who works for a Tobacco Company. Naylor is a smooth talker who slyly turns the words around in a conversation and turns it on the people who are against him.

Classic Comparative Advantage vs. Porter's Competative Advantage Essay

Classic Comparative Advantage vs. Porter's Competative Advantage - Essay Example These five forces explain the rules of competition in any industry. As per Porter, the ultimate aim of any competitive strategy is to cope and change the rules in the behavior of any firm. (Porter’s 5 Forces and Industry Structure, n.d.) The firms create competitive advantage by discovering better and innovative ways and bring them to the market that act as an innovation. These innovations shift the competitive advantage when the rivals fail to perceive new ways of competing or are unable to respond. It is quite obvious that there are noticeable advantages for the early movers. The typical causes that shift the competitive advantage are shifting buyer needs, new technologies, changes in government regulations, shifting the availability or input costs, and the emergence of any new industry segment. A particular firm gains the competitive advantage by performing the strategically important activities in a more cheap way than its competitors. In other words, it is able to deliver similar benefits like its competitors, but at a much lower cost. A firm might also deliver benefits that exceed the benefits of its competitive products. Therefore, competitive advantage enables a firm in order to create greater value for the customers and in turn, higher benefits for itself. Thus, Michael Porter has identified two types of competitive advantages; differentiation advantage and cost advantage. (Competitive Advantage, n.d.) David Ricardo has explained the famous theory of Comparative Advantage in explaining foreign trade. Explaining with the example of two nations and two commodities, he argued that trade is beneficial even if one country has absolute cost advantage over the other country in both the commodities. Ricardo has argued that there are gains from the trade, even if a particular nation specializes completely in the production of a particular good, which has a

Describing two works of art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Describing two works of art - Essay Example The picture itself is revealing almost all striking colors that catch the eye of the viewers. I think the artist has successfully conveyed the message that one should live a life full of joy in order to be happy, as well as to spread happiness among others. Poppy Fields by Zhang Huan is one of the most attractive artworks of recent times. The artwork features a wide range of colors on an oil-on-linen painting. If we look at Poppy Field No. 5 by some distance, four main colors catch the eye, which include teal, pink, lilac, and faded red. The artwork looks like as an abstract art if we look at it from some distance. However, from a closer look, tiny faces and skulls become visible. The meaning of the artwork as expressed by the artist is birth, illness, senility, and death of humans. I personally think that the meaning being conveyed through this artwork as described by the artist does not appear in the mind of every viewer. For example, to me it looks like conveying that every person in the world has a different internal color which becomes evident with the display of different

The Basics of Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Basics of Nursing - Essay Example Nurses may for example, advise people about personal hygiene, which prevents diseases such as typhoid. Nursing to me is an act of taking care of a person in all aspects of life, for example, physical, emotional, and spiritual being. The profession does not discriminate against any group in the society, and it gives equal care to everyone (Mason, Isaac, & Colby, 2011). Professional nursing refers to the practice of taking care of the well being of the society according to the code of ethics. The code of ethics guides nurses when they are executing their duties, for example, the policy requires a nurse to ensure that personal information of a patient remains confidential (Mason, Isaac, & Colby, 2011). A professional nurse is also required to have certain academic qualifications, which are set by the International Association of Nurses. The characteristics of a professional nurse are stated in the code of ethics, and they include honesty, humility, excellent communication and problem so lving skills. Nurses should also be capable of detecting physical and emotional changes in individuals so that they can give them the right care (Sherwood, & Barnsteiner, 2012). Stereotypes about Nursing The public holds certain beliefs about nursing, but these convictions may be inaccurate. The beliefs are known as stereotypes, and they are common in every profession, therefore, nursing is not an exception. One of the beliefs is that nursing is a career meant for women (Sherwood, & Barnsteiner, 2012). This belief is not true because there are males in the profession. In fact, men represent six percent of the total number of nurses in the world (Mason, Isaac, & Colby, 2011). This percent is minute but, it does not mean that there are no male nurses. The public also believes that nurses represent the group of students who failed to qualify to become doctors in medical schools. This is also not true because nursing is an autonomous profession. One has to achieve the qualification set by the Nursing Association in order to become a nurse (McGonigle, & Mastrian, 2012). T

