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Review of Founding Brothers A Revolutionary Generation

Review of Founding Brothers: A Revolutionary Generation

What one discovers after reading this book are the six in- depth studies about certain events and relationships that took place or happened to the founding revolutionaries after the end of the war and after the establishment of the new governing body. The men involved realized that they were part of something extraordinary and also realized that their memories would live throughout the American history. The author points out in the first section of the book that these men usually took such stances because they knew by doing so they will be remembered throughout history. The book gives more and close attention to such history makers as Aaron Burr, Abigail and John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and James Madison. Further, the author describes in detail the issue of slavery was looming like a dark cloud over the founding of the American nation and how it was hidden and put away to pave way for the development of the new government.

These people knew that the issue of slavery could not be easily ignored, and they also knew that findings solutions and answers to the issue when the nation was forming its first governing body would not be ideal as it would split the country right in the middle. The author examines other political issues that became apparent at that time; for example, he looks at the financial plan developed by Hamilton to help the new economy flourish and the issue of where the permanent national seat was located. What one realizes and sees through the numerous war skirmishes described in the book are the struggles the nation went through in the period between the 1780s and 90s, both in the internal and the international fronts. The paper, therefore, will look at the main thesis of the book that becomes more apparent as the author describes the historical events that took place during this time.

The thesis of the author in this case seems to be that all of the founding fathers of the American nation were equally significant and each of them brought to the table a different set of ideas and skills that were useful in building the great nation. That they succeeded because they worked together so that we can view them as brothers rather than founding fathers. There are several supporting pieces of evidence that indicate that this is the thesis Ellis wanted to put across. For example he organizes the book in a set of segments, long ones though. For example, there is the segment on the duel between Burr and Hamilton and the consequences and implications of this duel. There is also another vignette about Adams and Jefferson letters that came during that time, another segment on the deal that conspired to bring and locate the capitol in DC, and another on non- discussions and discussions of the issue of slavery.

It is clear from the way these segments are arranged, and described, that the fathers were intended to be shown more of quarreling brothers rather than founding fathers, and it is quite clear that the author was impressed and held high regards of the individuals, and their ‘unity’ in working together t establish the American nation. To a limited extent, the author’s thesis that the founding fathers where more of brothers- in thought, philosophy, devotion to the new nation and revolution- is an appropriate semantic observation. What the author presents in the book are the numerous rivalries that exist between the founders, just like between siblings, as the founders in this period clashed and quarreled over what the revolution itself, the constitution and the nation meant twenty or so years later.

Generally, the founding fathers did not agree with most things, and to argue that they had any particular plan in mind when they came up with the constitution would underscore the facts laid down by history. Not only did they disagree on almost everything, most of them hated each other. For example, there was a major falling out between Washington and Jefferson, which led to them not speaking to each other. Also, Adams hated Hamilton with an intensity that is hard to understand. Madison was of the idea that Adams was a traitor to the American Revolution, and Hamilton and Burr eventually resulted to a duel. The author’s thesis comes apparent once more at this juncture. He explains that during most revolutions those who are quarreling or disagreeing about something usually lay aside their disagreement, and differences for them to combine forces and be able to overcome or overthrow some force that is oppressive or not popular with the regime. The author, however, points out that old differences and disagreements arise with a renewed abandon and in most cases usually result to violence that is horrific, after the revolution has been successful.

The brotherly rivalry that existed among the founding fathers is further asserted by the question the author puts across of how such a huge nation was able to survive its first 10 years. There was no nation that had ever tried or used the republican government to such a large scale, and the author indicates that the stage was set against the success of the newly founded nation and American government. prior to this experience, the thirteen American states had no history of cooperation that was sustained and, even though America had numerous resources, bringing them together and making it possible for these diverse groups of people who did not always agree on anything or get along to cooperate and work together was formidable.

For the author, it was the leadership that the founding fathers offered the nation that helped the American nation to overcome all of the challenges it faced. In his book, he points out that, ‘…..the revolutionary generation found a way to contain the explosive energies of the debate (over the role of the central government) in the form of an ongoing argument or dialogue that was eventually institutionalized and rendered safe by the creation of political parties….’ (Ellis 15). According to the author, there were four key factors that helped the nation survive its first ten years, through the founding fathers. These elements apparently were the ones that helped congeal the new American nation into a real nation rather than a mere experimentation by the republicans.

The first key factor was the men’s personalities. It is indicated that these personalities helped serve as a system of balances and checks, taken together in all the personality differences and diversities. The second element was that they all were familiar with each other and were at times surprisingly intimate. The third element or factor that is thought to have been significant is that they had mastered the ability to avoid real debates and discussions about the issues of slavery. This issue was solely capable of charging forces that could destroy the union, and thus the young nation. The fourth factor was that the founding fathers were aware of their responsibilities and roles and needed the experiment to work as planned as they knew that the whole world was watching. These are just a few pointers that indicate and assert that the founding fathers were as diverse in their personalities, thoughts, and actions as real brothers and they did not work as a monolithic body as many would have us believe, they were just as diverse in character as the American people the represented.

These are more than enough supporting pieces of evidence that point to the diversity of the founding fathers, and to the thesis of the book that the founding fathers should be treated more as brothers who worked together for the good of the nation and for the stability of the young nation, rather than founding fathers whose ideologies and characters were unified. As it is, the founding fathers were diverse and different and they only put aside their disagreements for the sake of winning the revolution and for the sake of supporting the establishment of the new governing body.

References

Ellis, Joseph J. Founding Brothers: A Revolutionary Generation. New York: Viking, 2002. Print

Troy Paper Prompt Telemechus Heroic Journey

Telemachus Heroic Journey

The story of the Odyssey centers mostly on the events that surround King Odysseus as well as the exciting adventures he had while at sea. Also, the story concerning Telemachus is of extreme importance as an individual is able to know about his coming of age. When Odysseus began his journey, Telemachus was just but a toddler and this is the reason why the father and son do not have an existing relationship. Odysseus only returns back to Ithaca when Telemechus is almost an adult and also, Penelope had already made plans of getting married again. When reading this epic literature it is evident that Telemechus grew up well and became quite a clever and tactful young man. Unfortunately, Homer did not seem to appreciate him and did not take him seriously because Telemachus had aspirations of being as great as his father Odysseus.

Homer did not give Telemachus the credit, which he deserved in my opinion, and this is seen at the beginning of the epic story. Telemechus received guidance and protection from Athena as he went on a journey to find Odysseus. While on this epic journey, the true nature and character of Telemechus was known. Despite the fact that he did not know a lot concerning his father, he still had the desired intellectual capability needed to understand what he needed to do to find him. He even noticed that during his childhood, his mother was often depressed and distraught because she missed her husband quite dearly. It is fortunate that Telemechus had a deep understanding for the value of devotion, pride, liberty and love as reflected by his actions. Even the people of Ithaca knew that he was coming of age and thus respected him.

Intelligence, wit and strength are other character traits that were visible upon analyzing Telemechus. It is true that he had a lot of assistance from Athena, but his slight naivety and innocence is what made him different as compared to boys who were his age. Telemechus was assured of success in the end because he followed the advice, guidance and help from Athena. However, there were times when the young prince had lapses with regards to judgment and even made mistakes. For example, at times he took the advice given by Athena quite literal, like the time when he went out in the night in order to warn Menelaus of the impending danger. However, a boy of his age at the time was sometimes allowed to be a little bit eager in some situations.

When the Odyssey was coming to a conclusion, Telemachus was given a chance whereby he could prove that the safety of Ithaca was assured. He even went on to prove that he was a collected and careful young man, as well as being an extremely brave fighter. Furthermore, Odysseus became proud of his son and believed that he had the ability to take over Ithaca. He had successfully assisted Telemechus to attain manhood, which was of extreme importance to all the people he would rule over. Telemechus wanted to impress Laertes and Odysseus so that they could be proud of his achievements. In the last scenes, Telemechus was proud to have become the new Prince of Ithaca. In the past he did not have a lot of knowledge about the issue of prince hood, and believed that his father would come back and continue with his Kingly duties. It is only after Telemechus spent time with his father that he became aware about his self, character and lineage. In the end, he was ready to assume responsibility and face the challenges that he would encounter regardless of whether he was alone or with Odysseus.

