Parole Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Parole - Essay Example However, there has been a consensus among the players within the criminal justice system that incarceration is not the most appropriate measure to all offenders. It is in the light of this consensus that parole and probation systems were developed in order to provide alternative and appropriate ways of addressing specific types of offenders (Welsh and Harris, 2008). These systems have had remarkable impacts within the criminal justice system; but they have also had some shortcomings as well. Particularly, parole has been regarded as an early release option that puts the public at unnecessary risk. On the other hand, there are those who argue that it allows the re-integration of offenders into the community and provides better prospects for rehabilitation (Broadhurst, 2001). This paper will seek to understand the parole system by discussing its pros and cons. In addition, it will discuss whether parole is currently over-utilized or under-utilized in Australia, or whether proper balanc e has been struck. Yoshimura (2000) defines parole as a process that involves conditionally releasing an offender from prison so that he or she can serve the remaining sentence in the community according to the sentences terms that the court would impose. Often, offenders released under parole serve the remaining sentence in the community under community corrections officer supervision. Parole is considered as a conditional release from the prison because the release of the offenders is based on certain conditions such as prisoners agreeing to obey specific restrictions imposed by the court. It should be noted that the parole release decisions basis vary across jurisdiction and time (Proctor, 1999). For example, parole can be offered as an entitlement to offenders after they have served a specified minimum imprisonment term. Similarly, parole can be used as a reward for offender’s good behavior. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that granting of release on parole is based on

Pre-Socratic Philosophers Essay Example for Free

Pre-Socratic Philosophers Essay Pre-Socratic is the expression commonly used to describe those Greek thinkers who lived and wrote between 600 and 400 B.C. It was the Pre-Socratics who attempted to find universal principles which would explain the natural world from its origins to mans place in it. Although Socrates died in 399 B.C., the term Pre-Socratic indicates not so much a chronological limit, but rather an outlook or range of interests, an outlook attacked by both Protagoras (a Sophist) and Socrates, because natural philosophy was worthless when compared with the search for the good life. To give the Pre-Socratic thinkers their full due would require an article of encyclopedic scope. Given that, I have decided to list a number of sites on individual Pre-Socratic thinkers.Anaximander1. Life and SourcesThe history of written Greek philosophy starts with Anaximander of Miletus in Asia Minor, a fellow-citizen of Thales. He was the first who dared to write a treatise in prose, which has been called traditionally On Nature. This book has been lost, although it probably was available in the library of the Lyceum at the times of Aristotle and his successor Theophrastus. It is said that Apollodorus, in the second century BCE, stumbled upon a copy of it, perhaps in the famous library of Alexandria. Recently, evidence has appeared that it was part of the collection of the library of Taormina in Sicily, where a fragment of a catalogue has been found, on which Anaximander’s name can be read. Only one fragment of the book has come down to us, quoted by Simplicius (after Theophrastus), in the sixth century AD. It is perhaps the most famous and most discussed phrase in the history of philosophy.We also know very little of Anaximander’s life. He is said to have led a mission that founded a colony called Apollonia on the coast of the Black Sea. He also probably introduced the gnomon (a perpendicular sun-dial) into Greece and erected one in Sparta. So he seems to have been a much-traveled man, which is not astonishing, as the Milesians were known to be audacious sailors. It is also reported that he displayed solemn manners and wore pompous garments. Most of the information on Anaximander comes from Aristotle and his pupil Theophrastus, whose book on the history of philosophy was used, excerpted, and quoted by many other authors, the so-called doxographers, before it was lost. Sometimes, in these texts words or expressions appear that can with some certainty be ascribed  to Anaximander himself. Relatively many testimonies, approximately one third of them, have to do with astronomical and cosmological questions. Hermann Diels and Walter Kranz have edited the doxography (A) and the existing texts (B) of the Presocratic philosophers in Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Berlin 1951-19526. (A quotation like â€Å"DK 12A17†³ means: â€Å"Diels/Kranz, Anaximander, doxographical report no.17†³).| 2. The â€Å"Boundless† as Principle According to Aristotle and Theophrastus, the first Greek philosophers were looking for the â€Å"origin† or â€Å"principle† (the Greek word â€Å"archà ªÃ¢â‚¬  has both meanings) of all things. Anaximander is said to have identified it with â€Å"the Boundless† or â€Å"the Unlimited† (Greek: â€Å"apeiron,† that is, â€Å"that which has no boundaries†). Already in ancient times, it is complained that Anaximander did not explain what he meant by â€Å"the Boundless.