Charging and Discharging Capacitors Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Charging and Discharging Capacitors - Lab Report Example b) The value of the charging current at the same instant: Since, I = = = 0.42625 amps = 426.25 mille-amperes c) The time constant value of the circuit. As already calculated in (a) time constant: = RC = 40 x x F = .480 Question 2: . A 20 microfarads capacitor is charged to 400 volts. At t = 0, a resistor of 12 kilo-ohms is connected across the capacitor. a) Calculate the voltage remaining across the capacitor after 180 milliseconds. In this case the capacitor is being discharged and the voltage drops from the maximum at t=0 to almost 0 when the discharge is complete. The drop is exponential as per Kirchoff's Voltage Rule. This time the voltage at time t is = = {}(for a differentiating circuit). The time constant for this circuit is: = RC = 12 x x F = .240 Therefore, voltage across the capacitor after 180 milliseconds: = {} = 400{} = 400{.472} = 188.8 V d) Calculate the discharge current at 180 milliseconds. Since, I = = = 0.0176 amps = 17.6 mille-amperes e) Calculate the time taken for the voltage to fall to 36.8% of its initial value. From the initial relationship: = {} it is derived: = .368, or = .368 t = = .24s The time taken by the voltage to fall to 36.8 % of its initial value is the time constant itself. Question 3: A coil having an inductance of 2.5 henrys and a resistance of 40 ohms is switched on to a 60 volt d.c. supply at t = 0. a) Calculate the value of the steady state current ultimately reached. The time constant in this case for inductance is: = = = .0625 Therefore, I = {1 - }= {1 - } = x .9933 = 1.49 amps b) Calculate the value of the current when t = 30 mille-seconds. Therefore, for the same circuit, I = {1 - } = {1 - }= .57 amps c) Determine the current...This is also true of the current through the circuit. Ultimately, at full charge, the voltage, ideally, becomes equal to that of the charging battery. In the case of LR circuits, the same is true of the current that increases exponentially according to Kirchoff's Current Rule. Transiently, when the switch is put on, the change in current is opposed by the back emf (rate of opposition decreases exponentially) until, at 5 time constant values, at 1 % accuracy, the change stops and the current reaches steady state. (Multi-loop Circuits, 1999) = (for an integrating circuit), Here, is the time constant which represents the minimum time the system needs to make significant change in voltage, charge and current. It is also called the 'resistor decay' and has the value 'RC' where 'R' is the resistance value in the circuit and 'C' is the capacitance value. In this case the capacitor is being discharged and the voltage drops from the maximum at t=0 to almost 0 when the discharge is complete. The drop is exponential as per Kirchoff's Voltage Rule. This time the voltage at time t is = = {}(for a differentiating circuit). a) Draw to scale waveforms to show the growth and decay of the current in L and the voltages across the two components R and L when the switch is operated to the left at t = 0 seconds and returned to the right after 5 seconds. While rising the current tends towards the maximum o

English and immigrant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English and immigrant - Essay Example Mr.Sanchez, as depicted in this article is one of those individuals that went through this adversity, but emerged as a champion. Mr. Sanchez like many immigrants had to convey communications via actions and gestures. This is extremely excruciating and frustrating considering that immigrants have a very hard time appealing to native-American customer base. Communication in essence is crucial at any job. However, through communication and collaborative efforts, the times have changed. As discussed in the article, many immigrants can operate a successful business without truly understanding English and its methodologies. This also creates a controversy for native speakers who feel that immigrants must be obligated to learn their language. Without a doubt, this will affect not only immigration itself, but future legislation. Hopefully, the assimilation process will be seamless in the future as immigrants can pick up this skill as they continue to America their new

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices Essay