Achilles was a character present in Peterson Wolfgang’s ‘Troy’ and his epic transformation was witnessed. He was at the beginning described as being an admirable character that was envied by all the people who knew him. It is no wonder that people had nothing but praises for him, and an example of such a person was Patroclus, his cousin. Patroclus claimed that Achilles was one of the best warriors of his time because of his prowess when it comes to fighting in battles. Most people believed that he had the characteristics of a god from the manner which they described him.

At first, Achilles displayed some honorable character traits such as being a brave warrior and an obedient son. However, he made a drastic transformation and people started to notice his wrath, hubris, as well as anger. Achilles developed a short temper and easily exploded at even the slightest thing. Furthermore, many people knew that Achilles never had any second thoughts when it came to killing all those who crossed his path. At the same time, Achilles loved Patroclus and this catalyzed his undesirable behavior especially after the death of his cousin. Achilles quickly transformed from a person who was joyful and loving to one who was inhuman. Also, no one could stop him when he decided to slay men. However, there were some positive attributes that could be said about Achilles when he deiced to take revenge for his cousin’s death. He was described as being loyal, faithful as well as an individual who was fair.

The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was humanized by Wolfgang in order to prove that Achilles the Demi-god could be tamed. In this case it is evident that the love that existed between the two assisted in ensuring that Achilles maintained some good and desirable virtuous. Love seemed to control some of his actions even while at war, even though he would mercilessly kill all his enemies. For example, he was in love with Briseis despite the fact that she was an enemy. This proves that he was willing to ignore the differences that existed between him and his enemies in order to be with the woman that he loved. At the end, before Achilles lost his life he overcame all his vices and foibles, and it is thus the reason why people glorified him. Achilles was able to become an honorable and just man, who did not kill innocent people. He understood his role as a chosen warrior and thus led his people to victory up to the last moment of his epic journey.

In conclusion, Telemachus and Achilles are some notable characters introduced by Homer. They might have had different approaches to life, but in the end, the transformation of Achilles and coming of age of Telemachus were extremely unique. The two characters were able to ensure those who watched or read the available literature know about their epic journeys. Indeed, a hero will always be an individual that has the ability to overcome the tragedies and tribulations they encounter.

Related article: https://www.applewriters.com/odysseus-the-journey

UFOs And Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life

UFO’s And Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life

The question “Are We Alone in the Universe?” has been brought up and speculated on for thousands of years. My answer to the above question is I don’t know. I will not try to give you answers in this essay, because as of now nobody knows the answer. I will merely speculate on this subject based on the information we obtain at present.

The question of UFO’s and intelligent life on other planets has become very popular. UFOs stand for Unidentified Flying Objects, which are any object in the sky that the viewer cannot recognize. Many scientists believe that we cannot be alone in the universe. There have been many unreported sightings of UFO’s. Many of them however are found to be hoaxed or misperceptions. However among the thousands and thousands of sightings surely some of them have to be genuine. Some researchers believe that there were UFO sightings in ancient times. The evidence however is highly speculative. The next significant reports came into existence during World War I and there were also reports during World War II. Many people point out that UFO’s do not and cannot exist and quote Physics and science to back them up. But we have to realize that we can only attempt to describe the universe in terms relative to things that we can measure. Just because UFO has not definitely been measured (as far as we officially know) does not prove they do not exist. John G. Fuller in the book UFO’s? Yes! says “I would point out that we have always been bombarded by certain wavelengths of radio as universal background noise from the edge of the universe. Until we discovered a way to generate and use radio for our own purposes, we had no way to know of it’s existence “out there”…Now that technology exists to “listen”, we can use that information to add to the description of the universe.” Who knows how many other means of describing the universe have yet to be discovered? Infinity is a very big place… and we see only a very narrow spectrum of such a small piece of it.

The prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life has fascinated humans for centuries. When we think of this possibility, we usually have in mind much more exciting then just finding life. We are looking for extraterrestrials with whom we can share ideas and stories. In other words what fascinates us the most is the opportunity to communicate with “intelligent civilizations”, which we may define as groups of beings with self-consciousness and with complex interactions between them, beings who can share their music, poetry, traditions and learning. Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen in the book The Search For Life in the Universe, state “The number of currently active civilizations in our galaxy approximately equals the lifetime of an average civilization with communications ability and desire, measured in years” . We can try to estimate the probability of life evolving on another planet, which should have the right conditions for the formation of life. We need to estimate the number of galaxies, the number of stars in an average galaxy, the number of stars that have planetary systems and the number of Earth like planets that are suitable for the formation of life. Some 100 billion galaxies are visible to modern telescopes and the total number in the universe must be even bigger, but lets stick to that. There are as many as hundreds of billions stars in an average galaxy, but once again let’s be conservative and call it 100 billion. So the total number of stars in the universe is roughly going to be 100 billion x 100 billion. At this point there are only 50 stars have been discovered that have planetary systems, but we have very little data to work with. Most cosmologists believe that planetary formation around a star is quiet common. Lets say that it’s not common and there is only one in a million planet in each system. This calculation will result in ten million, billion. Lets also assume that it is very rare among planets to be Earth like. Again only 1 in a million, and this is very conservative because we are assuming that only earth like planets are suitable for life. So by simply dividing we get ten billion. But for more scientific approach we can consider Drake’s equation. This equation basically states the number of communicating civilizations in our Galaxy, which depends on a number of factors which when combined yield a habitable planet where life can develop and grow to a certain level of technological advance. So, by his estimate the number of communicating civilizations in our Galaxy is 10,000.

There are up to 50 billion planets like earth in our own Milky Way galaxy. The chances that none of those planets support life are so slim that they can be basically discounted. Many of the stars that have been observed contain rock and iron rich material, which is connected to them by gravitational force of orbiting planets. This is another indication that life may be common in our galaxy. There are many planets like earth orbiting those stars and the probability that there is life similar to ours is greater then it was before we considered this evidence.

There are few conditions that are important when we are considering the possibility of life on other planets. Those include temperature, water and atmosphere. Also the planet has to be in a suitable habitable zone, which means that it has to be in small range distances from the star where temperature will be suitable, water may exist in liquid form and atmosphere will be retained.

The search for life in our solar system reached its highest peak with successful landing of the two Viking spacecrafts on mars in 1976. They contained materials to look for biological processes, photosynthesis and respiration. Although metabolism was found, they failed to detect any presence of organic molecules. This unfortunate discovery most likely means that mars does not support even low forms of life. Because we are not able to space travel yet, the only way to try to communicate with intelligent beings outside our solar system is through the radio telescopes. Those telescopes are able to detect radio signals sent out by intelligent life from other planets. Now it is important to decide which stars to listen to and at which frequencies.

Just a couple of years ago everybody believed that formation of life is such a rare even that we are almost certainly the only intelligent species in the universe. But with recent discovery of other planetary systems, the odds have shifted in favor of life. The existence of earth does not imply anything about the probability of life elsewhere, because if there was no life here, we would not be exist to observe it. But if life arose independently on some other planet, and since planetary systems are very common, then life should be abundant in the universe. And if that is the case, that means that intelligent life could be abundant in the universe as well.

Then why do so many scientists reject the idea of aliens visiting out planet? This is because according to our laws of physics, interstellar travel is simply impossible. However if we look back at 19th century, same thing was said about flying and nuclear warfare declared to be impossible just a few years before it became a reality. History always teaches us that if physics declares such and such to be undoable, a major revolution could be just around the corner.

Today we are faced with 2 such revolutions. The first one is Free Energy. Quantum physics tells us that vacuum is far from being empty; in fact it holds great amounts of energy, which is called zero point energy. Some physicists believe in that and working on this theory. Companies are looking for investors to develop and produce the invention, but they have big obstacles on their way. All the major investment companies are not very eager to help them, since this new technology can easily destroy whole industries. Once this or any other device of this sort will be made, the human civilization will be transformed instantly. This would also solve our great global problems that we are facing today. This will end the destruction of the environment by cars, airplanes and power plants. They will provide counties to develop energy, but without environmental and health penalties which many countries have paid and are still paying now. And even more important, this will give us the freedom of solar system.