† More recently, authors have disputed whether the Boundless should be interpreted as spatially or temporarily without limits, or perhaps as that which has no qualifications, or as that which is inexhaustible. Some scholars have even defended the meaning â€Å"that which is not experienced,† by relating the Greek word â€Å"apeiron† not to â€Å"peras† (â€Å"boundary,† â€Å"limit†), but to â€Å"perao† (â€Å"to experience,â⠂¬  â€Å"to apperceive†). The suggestion, however, is almost irresistible that Greek philosophy, by making the Boundless into the principle of all things, has started on a high level of abstraction. On the other hand, some have pointed out that this use of â€Å"apeiron† is atypical for Greek thought, which was occupied with limit, symmetry and harmony. The Pythagoreans placed the boundless (the â€Å"apeiron†) on the list of negative things, and for Aristotle, too, perfection became aligned with limit (Greek: â€Å"peras†), and thus â€Å"apeiron† with imperfection. Therefore, some authors suspect eastern (Iranian) influence on Anaximander’s ideas. Anaximenes (d. 528 BCE) According to the surviving sources on his life, Anaximenes flourished in the mid 6th century BCE and died around 528. He is the third philosopher of the Milesian School of philosophy, so named because like Thales and Anaximander, Anaximenes was an inhabitant of Miletus, in Ionia (ancient Greece). Theophrastus notes that Anaximenes was an associate, and possibly a student, of Anaximander’s. Anaximenes is best known for his doctrine that air is the source of all things. In this way, he differed with his predecessors like Thales, who held that water is the source of all things, and Anaximander, who thought that all things came from an unspecified boundless stuff. 2. Doctrine of Change Given his doctrine that all things are composed of air, Anaximenes suggested an interesting qualitative account of natural change: [Air] differs in essence in accordance with its rarity or density. When it is thinned it becomes fire, while when it is condensed it becomes wind, then cloud, when still more condensed it becomes water, then earth, then stones. Everything else comes from these. (DK13A5) Influence on later Philosophy Anaximenes’ theory of successive change of matter by rarefaction and condensation was influential in later theories. It is developed by Heraclitus (DK22B31), and criticized by Parmenides (DK28B8.23-24, 47-48). Anaximenes’ general theory of how the materials of the world arise is adopted by Anaxagoras(DK59B16), even though the latter has a very different theory of matter. Both Melissus (DK30B8.3) and Plato (Timaeus 49b-c) see Anaximenes’ theory as providing a common-sense explanation of change. Diogenes of Apollonia makes air the basis of his explicitly monistic theory. The Hippocratic treatise On Breaths uses air as the central concept in a theory of diseases. By providing cosmological accounts with a theory of change, Anaximenes separated them from the realm of mere speculation and made them, at least in conception, scientific theories capable of testing. Thales of Miletus (c. 620 BCE – c. 546 BCE) The ancient Greek philosopher Thales was born in Miletus in Greek Ionia. Aristotle, the major source for Thales’s philosophy and science, identified Thales as the first person to investigate the basic principles, the question of the originating substances of matter and, therefore, as the founder of the school of natural philosophy. Thales was interested in almost everything, investigating almost all areas of knowledge, philosophy, history, science, mathematics, engineering, geography, and politics. He  proposed theories to explain many of the events of nature, the primary substance, the support of the earth, and the cause of change. Thales was much involved in the problems of astronomy and provided a number of explanations of cosmological events which traditionally involved supernatural entities. His questioning approach to the understanding of heavenly phenomena was the beginning of Greek astronomy. Thales’ hypotheses were new and bold, and in freeing phenomena from godly intervention, he paved the way towards scientific endeavor. He founded the Milesian school of natural philosophy, developed the scientific method, and initiated the first western enlightenment. A number of anecdotes is closely connected to Thales’ investigations of the cosmos. When considered in association with his hypotheses they take on added meaning and are most enlightening. Thales was highly esteemed in ancient times, and a letter cited by Diogenes Laertius, and purporting to be from Anaximenes to Pythagoras, advised that all our discourse should begin with a reference to Thales (D.L. II.4). 1. The Writings of Thales Doubts have always existed about whether Thales wrote anything, but a number of ancient reports credit him with writings. Simplicius (Diels, Dox. p. 475) specifically attributed to Thales authorship of the so-called Nautical Star-guide. Diogenes Laertius raised doubts about authenticity, but wrote that ‘according to others [Thales] wrote nothing but two treatises, one On the Solstice and one On the Equinox‘ (D.L. I.23). Lobon of Argus asserted that the writings of Thales amounted to two hundred lines (D.L. I.34), and Plutarch associated Thales with opinions and accounts expressed in verse (Plutarch, De Pyth. or. 18. 