Globalization is a Result of Neoliberal Polices - Essay Example This research is being carried out to evaluate and present the concepts of neo-liberalism and globalization with proper definitions. On the surface, globalization has been understood as a process of compression of time and space which has enables business enterprises to concentrate more on production and achieving localization benefit. But it should be noted that the definition of globalization is broader and aggregated in terms of socio-economic levels. Globalization is basically an economic change which has taken place in every part of the world with a wider reach to heterogeneous audiences. The spread of globalization is mainly a spread of capitalism which has been in active since late 19th century. The spectrum of globalization has been understood as a very helpful concern because it helped enterprises to save a great deal of time and capital in order to transport products and services. This also saved the cost to communicate with better and effective transference than before. Th e view of globalization has been taken and welcomed in the international business including all major business institutions. It was merely because the dream of reaching to the areas which were once considered as remote. There is no part of the world which has not been reached in terms of economic activity. The credit for this massive increase of business activates al around the world goes to the phenomenon of globalization. The aim of business enterprises is to make profit by making sure that the member of societies (consumers) is able to get all the comforts for sustaining a better lifestyle. This is due to the faster and diverse means of trading and financial transactions. Seemingly, the political control over the activities of business being undertaken cross-border is just another aspect that has declined now. In other words, it could be said that the control of political institution on business enterprises to go cross-border seems to be less influential than before (Baldwin 2012 ). It should also be noted that the quicker and diverse impact of globalization could not be possible on its own. There are some of the factors that have influenced globalization to take place all around the world. These factors are rationalism, capitalism, technological innovation and regulation. Taking these four elements into account, it becomes easy to understand as to why globalization has taken such a diverse reach in the business world. The technological innovation such as easy transport of products and services through air routes and sea routes was has become faster because of the easy and diverse communication networks. The financial institutions which were limited to the domestic business are now complying with international financial systems allowing better visibility of shares for foreign markets for investment purpose (Pambazuka News 2010). The phenomenon of globalization is somewhat similar to that of neo-liberalism. It is due to the nature of neo-liberalism which is d efendant of free trade and a liberal view of economy to promote equal and diverse platform of markets.

What are the effects on developing countries of integration into the Essay

What are the effects on developing countries of integration into the global economy - Essay Example However, there are many challenges experienced with the global integration of the economy. The developing countries are the most affected because of the competition, unequal economic strength, and level of developments. Their level of growth is not same as the first world nations making third world nations lag behind in terms of infrastructure provisions among other things. Hence, developing nations experience stiff competition from the developed nations that has sophisticated equipment and tools of the trade to leverage them. Moreover, the integration of the developing nations into the world economy creates imbalance owing to the nature of industrialization in the first and third world countries. Therefore, developing countries are harmed by the integration of the global economy because they have very little to offer on the global market compared to the developed nations. The rest of the paper will examine the effects of integrating developing countries into the global economy. The integration of third world nations into the global economy has facilitated the flow of capital from the developed or middle economic nations to the developing world countries (CEPAL 2). Today, many third world nations have developed economic trade ties with major drivers of world economies that have seen the flow of capital. Before the integration, developing countries had no option of getting circulating funds because of their insignificance in terms of contribution and share in the global economy (CEPAL 3). Similarly, many developing nations are receiving cash flow in terms of grants, soft loan, and donation, which help in steering development projects. Different oversea agencies such World Bank among others assist the developing nations in overcoming their financial challenges as well as initiating development projects. However, the increased capital flow does not only contribute to