As of now we are very limited on all of our space activities, and the reason for that is the lack of powerful energy sources. We are sitting on the surface of the earth and it takes enormous energy to get us out because of our gravity. If we are introduced with abundant energy, we will have the freedom to travel in the solar system. Even interstellar travel will become a practical reality, since travel at huge speeds will no longer be energy prohibited. Now, would those ships be prohibited by the speed of light? Some physicists believe that it is possible to make space-time itself. This means to surround the spaceship with local space time in such way that light barrier is not impaired in any way, while by looking from outside, the ship is moving at enormous speeds. NASA is taking this idea and others like it very seriously. They are working on a Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program. “Here are the 3 breakthroughs that we’ll need to enable practical interstellar travel:

1. Discover new propulsion methods that eliminate or dramatically reduce the need for propellant. This implies discovering fundamentally new ways to create motion, presumably by manipulating gravity or inertia or by manipulating any other interactions between matter and space-time.

2.Discover how to attain the ultimate achievable transit speeds to dramatically reduce deep space travel times. This implies discovering a means to move a vehicle at or near the actual maximum speed limit for motion through space or through the modification of space-time itself.

3.Discover fundamentally new on-board energy production methods to power propulsion devices. This third goal is included in the program since the first two goals could require breakthroughs in energy generation to power them and since the physics underlying the propulsion goals is closely linked to energy physics. “

To power the vehicle and its propulsion, some form of power generation is needed. If you seen Star Trek, you probably noticed that they were using Antimatter. This is real stuff and not just a science fiction. Antimatter is matter with its electrical charge reversed. Positrons are anti-electrons, which are like electrons but only with positive charge. Antiprotons are like protons but with a negative charge. Positrons, antiprotons and antiparticles can be created at labs and can even be trapped and stored for days or weeks at a time. Antimatter behaves the same way to gravity as does normal matter. It is very hard to make it right now because to create one milligram of antimatter right now, we would need about One Hundred Billion dollars. Even though one milligram is more then enough for research purposes, the amount would be needed for large-scale applications. It is necessary for the price to drop at least by some amount in order for it to be commercially viable.

The point here is for the highly advanced extraterrestrial culture, interstellar travel could be as easy as an intercontinental flight is for us. That’s why skeptics always back out with the following argument: if aliens exist, and interstellar travel is possible, why aren’t they visiting us? To understand and fully appreciate this question, we have to keep in mind the standard skeptical argument against the reality of UFO’s; “the laws of physics exclude the possibility of interstellar travel, even if extraterrestrials existed in the first place which is highly unlikely”. In other words, UFOs cannot be extraterrestrial because interstellar travel is impossible, and interstellar travel is impossible because otherwise there would be UFOs of extraterrestrial origin. Scientists should recognize the indirect nature of this argument, but often they don’t. The truth behind scientific discoveries has a complex psychology to it, and social factors like authority, majority opinion and prejudice play as much role as observation and mathematical deduction. In the Scientific American issue “The Future of Space Exploration”, Timothy Ferris, a science writer, makes a forceful case for interstellar exploration based on current technology. But then he writes,

“From the second clue – that aliens have not yet landed on the White House lawn – we can posit that our immediate celestial neighborhood is probably not home to a multitude of technologically advanced civilizations that spend their time boldly venturing to other star systems on board big, imposing spacecraft. If that was the case, they would have shown up already, as they evidently have not (I am, of course, discounting reports of UFO sightings and alien abductions, the evidence for which is unpersuasive.)”

The word “unpersuasive” shows that it is not logic and rationality that determines his conclusion, but a mindset. When people consider consistent UFO evidence, like sightings from qualified observers including highly trained military pilots and radar operators over the past 5 decades, it seems very bizarre how an educated person can simply omit that accumulated amount of evidence and call UFO as “unpersuasive”, unless the person is really unaware of the evidence.

Another example is the 1968 Condon Report, which was a scientific investigation of UFO sightings at the University of Colorado. It was commissioned by the United States Air Force. It investigated many cases, some of which were abstract. One case (investigation of a Greenwich, 1956 sighting), for example states:

“At least one UFO was tracked by air traffic control radar (GCA) at two USAF-RAF stations, with apparently corresponding visual sightings of round, white rapidly moving objects which changed directions abruptly. Interception by RAF fighter aircraft was attempted; one aircraft was vectored to the UFO by GCA radar and the pilot reported airborne radar contact and radar gunlock., The UFO appeared to circle around behind the aircraft and followed it in spite of the pilot’s evasive maneuvers. Contact was broken when the aircraft returned to base, low on fuel. The preponderance of evidence indicates the possibility of a genuine UFO in this case. The weather was generally clear with good visibility.”

Yet, after that UFO skeptic Condon, in his conclusions and recommendations, states that UFO phenomena is not an important field in which to look for major scientific discoveries. Such disregards for the actual facts are not science; they are nothing more then denial. And one more time just to illustrate the many intelligent people have come to different conclusions, here is a quote:”For many years I have lived with a secret, in a secrecy imposed on all specialists and astronauts. I can now reveal that every day, in the USA, our radar instruments capture objects of form and composition unknown to us. And there are thousands of witness reports and a quantity of documents to prove this, but nobody wants to make them public. Why? Because the authorities are afraid that people may think of some kind of horrible invaders. So the password still is: We have to avoid panic by all means.”

Letter from Senator Goldwater to Lee M. Graham, October 19, 1981

“To answer your questions, I have never gained access to the so-called ‘Blue Room’ at Wright Patterson, so I have no idea what is in it. I have no idea of who controls the flow of “need-to-know” because, frankly, I was told in such an emphatic way that it was none of my business that I’ve never tried to make it my business since. I wish you luck on your investigation. I’m one of those people who believe that with some two billion planets scattered around our universe, there has to be a couple of more that can support life on it.”

As we look at incredibly high numbers of planets suitable for the formation of life I think it is extremely unlikely that our planet is the only one where life has evolved. It may be significant to ask why we have not met it yet, or at least heard from it. Maybe there has not yet been enough time or maybe we are using wrong technology. Teams are searching skies for many years looking for a radio signal from an alien source, but so far with no success. Radio signals do seem a logical way to send messages over big astronomical distances, but an alien society with a lot more advantage in technology could be using something very different. With thousands years advantage, they may have technology beyond our comprehension It is possible that when they had radio signals, if they ever used them, we had no radio receivers and their information could not reach us.

Bibliography:

1.Harkins, Roger. UFOs? Yes!, The World Publishing Company, New York 1969

2.Goldsmith, Donald. The search for life in the universe, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc 1993

3.http:/www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/PAO/html/warp/brakthru.htm

4.http://www.ncas.org/condon/

5.http://www.bigear.org/vol1no2/sagan.htm

It’s Time For Business Leaders To Come Together On Mental Health

HYPERLINK “https://www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2021/03/30/its-time-for-business-leaders-to-come-together-on-mental-health/?sh=1a0463804183” It’s Time For Business Leaders To Come Together On Mental Health (forbes.com)

This article in Forbes has been written by Emma Codd who is a global inclusion leader. She talks of how mental health has become an important issue in the business world. This is because several times there has been a problem of people not being able to perform perfectly due to their mental health issues which are generally stress and depression. Due to these issues therefore the business world is adversely being affected since a depressed person cannot be productive. She gives different reasons for the causes of depressions which include; lack of support in the workplace; deadlines to meet which are strict, very difficult projects to work on, very high expectations, lack of control, lack of proper development when one is a child, being unable to open up or express oneself, long term career and financial outlooks, family welfare among other reasons.

The reason for this post is that it is a perfect post for horizon scanning since it has been written very recently in 30th March 2021. It focuses on the future of the business world and how it can be affected by mental health issues among the employees.

Obesity A Public or Private Issue

Obesity: A Public or Private Issue?

Imagine a world where a school aged child can step out of their school and walk into a McDonalds. A world where soda companies make millions of dollars a year by placing soda machines in schools. A world where 30.5 percent of adults are considered obese. A world where obesity is killing more people than smoking. What if I told you this world is not in your imagination but is the world we live in today?

Where would you turn to seek help for this epidemic? Some say the government should take charge of the situation like in the cases of seatbelt and smoking laws. Others say that it is the responsibility of the private sector. People are responsible for their health, so the government should not be involved. I agree with both sides of the issue. The government should have some control over what people are consuming, but the majority of the responsibility for obesity is in the private sector of America.