402 E). Hesychius, recorded that ‘[Thales] wrote on celestial matters in epic verse, on the equinox, and much else’ (DK, 11A2). Callimachus credited Thales with the sage advice that navigators should navigate by Ursa Minor (D.L. I.23), advice which may have been in writing. Diogenes mentions a poet, Choerilus, who declared that ‘[Thales] was the first to maintain the immortality of the soul’ (D.L. I.24), and in De Anima, Aristotle’s words ‘from what is recorded about [Thales]‘, indicate that Aristotle was working from a written source. Diogenes recorded that  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ[Thales] seems by some accounts to have been the first to study astronomy, the first to predict eclipses of the sun and to fix the solstices; so Eudemus in his History of Astronomy. It was this which gained for him the admiration of Xenophanes and Herodotus and the notice of Heraclitus and Democritus’ (D.L. I.23). Eudemus who wrote a History of Astronomy, and also on geometry and theology, must be considered as a possible source for the hypotheses of Thales. The information provided by Diogenes is the sort of material which he would have included in his History of Astronomy, and it is possible that the titles On the Solstice, and On the Equinox were a vailable to Eudemus. Xenophanes, Herodotus, Heraclitus and Democritus were familiar with the work of Thales, and may have had a work by Thales available to them. A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the North or South Pole. The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the seasonal movement of the Suns path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In many cultures the solstices mark either the beginning or the midpoint of winter and summer. The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. The day of the solstice is either the longest day of the year (in summer) or the shortest day of the year (in winter) for any place on Earth, because the length of time between sunrise and sunset on that day is the yearly maximum or minimum for that place. Proclus recorded that Thales was followed by a great wealth of geometers, most of whom remain as honoured names. They commence with Mamercus, who was a pupil of Thales, and include Hippias of Elis, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Eudoxus of Cnidus, Philippus of Mende, Euclid, and Eudemus, a friend of Aristotle, who wrote histories of arithmetic, of astronomy, and of geometry, and many lesser known names. It is possible that writings of Thales were available to some of these men. Any records which Thales may have kept would have been an advantage in his own work. This is especially true of mathematics, of the dates and times determined when fixing the solstices, the positions of stars, and in  financial transactions. It is difficult to believe that Thales would not have written down the information he had gathered in his travels, particularly the geometry he investigated in Egypt and his measuring of the height of the pyramid, his hypotheses about nature, and the cause of change. Proclus acknowledged Thales as the discoverer of a number of specific theorems (A Commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s Elements 65. 8-9; 250. 16-17). This suggests that Eudemus, Proclus’s source had before him the written records of Thales’s discoveries. How did Thales ‘prove’ his theorems if not in written words and sketches? The works On the Solstice, On the Equinox, which were attributed to Thales (D.L. I.23), and the ‘Nautical Star guide, to which Simplicius referred, may have been sources for the History of Astronomy of Eudemus (D.L. I.23). Pythagoras (c.570—c.495 BCE) The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Pythagoras must have been one of the world’s greatest persons, but he wrote nothing, and it is hard to say how much of the doctrine we know as Pythagorean is due to the founder of the society and how much is later development. It is also hard to say how much of what we are told about the life of Pythagoras is trustworthy; for a mass of legend gathered around his name at an early date. Sometimes he is represented as a man of science, and sometimes as a preacher of mystic doctrines, and we might be tempted to regard one or other of those characters as alone historical. The truth is that there is no need to reject either of the traditional views. The union of mathematical genius and mysticism is common enough. Originally from Samos, Pythagoras founded at Kroton (in southern Italy) a society which was at once a religious community and a scientific school. Such a body was bound to excite jealousy and mistrust, and we hear of many struggles. Pythagoras himself had to flee from Kroton to Metapontion, where he died. It is stated that he was a disciple of Anaximander, his astronomy was the natural development of Anaximander’s. Also, the way in which the Pythagorean geometry developed also bears witness to its descent from that of Miletos. The great problem at this date was the duplication of the square, a problem which gave rise to the theorem of the square on the hypotenuse, commonly  known still as