Analysis of Ethical Dilemma Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Ethical Dilemma Essay Natural calamities are unpredictable phenomena’s where the damage may be countless and immeasurable examples of natural calamities are earthquakes, floods and famine. In situations like this relief operations are challenging even though many organizations and nations extend their resources to overcome the disaster. We often face issues and concerns in a massive disaster which may lead to ethical-dilemma and criticism. When we analyze disaster situation ethical concerns arises. Here I would like to present the ethical dilemma involved in the rescue operations in Haiti disaster and analysis of the issues. Event and ethical implications One of the biggest and most recent disaster world encountered is the Haiti disaster in January, 12, 2010. It was a massive earthquake with 7.0 magnitudes, wiped out thousands of lives and affected millions of people (Haiti earthquake, 2010). The earthquake ploughed the main city Port-au-prince just into rubbles. Many people were trapped in the collapsed buildings. Many important buildings were damaged including parliament, schools, hospitals and main jail (Haiti earthquake, 2010). It resulted in lack of food, water, shelter and medical services. Many wounded were waiting for immediate medical help and many died without prompt treatment. In natural disasters people from all over the world offer humanitarian aid in the form of donations, medical care team services, food and other necessary supplies. The U.S Government and many other nations extended their hands for rescue operations. The Israel Government sent a military task force consisting of 230 people within 48 hours (NEJM, 2010). Their ultimate goal was to provide lifesaving treatments to the injured to the level it was possible. Other troops and volunteer workers on the scene also tried their best to deliver the best possible care to the causalities. Ethical concerns and ethical dilemma The troop’s mission was to provide help to as many people as possible. But the limited resources fell far short than the demands. This put the medical team in various ethical issues. Haiti is one of the poorest countries of the world with minimal facilities. The disaster left millions of people homeless and in urgent medical needs. The Israeli Field Hospital extended their hospital capacity to 72 from 60 and added one more operating room to accommodate increased causalities (NEJM, 2010). In a normal triage system we are setting priorities among patients depending on their clinical conditions and assuming that we will be able to provide care to all. In Haiti disaster it was impossible for them to provide care to all who needed. Here the health care workers as well as the victims faced ethical dilemma. The medical team was forced to recognize the fact that the clients who need most urgent care may consume the majority of their resources. So they had to set up priorities according to the resources available, the severity of the problem and can they be saved. Another ethical dilemma the medical team had to encounter was those come with severe injuries needed prolong rehabilitation and that may run out all of their supplies. So they planned to accommodate patients who can be stabilized in 24 hours.† The practical implication of this prioritization resulted in people those who have small chance to survive were not likely to be treated in the ICU† (NEJM, 2010). In addition to that discharging the patients were also challenging since no homes left and children without parents, there was no place for them to go. Personal ethical values and position using ethical principles In a massive disaster plan in an ethical aspect I believe the theory of Act- utilitarianism works best to that situation. Act-utilitarianism states, the actions people choose will produce over all good in any given circumstances. This theory also allows different actions in certain circumstances. Their decision on triaging the patients based on the resources and the possible outcome of the intervention in a humanitarian aspect. The ethical principles of beneficence and justice applied in this scenario. According to the principle of beneficence the health care workers were trying their best to provide care to as many as people possible. The ethical principle of distributive justice emphasis on fair and equitable distribution of goods and services (Burkhardt Nathaniel, 2008), but in certain situations it is impossible for all people to have everything that they might need. In such cases they can formulate and enforce policies for fair and equitable distribution of the available resources. Possible alternatives for resolving the problem I.Ask for more medical supplies from organizations like, World Health Organization, Red Cross et. II.Make arrangements to send patients who need more complex care to the nearest available medical centers or hospitals. III.Call for more volunteers to help there by reducing the cost and request for funds from charitable organizations. IV.Since geographically U. S. is the closest country, request for airlifting the patient to the nearby states hospitals for advanced care. V.Even though insurance can be a hindrance to accept the patients, U. S. Government can offer tax exemptions and grants for the accepting hospitals. VI.Airlift the patients to the accepting countries for advanced care. Examine and categorize the alternatives When we categorize the alternatives from 1-6, the first five options are possible alternatives. The 6th option can be possible, but it will be more expensive, time consuming and unsafe for unstable patients. Since many organizations started their rescue operations, if the military task force can receive more supplies, they will be able to continue with their life saving measures. Possible consequences for the acceptable alternatives When other hospitals can accommodate more patients, it may reduce the burden on a single