Since the 1960’s obesity in America has more than tripled regardless of sex or race. Today 30.5 percent, or 69 million, American Adults are considered obese (“AOA Fact Sheets” np). In addition, 13 percent of children aged 6-11 years old are considered overweight, and well on their way to becoming obese. Obesity causes over 300,000 deaths a year and costs the country $117 billion dollars, prompting health care providers and the government to label it an epidemic (“Overweight and Obesity…” np).

The healthcare community defines obesity as being 20 percent or more over a person’s ideal body weight, which is based on their height (“U.S. Health Professionals…” np). Usually this is 100 pounds or more over their ideal body weight. Researchers found that the two main causes of obesity are the overabundance of food and people’s sedentary lifestyles (“U.S. Health Professionals…” np). Other causes include genetics, lifestyle choices and environmental factors. These alarming statistics have prompted many to seek a solution for a problem that is clearly not going to go away by itself.

Obesity moved across the nation without regard to sex, race, and age, or so it seemed. However, it strikes some groups more than others. Furthermore, 69 percent of non-Hispanic black women are overweight or obese and 58 percent of non-Hispanic black men are overweight or obese (“Overweight and Obesity…” np). Studies show that minorities in a lower socioeconomic bracket are more likely than whites in a higher socioeconomic bracket to become obese (“AOA Fact Sheets” np). It is cheaper to feed five children on $1 fast food hamburgers than it is to feed those same five children a nutritious meal for $25 (Resler np). Since the 1960s the only food not to decrease in price is fruits and vegetables (Marano np).

Obesity also is most likely to occur in the suburbs and the inner cities. African-Americans and Hispanics have higher population rates in the inner city than Whites. People who live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and bike paths, usually those in the city, are less likely to walk or bike anywhere. This leads to an increase in the sedentary lifestyle that is a major cause of obesity (“U.S. Health Professionals…”np). Instead they are forced to use cars and buses to get around and usually do not have access to gyms or places to exercise.

One place in the United States that has the highest rate of obesity is the East South Central U.S. This region includes Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. They have an obesity rate of 22.3 percent among adults (“AOA Fact Sheets” np). While no clear cause for the higher obesity levels in this part of the country has been found two possible causes are there is a higher percentage of African-Americans in the south and the Southern States also tend to eat a higher concentration of fatty foods. West South Central United States, (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana), has the second highest rate of obesity among adults with 22.2 percent.

Obesity brings with it many problems. Obese people have a 50-100 percent chance of dying prematurely and 75 percent of people with hypertension are obese (“Overweight and Obesity…”np). Over 80 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes are obese (“Overweight and Obesity…” np), which leads the public to see that if you are obese you have a greater chance of developing Type 2 diabetes. For every two pound weight increase your risk of developing arthritis is increased by 9-13 percent. Obesity also leads to a greater chance of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer (“Overweight and Obesity…”np).

Along with the health complications is the financial aspect of obesity. Many obese people claim disability and receive Medicaid (“Obesity Costs…”np). Over nine percent of all healthcare costs last year were to pay for obesity (“Obesity Costs…”np). As taxpayers, even those who are not overweight, we all are all paying for obese people in America. Over $117 billion went towards funding obesity victims (“Overweight and Obesity…”np). That is $117 billion that could be used in other places to prevent and control this epidemic.

Social situations are also a problem for obese people. Many are the butt of jokes and find that stepping into public is hard so the choose to stay home. For those that choose to leave the house many can not find modes of transportation to fit their size, and walking is too difficult. They often get tired easy and find the best way to avoid these situations is to keep their sedentary lifestyles rather than face the world. This also applies in their working world, where many obese people do not show up to work, thereby starting a cycle of living off the government.

Causes of obesity are identified as genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Some cases of obesity stem from Bardt-Biedel syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. Genetics can also predispose some people to gain weight faster and retain it longer (“Factors Contributing…”np). Some individuals can diet and exercise but they retain the weight. Studies have also shown that some people are susceptible to a high fat intake, especially when exposed to overfeeding (World Health Organization…134-135). Many Americans today have the genetics that predisposes them to retain weight, and in turn, susceptible to high fat intake. They eat the fats but can not rid themselves of it.

According to “The Causes of Obesity” studies with adoptive children show that obesity runs in families. The adoptive children tend to take on the same weight patterns as their biological parents, not their adoptive family. Many researchers are searching for a fat gene, but as of now none of have been found. Although genetics plays a role in obesity, many families share eating habits and lifestyle choices, making genetics a factor that is not solely responsible for obesity (“The Causes of Obesity” np).

Lifestyle choices include choosing where you want to eat for dinner and what you want to eat. Some people are raised in families where all they eat is high caloric foods. They learn this behavior and continue living it because it is all they know. A little known weight gain factor is when one gives up smoking, which causes a weight gain of three to five kilograms (World Health Organization…139). Heavy smokers, 15 or more cigarettes a day, often gain more than 13 kilograms (World Health Organization…140). The success of the recent anti-smoking campaign has helped to increase obesity rates.

Other lifestyle factors include excessive alcohol intake, reduction in physical activity, marriage, and the birth of a child (World Health Organization…141-142).

Within lifestyle factors is a subcategory of weight gain factors called psychological factors. Although obese people do not have a higher percentage of psychological disorders, people who are obese and have tried to loose weight have a 10 percent higher chance of binge eating (“Obesity:Causes” np). Binge eating causes a high caloric intake. Usually the calories stay with the person because self-esteem issues cause the person not to exercise (“Obesity:Causes” np).

Environmental factors include those factors that occur in your surroundings. One such environmental factor is the abundance of food. Researchers find that as the amount of food increases the percentage of obese people increases (World Health Organization…120-121). Car ownership has increased which says more people are driving rather than walking (World Health Organization…121). Technological advances in the home make cleaning and cooking easier thus decreasing an individuals energy expenditure and increasing the risk of obesity. America has become a country of convenience were people can do their day to day chores and errands with expending the minimal amount of energy and calories (“The Causes of Obesity” np).

Another big environmental factor is the decline of jobs that require labor. Today most jobs require an individual to sit in an air conditioned office or stand behind a cash register (Bartlett np). In past decades food has been readily available but manual labor was needed to produce food. Today, food is produced in excess, but the labor is no longer needed. Individuals sit behind their desks, eating, thus gaining excess weight, and not burning it off (Bartlett np).

As the percentage of obese Americans increases many sectors are starting to feel the pressure to do something about a problem that is an epidemic. Many Americans feel it is the government’s responsibility to control what they call “a government subsidized public health problem” (Marano np). These people believe that it is within the government’s power to regulate what people eat by taxing foods, cutting down on the promotion of high caloric foods within the food stamp and school lunch programs, and by prohibiting candy and soda sales in schools (Faircloth np).

On the other side of the issue are the people who believe obesity is the problem of the private sector and say “calls for government nannying of individual dietary choices are idiotic, and guaranteed to do far more harm, both practical and moral, than good” (Edmonds np). They believe it infringes on their civil rights and the government should not put money toward stopping a problem that stems from individual choice (Edmonds np). This group believes that “America will end its so-called obesity epidemic if and only if obese people make a personal decision to eat smaller portions, eat healthy foods and exercise” (Heather Peoples np).

Although it seems like one can only be on one side or another, there is a third party in this argument, and the choice I believe to be the best. This third party believes that government should take some responsibility in helping to reduce the obesity rate, but the majority of the responsibility lies within the private sector. Their belief is “ultimately, there are some changes we can make in public policy. But in the main, this is not a public policy issue” (Marano np). Pro-Government action groups and Anti-Government action groups can find middle ground in this proposition, which takes the best possible solutions from each group. This caters to almost everyone to accomplish a common goal and is therefore the better choice to stop the rise of obesity of America.

Across the nation several state offices have challenged their employees to loose weight. In Iowa state employees lost 22 tons of fat in five months (Perlman np). In Montana 342 teams walked enough miles to walk across the state in eight weeks (Perlman np). Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue invited state employees to a six-week fitness challenge, which included healthier menu items added to cafeterias (Perlman np). In all the states not only was fitness emphasized, but lifestyle changes as well. The hope was to get people into a groove of sorts that got them moving around, exercising, and eating right (Perlman np). In these cases, the government sponsored prevention of obesity, bringing exercise and lifestyle habits into its offices (Perlman np). If these types of programs could be picked up, or promoted by the government, in other offices, public and private, the sedentary lifestyle choices would start to decrease, and healthy lifestyles promoted.