the Pythagorean proposition (Euclid, I. 47). If we were right in assuming that Thales worked with the old 3:4:5 triangle, the connection is obvious. Pythagoras argued that there are three kinds of men, just as there are three classes of strangers who come to the Olympic Games. The lowest consists of those who come to buy and sell, and next above them are those who come to compete. Best of all are those who simply come to look on. Men may be classified accordingly as lovers of wisdom, lovers of honor, and lovers of gain. That seems to imply the doctrine of the tripartite soul, which is also attributed to the early Pythagoreans on good authority, though it is common now to ascribe it to Plato. There are, however, clear references to it before his time, and it agrees much better with the general outlook of the Pythagoreans. The comparison of human life to a gathering like the Games was often repeated in later days. Pythagoras also taught the doctrine of Rebirth or transmigration, which we may have learned from the contemporary Orphics. Xenophanes made fun of him for pretending to recognize the voice of a departed friend in the howls of a beaten dog. Empedocles seems to be referring to him when he speaks of a man who could remember what happened ten or twenty generations before. It was on this that the doctrine of Recollection, which plays so great a part in Plato, was based. The things we perceive with the senses, Plato argues, remind us of things we knew when the soul was out of the body and could perceive reality directly. There is more difficulty about the cosmology of Pythagoras. Hardly any school ever professed such reverence for its founder’s authority as the Pythagoreans. ‘The Master said so’ was their watchword. On the other hand, few schools have shown so much capacity for progress and for adapting themselves to new conditions. Pythagoras started from the cosmical system of Anaximenes. Aristotle tells us that the Pythagoreans represented the world as inhaling ‘air’ form the boundless mass outside it, and this ‘air’ is identified with ‘the unlimited’. When, however, we come to the process by which things are developed out of the ‘unlimited’, we observe a great change. We hear nothing more of ‘separating out’ or even of rarefaction and condensation. Instead of that we have the theory that what gives form to the  Unlimited is the Limit. That is the great contribution of Pythagoras to philosophy, and we must try to understand it. Now the function of the Limit is usually illustrated from the arts of music and medicine, and we have seen how important these two arts were for Pythagoreans, so it is natural to infer that the key to its meaning is to be found in them. It may be taken as certain that Pythagoras himself discovered the numerical ratios which determine the concordant intervals of the musical scale. Similar to musical intervals, in medicine there are opposites, such as the hot and the cold, the wet and the dry, and it is the business of the physician to produce a proper ‘blend’ of these in the human body. In a well-known passage of Plato’s Phaedo (86 b) we are told by Simmias that the Pythagoreans held the body to be strung like an instrument to a certain pitch, hot and cold, wet and dry taking the place of high and low in music. Musical tuning and health are alike means arising from the application of Limit to the Unlimited. It was natural for Pythagoras to look for something of the same kind in the world at large. Briefly stated, the doctrine of Pythagoras was that all things are numbers. In certain fundamental cases, the early Pythagoreans represented numbers and explained their properties by means of dots arrang ed in certain ‘figures’ or patterns. Zeno’s Paradoxes In the fifth century B.C.E., Zeno of Elea offered arguments that led to conclusions contradicting what we all know from our physical experience–that runners run, that arrows fly, and that there are many different things in the world. The arguments were paradoxes for the ancient Greek philosophers. Because most of the arguments turn crucially on the notion that space and time are infinitely divisible—for example, that for any distance there is such a thing as half that distance, and so on—Zeno was the first person in history to show that the concept of infinity is problematical. In his Achilles Paradox, Achilles races to catch a slower runner–for example, a tortoise that is crawling away from him. The tortoise has a head start, so if Achilles hopes to overtake it, he must run at least to the place where the tortoise presently is, but by the time he arrives there, it will have crawled to a new place, so then Achilles must run to this new place, but the  tortoise meanwhile will have crawled on, and so forth. Achilles will never catch the tortoise, says Zeno. Therefore, good reasoning shows that fast runners never can catch slow ones. So much the worse for the claim that motion really occurs, Zeno says in defense of his mentor Parmenides who had argued that motion is an illusion. Although practically no scholars today would agree with Zeno’s conclusion, we can not escape the paradox by jumping up from our seat and chasing down a tortoise, nor by saying Achilles should run to some other target place ahead of where the tortoise is at the moment. What is required is an analysis of Zeno’s own argument