group. Since they already have disaster plan set up, more supplies from other organizations will help them to continue their task without time delay. With tax exemption and grants, more hospitals may take initiative to involve in the health care delivery and if the patient can be airlifted on time many lives can be saved. Prioritize acceptable alternatives I.Provision of more supplies to the functioning units. II.Make arrangements to transfer patients with complex issues to the nearest hospitals. III.Call for more volunteers for additional help IV.Airlift patients to the nearby countries at the earliest possible V.Request for more funds, grants, donations from the federal governments and common wealth countries. Plan of actions The plan of care is to provide care to as many people as possible with added resources. Transferring of patients to the nearest available hospital for complex care and management. Through financial aid rebuild the health care infrastructure to provide continued care to the Haiti people. Evaluation Natural disasters are unpredictable and every effort needs to be taken to overcome such situation through voluntary support. In this situation the ethics committee from a group of physician had to prioritize the cases according to the availability of resources and the chances of survival. In a humanitarian aspect it is necessary to provide fair and equitable distribution of health care as much as possible for a healthy recovery. We often see the best of humanity in moments of extreme calamity. In every disaster situations people who directly involved often faces some sort of ethical issues and dilemma. The best possible way to overcome such situations through mutual effort, ethical decision making and appropriate action plans. Fair and equitable distribution of health care is the best approach to every mankind.

The History Of Wilhelmine Cinema Film Studies Essay

The History Of Wilhelmine Cinema Film Studies Essay In this essay I shall be exploring the history of the National German cinema and how it has transformed and adapted to the continuous shifts in political, economic, social and cultural influences both internally and externally that Germany and its people have experienced over the last century. Wilhelmine Cinema Cinema made its debut in Germany in 1895 when brothers Emil and Max Skladanowsky invented their own projector system called the Bioscop and on November 1st 1895 demonstrated it with a series of 8 short films lasting 15 minutes in total, this was the very first displaying of moving images to a paying audience in Europe and this symbolises the start of the German film industry. Hake, as well as numerous other scholars and I tend to agree, argue that Wilhelmine cinema can be divided into three distinct periods. Which are (1895-1906) Emergence and Experimentation, (1906-1910) Expansion and Consolidation and (1910-1918) Standardization. There periods saw numerous and various influences on cinema in its early years. For example the first decade saw plenty of technological innovation especially since industrialisation was still in full swing during this period, for example Ottomat Anschà ¼tzs Tachyscope. However with Germany still being a furiously imperialist nation the wonder of moving images was not met with enthusiasm by all parties. Germanys educated upper classes had a strong resistance to the power and appeal of the cinema which was based not only in their anxieties about the levelling effect on cultural life but also their fears of the modern masses for whom cinema had become the preferred form of entertainment. (Hake 2008:11) With the many cultural influences on cinema such as the circus and the fairground, early German cinema had little need for the contemporary literary conventions and instead focused on the visual spectacle and illusionary aspects of the medium. If one looks to where cinema receives its ultimate power, into these strangely flickering eyes that point far back into human history, suddenly it stands there in all its massiveness: visual pleasure. (Brockmann 2010:16) 1906-1910 saw the German Film Industry begin to consolidate itself into a national industry. All resources, capital, production, facilities and technical know-how were consolidated into a few dominate companies, similarly to the studio system in Hollywood. This followed by the foundation of the Geyer Printing lab in 1911 gave the German industry independance from its French competitors, who had been a dominant force in the European film market since the early days of film. The standardisation phase (1910-1918) saw the beginnings of the longer narrative film which became the most popular cinematic form in 1913 alone, more than 350 new films were released nationwide (Hake 2008:13). This had a knock-on effect for filmic forms and styles in Germany with the introduction of various new filming and editing techniques including greater variation in shot size and composition, superimposition, fading and masking. The First World War saw German cinema finally break free of French influence with the inclusion of nationalism within films, forming a new bond between industry and state. However Germany did not exploit film and a medium of propaganda as much as Britain did for example with The Beast of Berlin. Surprisingly