A second governmental solution is regulation of the food industry, especially the restaurant industry. “Our American view of value right now is stuck in the ‘more for less’ domain” (Hellmich np). America has very large portion sizes in restaurants, a problem that leads to overeating, and increased caloric intake (“Medical Letter…” np). Although people know they should eat less the value of getting more for less appeals to them. They eat the larger portions while spending less money but gain more calories than they burn. The constant cycle of eating more for less leads to rapid weight gain and obesity (Hellmich np). If the government regulated portion sizes in restaurants obesity rates would decrease. Another advantage of this is it would be teaching healthy eating habits and not promoting overeating (Hellmich np).

The government spends 35 billion dollars a year on feeding the poor (O’Beirne np). Through the food stamp program over 20 million people receive food assistance from the government (O’Beirne np). The food stamp program was designed so people could not spend their food money on other things. However, people who receive food stamps have 10 percent higher chance of becoming obese (O’Beirne np). This is because the recipients can not spend the coupons on other things so they buy more food than is needed and their caloric intake increases (O’Beirne np). A solution that would lower caloric consumption and obesity rates is to allot families who receive aid a cash grant in place of the food stamps so the families can decide how much they should spend on food (O’Beirne np). This would keep the amount of foods in houses down and would discourage overeating and stem the obesity tide.

The one other thing the government could do is change the menu for school lunch recipients. Children who eat a breakfast and lunch at school have 42 percent of their total daily calories left for snack and dinner (O’Beirne np). In a recent study in Iowa, school aged children were given fresh fruits for lunch at a cost of $94 per student, per year (Shulruff np). If the government allotted some money that they already give to the school lunch programs for fruits and vegetable children could be exposed to good eating habits at an early age. They could be taught that fruits and vegetables are good snack choices and may start to choose fruits and vegetables over sugary, high caloric snacks. The government should also start to regulate what foods are served in schools, so caloric intake is at a minimum (O’Beirne np).

Although the government should take some responsibility for obesity, the private sector should take some as well. The first thing they need to do is vote for a slight tax increase. Nobody likes to have to pay more in taxes, but the extra tax money could be used to fund schools (“Surgeon General…” np). With the extra money, the schools could stop relying so heavily on soda and candy companies for funds, and possibly get rid of the candy and soda machines in schools (Shulruff np). With the machines gone students will be forced to seek other modes of nutrition. If the machines can not be eliminated from schools, at least parents should demand that they be stocked with more nutritious snacks so some low caloric food choices are available.

Children learn their eating habits from their parents. Proper nutrition and obesity prevention should be taught in the home (“Surgeon General…” np). Parents should limit snacks with a lot of calories and stock the house with fruits and vegetables (“Surgeon General…” np). Along with eating healthy, parents should also monitor portion sizes, and the activities their children do (“Surgeon General…” np). It is a well known fact that children often mimic their parents. While parents are monitoring what their kids eat and how much, they could take this time to practice good eating habits themselves. Yet another way parents can watch their children’s weight is to organize block sports within the neighborhood that kids can participate in to burn off excess calories (“Surgeon General…” np).

Within the private sector there is also a private business sector. These guys can do a lot to help stop obesity. Insurance companies can raise rates for obese people (Hellmich np). If they decide to loose weight their rates can go back down, but if their weight increases again so does their insurance rates. Small restaurants can also help with the problem by volunteering to put nutrition information on their menus (Shulruff np). This way they are paving the way for larger restaurants to do the same, while informing the public exactly what they are eating, and how it affects total daily caloric intake (Shulruff np).

Over one third of American adults are obese prompting healthcare officials and the government to label it an epidemic. Obesity costs this country $117 billion dollars a year and causes more than 300,000 deaths a year (“Overweight and Obesity” np). It leads to hypertension, some cancers, and premature death. Even with all negative problems associated with it, obesity is still on the rise. Some people are looking at the government for help while others would prefer to keep them out of it. The best choice to put a stop to obesity is to have the government hold some responsibility, but have the private sector shoulder most of it. Obesity may be a personal choice but it has many causes, some of which the government can regulate.

Bibliography:

“AOA Fact Sheets.” 2 Dec. 2003. American Obesity Association. 2 Dec. 2003 .“Causes of Obesity.” Weight Loss Information. 13 Dec. 2003. .

Edmonds, Brad. “Government in Your Arteries.” LewRockwell.com. 29 Jan. 2002. 10 Dec. 2003. < http://www.lewrockwell.com/edmonds/edmonds94.html>.

“Factors Contributing to Obesity.” 15 Sept. 2003. Center For Disease Control. 8 Dec. 2003. .

Faircloth, Sean, Kelly D. Brownell, and David S. Ludwig. “Government, Freedom, and Obesity.” Maine.Gov. 13 Dec. 2003 .Heather Peoples. Letter. Time Magazine 11 Aug. 2003. 13 Dec. 2003. .

Hellmich, Nancy. “Obesity is the Target.” USA Today 8 May 2003. 13 Dec. 2003. .

Marano, Lou. “Is Obesity a U.S. Public Policy Issue?” United Press International. 14 May 2003. 3 Dec. 2003. .

McKee, Bradford. “As Suburbs Grow So Do Waistlines.” The New York Times. (2003): F1. 8 Dec. 2003 .“Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA.” NewsRx.com (2002): 6. Lexis Nexis. 3 Dec. 2003 .O’Beirne, Kate. “Poor and Fat.” National Review Online. 27 Feb. 2003. 13 Dec. 2003

< http://www.nationalreview.com/kob/kob022703.asp>.

“Obesity Costs Rival Those of Smoking.” The Boston Channel. 14 May 2003. 8 Dec. 2003. .

“Overweight and Obesity at a Glance.” 1 Dec. 2003. Surgeon General. 3 Dec. 2003.

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Perlman, Ellen. “Downsizing Government.” Governing Magazine (2003): 16. Lexis Nexis. 3 Dec. 2003 .Resler. “Time to Get the Fat Out.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 19 Aug. 2003: 10A. JSOnline.com 20 Aug. 2003. 3 Dec. 2003. < .

Shulruff, Lawrence. “Label the Dangers of Fat.” New Jersey Law Journal (2003). Lexis Nexis. 3 Dec. 2003 .“Surgeon General Asks Communities to Address Obesity.” 30 Jan. 2002. Medical College of Wisconsin. 13 Dec. 2003. .

“The Causes of Obesity.” 10 Oct. 2003. About Obesity. 13 Dec. 2003. .

“U.S. Health Professional Worry About a Growing Problem-Obesity.” Impact Online. 3 Dec 2003. 3 Dec 2003. .

World Health Organization Consultation on Obesity. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Geneva: World Health Organization 2000.

Lord Of The Rings And Mythology

Lord Of The Rings And Mythology

Lord of the Rings is regarded as one of the greatest stories of modern times. It is a story filled with original ideas and creates an entire world unto itself with a history of it’s own along with it’s many races. This creation of a new world and the storytelling involved in it holds many parallels and similarities to ancient and classical myths that people have been telling for thousands of years. The Lord of the Rings has been classified as a modern extension of the family of myths by many critics and has a following to support this claim.

The classification of The Lord of the Rings as a modern myth can be seen in several different ways. There are many characters in The Lord of the Rings, which have parallels with characters in classical mythology such as Tom Bombadil, Gandalf, Gollum and Frodo. Other examples of mythological concepts held in the novel are seen simply in the storyline, the quest in particular and the battle between good and evil.

The status of myth for The Lord of the Rings can also be seen in the deep history that Tolkien gave to Middle Earth and it’s people. There are extensive histories given through thousands of years of Middle Earth and is thoroughly recorded in Tolkien’s works such as The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The History of Middle Earth and The Book of Lost Tales. This element of storytelling is seen throughout almost all stories regarded as mythology, the story is given a deep background involving deities and the beginning of the Earth into the creation of man and in some of them has a deity interacting with the characters in the myth. This is true in Tolkien’s later work in The Silmarillion which is mostly a story somewhat similar to The Lord of the Rings except that The Silmarillion takes place much earlier in Middle Earth’s history and several allusions to it are made in The Lord of the Rings that could not be understood without doing proper historical research into Tolkien’s world which is vast to say the least. This makes the novel’s status as a myth different from other classical myths in that they took place in the known world at that time which included the Mediterranean theater of Greece and the Italian peninsula, Northern Scandinavian countries and Anglo-Saxon dominated areas. In Tolkien’s case he went ahead and made an entirely different world with entirely different geography and entirely different races of people and histories. This of course is used to be conducive to the “fairy story written for adults” (The Letters of JRR Tolkien pg. 232) quality that Tolkien wanted in The Lord of the Rings and his other works.