that does not get us embroiled in new paradoxes nor impoverish our mathematics and science. This article explains his ten known paradoxes and considers the treatments that have been offered. Zeno assumed distances and durations can be divided into an actual infinity (what we now call a transfinite infinity) of indivisible parts, and he assumed these are too many for the runner to complete. Aristotle‘s treatment said Zeno should have assumed there are only potential infinities, and that neither places nor times divide into indivisible parts. His treatment became the generally accepted solution until the late 19th century. The current standard treatment says Zeno was right to conclude that a runner’s path contains an actual infinity of parts, but he was mistaken to assume this is too many. This treatment employs the apparatus of calculus which has proved its indispensability for the development of modern science. In the twentieth century it finally became clear that disallowing actual infinities, as Aristotle wanted, hampers the growth of set theory and ultimately of mathematics and physics. This standard treatment took hundreds of years to perfect and was due to the flexibility of intellectuals who were willing to replace old theories and their concepts with more fruitful ones, despite the damage done to common sense and our naive intuitions. The article ends by exploring newer treatments of the paradoxes—and related paradoxes such as Thomson’s Lamp Paradox—that were developed since the 1950s. Parmenides (b. 510 BCE) Parmenides was a Greek philosopher and poet, born of an illustrious family about BCE. 510, at Elea in Lower Italy, and is is the chief representative of the Eleatic philosophy. He was held in high esteem by his fellow-citizens for his excellent legislation, to which they ascribed the prosperity and wealth of the town. He was also admired for his exemplary life. A â€Å"Parmenidean life† was proverbial among the Greeks. He is commonly represented as a disciple of Xenophanes. Parmenides wrote after Heraclitus, and in conscious opposition to him, given the evident allusion to Hericlitus: â€Å"for whom it is and is not, the same and not the same, and all things travel in opposite directions† (fr. 6, 8). Little more is known of his biography than that he stopped at Athens on a journey in his sixty-fifth year, and there became acquainted with the youthful Socrates. That must have been in the middle of the fifth century BCE., or shortly after it. Parmenides broke with the older Ionic prose tradition by writing in hexameter verse. His didactic poem, called On Nature, survives in fragments, although the Proem (or introductory discourse) of the work has been preserved. Parmenides was a young man when he wrote it, for the goddess who reveals the truth to him addresses him as â€Å"youth.† The work is considered inartistic. Its Hesiodic style was appropriate for the cosmogony he describes in the second part, but is unsuited to the arid dialectic of the first. Parmenides was no born poet, and we must ask what led him to take this new departure. The example of Xenophanes’ poetic writings is not a complete explanation; for the poetry of Parmenides is as unlike that of Xenophanes as it well can be, and his style is more like Hesiod and the Orphics. In the Proem Parmenides describes his ascent to the home of the goddess who is supposed to speak the remainder of the verses; this is a reflexion of the conventional ascents i nto heaven which were almost as common as descents into hell in the apocalyptic literature of those days. The Proem opens with Parmenides representing himself as borne on a chariot and attended by the Sunmaidens who have quitted the Halls of Night to guide him on his journey. They pass along the highway till they come to the Gate of Night and Day, which is locked and barred. The key is in the keeping of Dike (Right), the Avenger, who is persuaded to unlock it by the Sunmaidens.  They pass in through the gate and are now, of course, in the realms of Day. The goal of the journey is the palace of a goddess who welcomes Parmenides and instructs him in the two ways, that of Truth and the deceptive way of Belief, in which is no truth at all. All this is described without inspiration and in a purely conventional manner, so it must be interpreted by the canons of the apocalyptic style. It is clearly meant to indicate that Parmenides had been converted, that he had passed from error (night) to truth (day), and the Two Ways must represent his former error and the truth which is now revealed to h im. There is reason to believe that the Way of Belief is an account of Pythagorean cosmology. In any case, it is surely impossible to regard it as anything else than a description of some error. The goddess says so in words that cannot be explained away. Further, this erroneous belief is not the ordinary man’s view of the world, but an elaborate system, which seems to be a natural development the Ionian cosmology on certain lines, and there is no other system but the Pythagorean that fulfils this requirement. To this it has been objected that Parmenides would not have taken the trouble to expound in detail a system he had altogether rejected, but that is to mistake the character of the apocalyptic convention. It is not Parmenides, but the goddess, that expounds the system, and