films and newsreels from the war period were aimed more towards escapism, they may have shown scenes from the front lines however realism was often avoided and narrative styles taken up instead. WW1 saw the rise and establishment of some of the industrys big hitting studios such as the UFA studios (1917), setting the stage for the next era of German cinema. Weimar Cinema Economics had the biggest impact on cinema in the Weimar period, the harsh reparations outlined in the Treaty of Versailles caused hyperinflation in 1920s Germany. However this allowed for the emergence of the expressionist cinema movement. The inflation allowed filmmakers to Papiermark which would have vastly devalued by the time it needed to be repaid. Nevertheless, film budgets were tight and the need to save money was a contributing factor to the rise of expressionist films like the Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920). The struggle for economic survival after the currency reform of 1924 manifested itself in an intense competition over film audiences that affected everything from advertising, journalism, and fandom to programming practices, admissions policies, and theatre architecture and design. Two simultaneous developments informed the transformation of cinema as a public sphere: the unification of audiences under the idea of a homogenous middle-class society and the diversification of markets.(Hake 2008:51) The late twenties, whilst still not entirely free from economic trouble, brought greater economic security to the Weimar Republic. The number of cinemas increased (approximately) from 2,300 to 3,700 between 1918 and 1920, however, despite this films were still constricted by small budgets. Yet as the decade moved on the influence of Expressionism began to fade which allowed for a variety of new styles and genres to emerge most of which concerned with the idea of New Objectivity a phenomenon influencing all artistic mediums of the Weimar period. These films were primarily concerned with social themes and a return to realism. Films such as Joyless Street (Die Freudlose Gasse) (1925) and Pandoras Box (1929) by Georg Wilhelm Pabst fall into this new filmic form. The return to a realist style of cinema prompted a new trend in asphalt and morality films which focused on subjects such as prostitution, homosexuality, addiction, oral sex and abortion. On the other hand Arnold Fanck was also d eveloping the Bergfilm as a genre, these films typically featured the protagonist battling the elements up in the mountains. There was one other big movement in German cinema during this period which came in the form of the chamber play or chamber drama (Kammerspiel). Associated with Carl Meyer these films were in many ways a statement against the popular spectacle and expressionist films. chamber play films expressed more conservative attitudes especially in regards to opposing big city life, were often set in small, dreary and very bland settings, usually backing traditional family values. They were often known better as instinct films since they focused on the intimate psychology of the characters. The last few years of the Weimar Republic saw some dramatic changes in Germany both technologically and politically. National Socialism was on the rise with the German people starting to look for someone to blame for their hardships during the twenties, which would have a dramatic effect on Germany and its film industry in the years to come, but more immediately the introduction of sound was re-shaping the film industry. With a now global economic crisis the three big German studios (Ufa, Terra, and Emelka) couldnt afford the enormous costs of transitioning to sound films so as a result they consolidated and began searching for new sources of needed capital, resulting in a new found ties with the state in order to protect German culture and stave of American film dominance. Nazi Cinema 1933 saw the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi party thus beginning the next phase in the ever changing face of German national cinema. The earlier economic crisis had seen a number of German directors leave Germany for greener pastures but the new anti-semitic laws enforced by the Nazis caused many other directors, actors, composers and screenwriters (Hake 2001:23) to leave the country taking with them the unique flare that constituted German cinema. Obligatory cheerfulness and and crude sexual humour took the place of subtle innuendo and double entendre. Visual, acoustic and linguistic wit was abandoned in favor of conventional dramatic effects, and the provocative play with identities gave way to highly normative definitions of gender and race (Hake 2001:24) With the relationship established between the film industry and the state before the downfall of the Weimar Republic it was easy for the Nazi party to impose it influence over the studios. The Ufa was effectively under Nazi control by March 1933 when Alfred Hugenberg excluded Jews from being able to work at the studio which was several months before the establishment of the Reich Chamber of Film (Reichsfilmkammer) which made the film industry directly under Goebbelss propaganda ministry and led to the exemption of Jews and foreigners from employment within the German film