Some critics have seen Tolkien parallel what some would call “Christian mythology” in his writing with the creation of Arda and Middle Earth. Arda is the entire world of Tolkien, which includes Valinor, the Undying Lands, Numenor, which is Tolkien’s Atlantis and Middle Earth, which is the continent on which The Lord of the Rings takes place. Tolkien’s creation of Arda is not chronicled in The Lord of the Rings although it is mentioned several times throughout the book and in the Appendix. His creation myth was based on Iluvatar or “The One”, who is seen as the creator in Christian tradition although he is not as close to his people, creating the Ainur or “Holy Ones” to carry out His plan for Middle Earth. With the Ainur come a subgroup called the Valar who are the most powerful of the Ainur and each have a special authority over Middle Earth. Although this does not go along with Christian tradition Tolkien explains his hierarchy of spirits in one of his letters.

“It is, I should say, a ‘monotheistic but ‘sub-creational’ mythology.’ There is no embodiment of the One, of God, who indeed remains remote, outside the World, and only directly accessible to the Valar or Rulers. These take the place of the ‘gods’, but are created spirits….”(The Letters pg. 235)

Even though Tolkien clearly explains his “monotheistic but sub-creational mythology” some Christian critics argue that Tolkien’s spiritual hierarchy does indeed parallel the Biblical account. Even Tolkien, in spite of his denials, has compared parts of his myth with corresponding aspects of truth. But the obvious similarities tend to confuse rather than clarify Biblical truth (Kjos). Although this part of the creation of the World seems to somewhat parallel Christian tradition the creation of Elves, Men and Dwarves seem to not follow any real blueprint for their “awakening” (Tolkien 1101).

Tolkien has a basis in ancient mythology by using the myth of Atlantis as one of his major influences to be part of the story of The Lord of the Rings by creating a people in the story that had a fate similar to that of the Atlanteans. In The Lord of the Rings Numenor was the great power beyond Middle Earth that began the Kingdoms of Gondor, Arnor and the Northern Dunedain in Middle Earth after it’s destruction and whose line came down to Aragorn Elessar the rightful King of Gondor who claims the throne in The Lord of the Rings.

“Numenor is my personal alteration of the Atlantis myth and /or tradition, and accommodation of it to my general mythology. Of all the mythical or ‘archetypal’ images this is the one most deeply seated in my imagination, and for many years I had a recurrent Atlantis dream: the stupendous and ineluctable wave advancing from the Sea or over the land, sometimes dark, sometimes green and sunlit.” (The Letters pg. 361)

Although Tolkien’s inspiration may have been originally inspired through a dream it was based in the Greek myth of the lost continent of Atlantis that was destroyed at the height of it’s power and is now, according to myth, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean thus losing a great civilization and also drawing an irrefutable parallel with Tolkien’s Numenor.

Along with the setting of Tolkien’s Middle Earth came the characters he had in The Lord of the Rings, many of which had counterparts in classical mythology. Stories can be broken down as basically as possible by essentially having protagonists and antagonists but in many myths the characters go beyond that, as do Tolkien’s characters in The Lord of the Rings.

Some of Tolkien’s characters have been believed to have Christ-like qualities in their actions and the way that they are placed within the story. Some examples of Christ-like qualities can be seen in Frodo’s decision to being the Ringbearer in the Fellowship and how it is such a difficult burden to carry but he decides to take it anyway. Another example of Christ-like qualities would be Gandalf’s resurrection from the dead after his battle with Durin’s Bane. Although Tolkien claims that he despises all forms of allegory (Tolkien, Foreword to Lord of the Rings) it is still thought that he had chose to give his protagonists Christ-like qualities.

Characters on the other end of the spectrum such as Gollum have their counterpart in mythology with the Norse god Loki who was the god of mischief and trouble making. In almost every classical myth there is a figure in it that has the specified job of causing trouble. Gollum is seen throughout The Lord of the Rings causing trouble for Frodo and Sam throughout their journey in Mordor. Loki can be seen as a parallel to this because he is seen throughout Norse myth through the killing of the beloved Norse god Balder.

Other parallels between mythological characters can be seen between Gandalf and the hero of the Kalevala, Vainamoinen. Vainamoinen is the main character of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, and is an epic hero who uses his wise judgment and in some cases magic to defeat his enemy. Vainamoinen uses his power to exert order over chaos and through this establishes the land of Kaleva, which is current day Finland. Vainamoinen uses magic on many occasions to save his people from such threats as disease and uses his great knowledge to recover the moon and sun after they have been carried off and hidden in a mountain. This character can be seen as Gandalf’s counterpart because of their use of knowledge and magic and their eventual quest to save their people and land from an evil power. Although it is not quite a quest as The Lord of the Rings is the Kalevala holds many things in common with Tolkien’s mythology.

The most interesting character in Tolkien’s story that could possibly have many mythological counterparts is Tom Bombadil. With reading The Lord of the Rings the question of “Who or What is Tom Bombadil?” comes up and it has been a question that eludes many Tolkien scholars and there can never really be an exact answer to that question which was Tolkien’s original intention.

“And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)” – The Letters of JRR Tolkien, No. 144

There are many ideas of what Tom was, perhaps he was an elf, or one of the Valar or Iluvatar himself but all of these have their hypothesis refuted either by Tolkien’s letters or in his far spread mythology. We are not quote sure what Tom exactly is but some critics have created comparisons between the Greek god Bacchus and the Arthurian Kay who are jolly, meddlesome characters, which seem to reflect Tom’s sensibilities throughout his short time in the novel (Anonymous, The Riddle of Tom Bombadil). Is Tom Bombadil a “mischievous outsider”? He is certainly mischievous (or joyfully unconcerned with the world at large), and we’ve seen that he is definitely an “outsider”, in that he doesn’t fit easily with the rest of Tolkien’s mythology. A possible suggestion here is that these elements help to add an inherent sense of “myth” to the book, which would otherwise be far less evident.

Other mythological elements that can be seen as an influence to Tolkien’s work was the language of the Kalevala which was the catalyst for him to create his own language, Elvish. This quality alone puts Tolkien in a whole other world beyond regular mythology. By creating his own languages in the book Tolkien brings about a whole new world and gives the feeling of being in another world with a different race speaking an unknown language. This alone puts Tolkien in a whole new area of mythology and creates a world that is in no way tangible for the reader thus creating the element of fantasy.

Tolkien created The Lord of the Rings as a modern mythology and creating a whole new world that never existed but that he almost makes it seem like it has in some antique time that there are no records of. Ultimately, Tolkien was in the business of creating his own mythology to avoid comparison with other mythologies is to miss a rich seam of material in his work and to miss the point of the storytelling that he has brought to the reader. He makes a world come alive through his words and creates a world so rich in culture and history the reader almost wants to believe that Middle Earth exists and that hobbits still flourished in The Shire. He creates a myth that is beyond our world and intangible but with that creates a world so beautiful and ugly, so light and dark that it has become one of the great stories of modern times and gives the world a modern myth that it can be proud of.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

1)Anonymous “The Riddle of Tom Bombadil” 11/14/98 http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm?http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/alphab.html 5/7/02

2)Hunt, JM “The Gods” N/A, http://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/greek_myth.html 5/10/02

3)N/A “The Kalevala’s Contents” 10/16/99 http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/kaleva.html 5/2/02

4)Kjos, Berit “Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: Truth, Myth or Both?” N/A http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/rings.htm 5/21/02

5)Hamilton, Edith Mythology Warner Books, 1942

6)Tolkien, JRR The Lord of the Rings Houghton Mifflin, 1954

Napster and the music industry

Napster and the Music Industry

“People are copying music because they feel somewhat disenfranchised with the options they have at their disposal in the digital space. It’s up to the content industry to create value in the digital arena and they’ve made phenomenal steps in that direction.”