it is for this reason that the beliefs described are said to be those of ‘mortals’. Now a description of the ascent of the soul would be quite incomplete without a picture of the region from which it had escaped. The goddess must reveal the two ways at the parting of which Parmenides stands, and bid him choose the better. The rise of mathematics in the Pythagorean school had revealed for the first time the power of thought. To the mathematician of all men it is the same thing that can be thought and that can be, and this is the principle from which Parmenides starts. It is impossible to think what is not, and it is impossible for what cannot be thought to be. The great question, Is it or is it not? is therefore equivalent to the question, Can it be thought or not? In any case, the work thus has two divisions. The first discusses the truth, and the second the world of illusion — that is, the world of the senses and the erroneous opinions of mankind founded upon them. In his opinion truth  lies in the perception that existence is, and error in the idea that non-existence also can be. Nothing can have real existence but what is conceivable; therefore to be imagined and to be able to exist are the same thing, and there is no development. The essence of what is conceivable is incapable of development, imperishable, immutable, unbounded, and indivisible. What is various and mutable, all development, is a delusive phantom. Perception is thought directed to the pure essence of being; the phenomenal world is a delusion, and the opinions formed concerning it can only be improbable. Parmenides goes on to consider in the light of this principle the consequences of saying that anything is. In the first place, it cannot have come into being. If it had, it must have arisen from nothing or from something. It cannot have arisen from nothing; for there is no nothing. It cannot have arisen from something; for here is nothing else than what is. Nor can anything else besides itself come into being; for there can be no empty space in which it could do so. Is it or is it not? If it is, then it is now, all at once. In this way Parmenides refutes all accounts of the origin of the world. Ex nihilo nihil fit. Further, if it is, it simply is, and it cannot be more or less. There is, therefore, as much of it in one place as in another. (That makes rarefaction and condensation impossible.) it is continuous and indivisible; for there is nothing but itself which could prevent its parts being in contact with one another. It is therefore full, a continuous indivisible plenum. (That is directed against the Pythagorean theory of a discontinuous reality.) Further, it is immovable. If it moved, it must move into empty space, and empty space is nothing, and there is no nothing. Also it is finite and spherical; for it cannot be in one direction any more than in another, and the sphere is the only figure of which this can be said. What is, therefore a finite, spherical, motionless, continuous plenum, and there is nothing beyond it. Coming into being and ceasing to be are mere ‘names’, and so is motion, and still more color and the like. They are not even thoughts; for a thought must be a thought of something that is, and none of these can be. Such is the conclusion to which the view of the real as a single body inevitably leads, and there is no escape from it. The ‘matter’ of our physical text-books is just the real of Parmenides; and, unless we can find room for something else than matter, we are shut up into his account of reality. No subsequent system could afford to ignore this, but of course it was impossible to acquiesce permanently in a doctrine like that of Parmenides. It deprives the world we know of all claim to existence, and reduces it to something which is hardly even an illusion. If we are to give an intelligible account of the world, we must certainly introduce motion again somehow. That can never be taken for granted any more, as it was by the early cosmologists; we must attempt to explain it if we are to escape from the conclusions of Parmenides. Heraclitus (fl. c.500 BCE) A Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, Heraclitus criticizes his predecessors and contemporaries for their failure to see the unity in experience. He claims to announce an everlasting Word (Logos) according to which all things are one, in some sense. Opposites are necessary for life, but they are unified in a system of balanced exchanges. The world itself consists of a law-like interchange of elements, symbolized by fire. Thus the world is not to be identified with any particular substance, but rather with an ongoing process governed by a law of change. The underlying law of nature also manifests itself as a moral law for human beings. Heraclitus is the first Western philosopher to go beyond physical theory in search of metaphysical foundations and moral applications. Anaxagoras (c.500—428 BCE) Anaxagoras of Clazomenae was an important Presocratic natural philosopher and scientist who lived and taught in Athens for approximately thirty years. He gained notoriety for his materialistic views, particularly his contention that the sun was a fiery rock. This led to charges of impiety, and he was sentenced to death by the Athenian court. He avoided this penalty by leaving Athens, and he spent his remaining years