industry. Approximately 3000 people in the industry were adversely affected forcing most to leave Germany such as Fritz Lang who proceeded to have a long and prosperous career in Hollywood. Yet was, as you would expect, all German cinema of this period purely propaganda? Goebbels himself always made the distinction between the 20 percent big budget films with clear propagandistic intentions and the 80 percent films on a higher artistic level. (Hake 2001:3) However it has been argued that this was not entirely the case with Hans Wollenberg arguing that even apparently harmless subjects, comedies or even musicals, have, somehow a tendency to advance Nazi ideologies (Wollenberg 1948). It is clear that there is truth to this as Goebbels proceeded to ban film criticism in 1936 leaving journalists only to comment on the content of a film rather than its merits, artistic or otherwise. The import of foreign films was also highly restricted between 1933 and 1940 the number of American films shown in Germany dropped from 64 to a mere 5 films a year. Entertainment films became increasingly important towards the end of the second world war with films providing from a distraction from the constant threat of Allied bombing and German defeats at the front. Cinema admissions in 1933 and 1944 exceeded over a billion sales consisting of big box office hits such as Die große Liebe (1942) and Wunschkonzert (1941) which combined elements of musical, wartime romance and patriotism. The Nazi regime however brutal and restrictive was not totally without technical innovation in the film industry. One such innovation was the introduction of Agfacolor as a major element of the film production process in 1939. Leni Riefenstahl also made numerous contributions to technical and aesthetic achievement with her film Triumph of the Will (1935), documenting the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. This combined with the documenting of the 1936 Summer Olympics, led the way with new techniques for camera movement and editing practices which still influence filmmakers to this day. West Germany With the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945 Germany became divided into the East (Communist controlled) and West (capitalist) zones which had an incredible and unmistakable knock on effect to National German Cinema. The Allies began a process of decartelization led by th the American principles of free competition, open markets, and the abolition of state control (Fehrenbach 1995:51-52). This coupled with the Occupation Statute which protected the German film industry by forbidding import quotas allowed cinema in Germany to get back onto its feet. The west established the SPIO, the main professional organisation of the West German Film Industry (Hake 2008:96) in 1949, which helped establish a voluntary self-censorship code that was agreed upon by the industry for all the western zones. This code was managed by the Freiwillige Selbstkon (FSK), the code was modelled after the MPPDA model and has the same taboo subject- nudity, vulgarity, blasphemy (Hake 2008:96)) and so on. In 1951 the Filmbewertungsstelle (Film Evaluation Board ot FBS) was established creating a system of economic support for filmmakers however was also known for political censorship in an effort to make sure West German films featured principles that would allow smoother integration into the western alliance. For the first time in years German audiences had unrestricted access to world cinema with melodramas from the states and Charlie Chaplins classics being popular during this period, the share of German films remained high at 40% of the market in the 1950s with American films taking up a mere 30% of the market. (Schneider 1990:35, 42 44). Most West German films of the post war period have been categorised as the rubble film (Trà ¼mmerfilm). Rubble films were not too dissimilar in style Italian neorealist films and they focused themselves on day to day life in war torn Germany and the initial reactions to the Nazi period. With the arrival of the 1960s German cinema reached an impasse, the growth in Cinema attendance that had been seen in the 50s had begun to stagnate and decline. By 1969 cinema attendance was at an all time low with an average of 172.2 million visits per year, 25% of the attendance peak seen in the previous decade. (Kinobesuche in Deutschland 1925 bis 2004) Thus the Oberhausen Manifesto was created by a group of young up and coming filming makers who said The old film is dead, we believe in the new. the government responded to this mounting criticism by setting up the first film subsidy agency, the Kuratorium junger deutscher Film (Board of Young German Film). Launched in 1965 by the BMI, the Kuratorium was given a brief to promote the kind of filmmaking demanded by the Oberhausen Manifesto signatories and to stimulate a renewal of the German film in a manner exclusively and directly beneficial to the community (quoted in Dawson 1981: 16) (Knight 2004). The establishment Kuratorium helped create a batch of critically acclaimed films which appeared to be a renewal of German film such as Kluges Yesterday Girl which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1966 Venice Film Festival and a number of other awards this was the start of what was