Talal Shamoon, a key technologist for the SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative) Salon, 31 Jul 2000-08-01

District judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled in favour of the Recording Industry Association of America (http://www.riaa.com/) (RIAA) regarding the Napster copyright case, based on the sheer size of the infringement that was taking place. Judge Patel directed that Napster should stop its song-swap activities and refused a motion that would delay the injunction until after an appeal had been presented. Napster intends to appeal against the decision. Related article: ‘Napster legal scrap could backfire on record industry.

CONSUMERS BUY MORE MUSIC PRODUCTS AFTER ‘TESTING’

A PC Data Online (http://www.pcdataonline.com) survey reports that only 16% of respondents supported the RIAA’s claim that Napster was in breach of intellectual property regulations and should be shut down. 57% agreed that it was unrealistic to control the free exchange of music. Many users said that they would not be dissuaded from downloading music even if it was deemed illegal. Almost 60% claimed that using Napster helped them in their music buying and 83% liked the ability afforded by the technology to test songs before purchasing CDs or cassettes.

Source: PC Data Online News Release, 27 July 2000

CONTROL OF MUSIC DOWNLOADING BEYOND INDUSTRY CONTROL

Despite all the media attention given to the Napster case, the Gartner Group (http://gartner11.gartnerweb.com/) believes that music downloading via the Net will prevail. Gartner suggests that it would have been more strategic for the RIAA to find a compromise with Napster, claiming that it will be far more troublesome for the RIAA to control other like technologies. Napster’s closure will mean that the RIAA’s task of controlling the industry will be impossible if it tries to chase every individual who has downloaded music illegally, possibly on someone else’s equipment.

Source: Gartner Group Press Release, 28 July 2000

The Napster case is not expected to affect the changing face of the music industry. Already other companies such as Freenet and Gnutella are providing consumers with similar music downloading technologies – the difference being that there is no central server and therefore no company or person to prosecute. If Napster disappears it will only serve to fuel an alternative industry creating millions of users impossible to locate and prosecute. A Jupiter/Media report indicated that during March this year, 80% of people with Napster software used it to download music compared with 40% of RealPlayer and Media Player users.

Source: Salon Technology, 27 July 2000

GNUTELLA, FREENET FILL THE NAPSTER GAP

The Napster result may be viewed by millions of users as a ‘call to arms’, fueling a greater consumer commitment regarding the continued free distribution of music. Following the Napster ruling Gnutella was overloaded with Net users downloading its free song trade program and Freenet experienced a doubling of ‘peer-to-peer’ traffic. Gnutella and Freenet link users rather that offer a centralized Web site like that of Napster. Gnutella considers itself to be a movement not a business. The creators do not have control over how people use the site. Freeness contests the assumption that information is property. The RIAA argues that Judge Pattel’s decision sends a message to music entrepreneurs that the commercialization of their sites is not an option.

Source: New York Times, 28 July 2000

Scheduled to be shut down on July 29, Napster has won a last minute reprieve in the appeals court. Napster is expected to argue that users have the legal right to share their own music and that a company cannot held responsible for such actions. Similar file sharing businesses are likely to face legal challenges. Several companies are working on finding Internet business models that serve to both protect copyright and partner content owners in online distribution. These models seek to find a bridge between completely free music and music that is completely paid for. Advertising may play a part in these models.

DOES THE NAPSTER RULING MAKE THE NET ILLEGAL?

Judge Patel’s Napster ruling is based on the view that a clear violation of copyright infringement law occurred through the provision of a system that enabled piracy. Her ruling may make all Internet file swapping and peer-to-peer communication activities vulnerable to charges of illegality. One observer claims that Napster has undertaken a pioneering function for the recording industry and suggests that the RIAA would be best advised to purchase Napster as a way of taking control of the online music sharing industry. The courtroom defeat of a financially exhausted company does not mean the end of the technological threat. The RIAA will need to find other ways to address changing realities.

Independent music companies association Impala has called on the EU to impose stringent conditions on proposed entertainment and Internet company mergers, in order to protect the viability of independent production and distribution of music. Impala is concerned that domination by a number of giant players could lead to predatory pricing strategies and the dictating of online music distribution, which could see the market value of music undermined. The EU is currently reviewing both the Time Warner/AOL and the Time Warner/EMI music business mergers. The EU must decide to what extent online music represents a new market sector separate from that of CDs and videos sold from conventional outlets.

Source: Financial Times, 13 July 2000

FIND PROTECTION IN THE TECHNOLOGY, NOT THE LAW

Although recent courtroom battles have found in favour of the ‘Old Media’, experts consider that it is unlikely that 20th century media laws will continue to define how information is transferred in the new century. Meg Smith of the Harvard Law School considers that it is too difficult to enforce copyright on media that consumers can possess. Jane C. Ginsburg, Professor at the Columbia Law School considers that recent cases in which the Old Media copyright laws were successfully applied to New Technology were clear cases of copyright breach. She considers that it will be more difficult to apply current law in future cases. Cyberlaw expert Jonathon Zittrain argues that technology currently supports the free distribution of information on the Net and content creators will need to look to technology for protection answers and not the law.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 28 July 2000

CAN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY AVOID ITS OWN NAPSTER?

The development of Div;-) and DeCSS are pushing the motion picture industry headfirst into the same copyright tussle as the music sector is facing. DeCSS decodes the content Scrambling System that underpins DVDs, enabling them to be shown on computers. Div;-) combines MPEG-4 and MP3 to compress video files to facilitate their downloading onto a computer prior to being copied onto CD-Rom. Forrester Research considers that DivX;-) is yet to hit critical mass as most consumers do not possess the necessary bandwidth. Forrester warns that the industry must produce a plan quickly to cover the legitimate transfer of its product over the Net. The Gartner Group points out that a number of movie companies are moving quickly to become involved in Internet movie applications and digital downloading will be common by the close of 2001.

INTERNET MUSIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS FORGE NEW DEALS

Pop music group Beastie Boys has negotiated a new recording deal handing them the rights to the release of their music through the Web. Other bands are seeking similar deals, releasing albums in MP3-only formats and searching for a variety of ways to enforce their perceived digital rights. Jupiter Communications considers that the traditional music industry’s ways of operation have lost their relevance. The record industry and some MP3 executives predict that the cost of encryption and other specifically online-related costs will erode the cost savings consumers and industry supporters are hoping for.

Beuc, a European based consumers group, fears that mergers between Net and entertainment companies will lead to a few powerful enterprises having a stranglehold on the music industry. Beuc considers that customers’ choices and privacy will be under threat. Music prices may also rise as large companies gain the power to control competitors and artists. Consumer privacy would also be threatened by the diverse range of information on individual shopping habits that one company would be able to access. The group has approached the EU in regard to their concern over the emerging links between large music enterprises.

Source: Financial Times, 27 July 2000

Bibliography:

Nurses Violating the ANA Code of Ethics Nursing

Nurses Violating the ANA Code of Ethics Nursing

Statutes of limitation are outlined for criminal litigation and civil use. The law is used to prevent the prosecution of stale claims, and unreasonable delay to conserve legal rights. Nonetheless, in the absence of a specific statute, statutes of limitation are irrelevant to disciplinary action, and administrative Board of Nursing license revocation. Virginia Department of Health Professional comprises of Virginia Board of Nursing. To protect the public, Virginia Board of Nursing, undertake disciplinary proceedings and action. This ensures ethical and suitably qualified individuals practice nursing. Case number 18299,187497 under the license number 0002-091180 and case number 196595 are among the individuals who violated the ANA Code of Ethics. Violation of the code will lead to licences suspension. These two nurses had their nursing practice rebuked by the Virginia Board of Nursing.

Case Number 18299, 187497 had broken several rules. On 31st July 2014, the Virginia Board of Nursing issued her license to practice nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The nurse violated term number 1 of the Board’s order. Term number 1 of the Board’s order required the nurse to submit evaluations by a mental health specialist and a neurologist satisfactory to the Board within 90 days of the entry of the Board’s order. The documents that she submitted, medical records from Neuro-Care of Virginia dated 22nd February 2018 and medical records from Virginia South Psychiatric and Family Services dated 27th September 2017, 25th October 2017 and 22nd November 2017. These medical records were not evaluated and approved by the Board.