initially termed Young German Film and later became the New German Cinema. (Knight 2004) East Germany East Germany or the German Democratic Republic (GDR) initially benefited from the fact that the majority of Germanys film production infrastructure was now located in Soviet controlled Berlin. Soviet administration was keen to get the film industry started again and moved quickly to do so, cinemas were re-opened just three weeks after the occupation began and the production company Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft or DEFA was established in May 1946. DEFA became the centre of a centralized system of film production and by 1949 was totally under state control. Bertolt Brecht noted that Defa has all sorts of problems finding subjects, especially contemporary ones. Those at its head list significant themes: underground movement, distribution of land, two year plan, the new man etc., etc.; then writers are supposed to devise stories that interpret them theme and its associated problems. This naturally often goes wrong (Allan and Stanford, 1999:6-7) This strong political control lead to a severe lack of scripts capable of being a driving force for pushing Soviet ideologies and as such DEFA had real difficulties in the early fifties only 30 films were released in the first four years (Allan and Stanford, 1999:7) After managements restructure and the exploitation of the climate of compromise by Hans Rodenburg the later half of the fifties saw DEFA produce a variety of films on a number of different topics. Childrens films, science-fiction and red westerns were all genres that developed in this period. With the dawn of the 1960s East German cinema moved away from the Stalinist approach to filmmaking and increasingly the films of the 1960s tackled subject matter that was both controversial and contemporary. (Allan and Stanford, 1999:6-7) but filmmakers were still affected by the ever changing political stances if the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) the whole slate of films from 1966 for example was pulled from distribution. The early seventies was ablaze with popular success and was one of the most successful times for DEFA with films like Frank Beyers Jakob, der Là ¼gner which was the only DEFA film nominated for an Oscar. This success however alarmed the SED leadership and after sharp criticism of Ulrich Plenzdorf and the expatriatiation of Wolf Biermann another wave of filmmakers left Germany as a direct result of this and the harsh restrictions placed upon them and their work. The 1980s were the beginning of the end for DEFA changing political stances of other countries was allowing films from nations such as Poland and Hungary to become easily available in East Germany not to mention increasing access to American television from West Germany. This combined with pressure from a new generation of directors that were displeased with opportunities with DEFA, fast and furious changes to internal politics and the fall of the wall in 1989 saw the restrictions on filmmaking vanish along with the GDR as Germany reunified. Post Unification Cinema Unified Germany and the newly re-unified Europe created new problems and new opportunities. 1990s Germany was focused on merging two distinct ideologies, resulting in debates about what constitutes Germanness in the arenas of culturally, socially and politically. The film industry was of course affected by this the old state owned studios were privatised, DEFA was sold to a French conglomerate, an initial peak in cinema attendance in the early nineties known as the cinema of consensus and the privatisation of cinemas across Germany coupled with the availability of Hollywood films kept German cinema going and pushed forward the development of high budget entertainment films and so the industry began focusing on the now accessible transnational markets. Several developments and events contributed to the making of such a transnational cinema: the fall of the wallthe influx of Eastern Europeans the establishment of the EU and the integration of Germany into the European labour market (Hake 2008:216). With some German films gaining international success such as The Edge of Heaven which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. As the last decade of the 20th Century has shown, the future of German cinema will require more than the perfection of well-tested generic formulas and the creative contribution of a few talented directors. And as the first decade of the 21st Century has suggests, the survival of the influential filmic tradition will involve the elements that have characterized German cinema from the start. Now as then, this process requires a workable compromise between art film and popular cinema, generic tradition and formal innovation, political ideology and mass diversion, public interest and corporate profit, cultural heritage and cultural industry andbetween national, international and transnational identity in a global media landscape. (Hake 2008:221) In conclusion it is clear that German cinema has been affected by an ever changing political and economic settings where cultural and social ideologies are constantly changing and merging as influences both internal and external shaped the country, its people and its culture.