License 0002-091180 also violated the term number 2 of the Board’s Order. The Virginal Board of Nursing ordered the holder of the license to sign all required medical releases and authorization forms within 30 days of the entry. She failed to submit the medical release and authorization forms due on 16th February 2018.

The license beholder violated Virginia Code 54.1-3007(6). These violations are from the findings of facts number 5 through 8. On 12th September 2017, she was admitted to the Emergency Department at Southside Regional Medical Centre, Petersburg, Virginia for seizure-like symptoms and carbamazepine (2019, 28th March). On 13th September 2017, she was transferred to the intensive care unit of SRMFC for inpatient psychiatric treatment with initial diagnoses of epilepsy, a major depressive disorder with suicidal ideations, unspecified dementia, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and poisoning by iminostilbenes. She admitted that her initial presentation for seizure-like symptoms was an intentional overdose and suicide attempt after she ingested 35 Tegretol 200mg tablets prescribed for her seizure condition. On 18th September 2017, she was discharged from SRMC with diagnoses of seizure disorder, major server depression with a suicide attempt and Tegretol toxicity. Upon discharge, the treating neurologist indicated that she was sometimes noncompliant with her seizure medications. Finally, during an interview with the investigator for the Department of Health Professions, she stated that she was scheduled to work the 11 a.mto 7 p.m shift at Hopewell Health Care Centre, on the day of her overdose. She acknowledged that her overdose and hospital admissions impacted her work.

The Virginia Board of Nursing findings and facts illustrated that case number 196595 on 4th March 2019 applied for licensure by examination to practice professional nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia (2019, 28th March). The Virginia Board of Nursing found that the nurse violated code 54.1-3007(1) and 18 VAC 90-19-230(A) (1) (b) of the Regulations Governing Certified Nurse Aides in that on her application for licensure, she failed to disclose all of her criminal misdemeanour convictions from 2007 through 2010 and on her request, she only listed of them. Case number 196595 based on the findings of facts and conclusion by the Virginia Department of Health Professional. The Virginia Board of Nursing ordered her to Aube is reprimanded, her licensure to practice professional nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia is approved without restriction (Epstein, Beth, and Martha Turner). The Board also ordered her to comply with laws and regulations governing the practice of professional nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was ordered that any violation of the preceding terms and conditions from the orders given or any statute or regulation that governs the practice of professional nursing will further her disciplinary action.

Nursing is a dedication to both wellbeings of the injured, sick, and vulnerable in the society and social justice. Nurses under case number 18299,187497 and 196595 violated the ANA Code of Ethics (Olson, L. L., & Stokes, F. 2016). Both nurses violated the fundamental principle for the inherent dignity and worth. Nurse 18299,187497 violated human rights by attempting suicide by overdose. These violations of the ANA Code of Ethics the Virginia Board of Nursing had the authority to take action against the licensees. These actions implicate that the nurses will not be able to attend to the sick. This employed authority allowed by managerial case law and law principles tends to pursue to prevent and eliminate such nurses from dodging disciplinary actions.

References

(2019, 28th March). Retrieved from https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/enforcement/cdecision/boardresults.asp?board=10&send=ViewOlson, L. L., & Stokes, F. (2016). The ANA code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements: Resource for nursing regulation. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 7(2), 9-20.

Epstein, Beth, and Martha Turner. “The nursing code of ethics: Its value, its history.” OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing 20.2 (2015): 1-10.

Value Preposition on product Common

Value Proposition on product ‘Common’

Every organization that strives making good profit as well as maintaining a good customer number must always work to satisfy the customer need. Therefore the various companies must work to keep in line with the current trends in the market and being able to be the most competitive amongst other companies. Value addition is key in being the most competitive as well as attracting more customers.

Value Proposition Builder

Different models for value prepositions have been developed one of the models the Value Proposition Builder for creating a value proposition states six stages to the analysis. These stages are:

The market

This will explain which group the company was to target. The use of the product common would benefit a wide range of customers including those who want to work and process their transactions from home since they can process the same via their home computers. It also caters for business people across the world who export products to different countries since different currencies can be processed without delay. The market also targets upcoming business people since they charge low transaction fee thus attracting more people

Value experience or customer experience stage

Through this the company must be able to evaluate what the market values most. In the case of the new product ‘common’ which is to be used as a processing digital currency, the company must assess how the customers will be able to fit into the new system since it will provides a platform for exchange of different currencies and thus being more efficient than other internet currency platforms.

Offering stage

This stage should explain which services are unique to the company. In the case of ‘common’, the new product in the market offers better and unique services as compared to PayPal, Authorize.net. These include; one being able to accept unlimited amounts of online payments regardless of the type of currency.

Value hierarchy

The fourth stage explains the benefits that the customers will derive from the said product. In the case of common product, other than being able to receive unlimited currencies and different types of currencies the amount of fee charge is also minimal as compared to those charged by other companies for example pay pal i.e. 1%.

Alternatives and Differentiation

The fifth stage explains the alternatives and differentiation. Through this the customers are able to know the alternatives the market has to the product in this case the product common. The sixth stage is to provide proof to substantiate the value preposition for the said product. The company must be able to show its customers how they are going to benefit from the said value preposition.

In conclusion, the process above will ensure that the product common is able to attract more customers due to the benefits associated with it.

Reference: https://futurecurve.com/services/value-proposition-builder

unethical behavior by Pfizer and Parke-Davis in research

Unethical Behavior by Pfizer and Parke-Davis in Research

When a business intends to prove that its products or services are safe and effective, it might engage in practices that are morally unethical and professionally suspect. An example of unethical business research conduct was the case of Neurontin, a drug manufactured by Pfizer and Parke-Davis. The drug is approved for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia and epilepsy but it can also be used off-label for uses that FDA has not approved. These off-label uses include treating bipolar disorder, migraines and restless leg syndrome (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).

In many instances, physicians prescribe the drug off-label for a wide range of conditions such as insomnia and hot flashes. With time, it has been found that the off-label uses have exceeded the uses that FDA has approved. In 2004, Pfizer urged physicians to give more prescriptions of the drug’s off-label uses something that is not legal. The company was interested in having more of the off-label uses approved by FDA, it went ahead to carry out research to establish if the drug also works for other conditions. If they are able to convince the federal regulation that they have enough evidence of the drug’s efficacy and safety, then FDA can extend some of off-label uses. Pfizer and Parke-Davis used some unethical strategies to offset their scuttle publications of some unfavorable findings they got (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).

They used deceptive tactics such as delaying reports that had indicated no evidence of the efficacy of the drug. They also reinterpreted negative data and bundled negative findings together with positive studies in order to neutralize their results. They used selective outcome reporting, a practice that employed two different techniques: changing trial outcomes to produce the results they wanted and not reporting negative outcomes. Alteration of outcomes of trials so as to achieve the desired results involves the modification of the purposes of research after it has been done. Drug trials involve primary and secondary outcomes, but the primary outcomes rea more important.

In this unethical research behavior the injured parties are the patients who were deceived to think that the drug could treat some of their conditions. Patients bought the drug with the knowledge that it could cure some of their conditions which was not true. The patients ended up buying the drug but the drug was not effective in treating their conditions. Physicians who were convinced to sell the drug for other uses were also affected by the unethical behavior. They often had to deal with unsatisfied patients who bought the drug to treat their conditions. The physicians would also be reported to authorities for prescribing a drug that was not effective.

The unethical behavior by Pfizer and Parke-Davis resulted to the company being fined $430 million for criminal fines and other civil penalties (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009). The public image of the organization was also destroyed by the unethical business behavior. People no longer believed in the organization and the negative image made people stop purchasing other drugs produced by the company. The unethical behavior resulted to individuals boycotting products from the organization as they no longer trusted the organization. The unethical behavior resulted into the society having a negative impression of the company. These practice undermined the trust the society has on science and also mocked the system that comes up with evidence for making decisions (Ramírez de Arellano, 2009).

The unethical behavior could be avoided by publishing the correct results regarding the research. The organization should not have altered the results in any way but displayed the true outcome of the research. Clinical trials are the core of what people do in healthcare and hence any results should be adequately reported to avoid any problem from drug use.

References

Ramírez de Arellano, A. (2009). HEALTH AND SAFETY. Retrieved January 10, 2015, from http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2887