in exile. While Anaxagoras proposed theories on a variety of subjects, he is most noted for two theories. First, he speculated that in the physical world everything contains a portion of everything else. His observation of how nutrition works in animals led him to conclude that in order for the food an animal eats to turn into bone,  hair, flesh, and so forth, it must already contain all of those constituents within it. The second theory of significance is Anaxagoras’ postulation of Mind (Nous) as the initiating and governing principle of the cosmos. Democritus ( 460—370 BCE) Democritus was born at Abdera, about 460 BCE, although according to some 490. His father was from a noble family and of great wealth, and contributed largely towards the entertainment of the army of Xerxes on his return to Asia. As a reward for this service the Persian monarch gave and other Abderites presents and left among them several Magi. Democritus, according to Diogenes Laertius, was instructed by these Magi in astronomy and theology. After the death of his father he traveled in search of wisdom, and devoted his inheritance to this purpose, amounting to one hundred talents. He is said to have visited Egypt, Ethiopia, Persia, and India. Whether, in the course of his travels, he visited Athens or studied under Anaxagoras is uncertain. During some part of his life he was instructed in Pythagoreanism, and was a disciple of Leucippus. After several years of traveling, Democritus returned to Abdera, with no means of subsistence. His brother Damosis, however, took him in. According to the law of Abdera, whoever wasted his patrimony would be deprived of the rites of burial. Democritus, hoping to avoid this disgrace, gave public lectures. Petronius relates that he was acquainted with the virtues of herbs, plants, and stones, and that he spent his life in making experiments upon natural bodies. He acquired fame with his knowledge of natural phenomena, and predicted changes in the weather. He used this ability to make people believe that he could predict future events. They not only viewed him as something more than mortal, but even proposed to put him in control of their public affairs. He preferred a contemplative to an active life, and therefore declined these public honors and passed the remainder of his days in solitude. Credit cannot be given to the tale that Democritus spent his leisure hours in chemical researches after the philosopher’s stone — the dream of a later age; or to the story of his conversation with Hippocrates concerning Democritus’s supposed madness, as based on spurious letters. Democritus has been commonly known as â€Å"The Laughing Philosopher,† and it is gravely related  by Seneca that he never appeared in public with out expressing his contempt of human follies while laughing. Accordingly, we find that among his fellow-citizens he had the name of â€Å"the mocker†. He died at more than a hundred years of age. It is said that from then on he spent his days and nights in caverns and sepulchers, and that, in order to master his intellectual faculties, he blinded himself with burning glass. This story, however, is discredited by the writers who mention it insofar as they say he wrote books and dissected animals, neither of which could be done we ll without eyes. Democritus expanded the atomic theory of Leucippus. He maintained the impossibility of dividing things ad infinitum. From the difficulty of assigning a beginning of time, he argued the eternity of existing nature, of void space, and of motion. He supposed the atoms, which are originally similar, to be impenetrable and have a density proportionate to their volume. All motions are the result of active and passive affection. He drew a distinction between primary motion and its secondary effects, that is, impulse and reaction. This is the basis of the law of necessity, by which all things in nature are ruled. The worlds which we see — with all their properties of immensity, resemblance, and dissimilitude — result from the endless multiplicity of falling atoms. The human soul consists of globular atoms of fire, which impart movement to the body. Maintaining his atomic theory throughout, Democritus introduced the hypothesis of images or idols (eidola), a kind of emanation from external objects, which make an impression on our senses, and from the influence of which he deduced sensation (aesthesis) and thought (noesis). He distinguished between a rude, imperfect, and therefore false perception and a true one. In the same manner, consistent with this theory, he accounted for the popular notions of Deity; partly through our incapacity to understand fully the phenomena of which we are witnesses, and partly from the impressions communicated by certain beings (eidola) of enormous stature and resembling the human figure which inhabit the air. We know these from dreams and the causes of divination. He carried his theory into practical philosophy also, laying down that happiness consisted in an even temperament. From this he deduced his moral principles and prudential maxims. It was from Democritus that  Epicurus borrowed the princi pal features of his philosophy. Empedocles (c.492—432 BCE) Empedocles (of Acagras in Sicily) was a philosopher and poet: one of the most important of the philosophers working before Socrates (the Presocratics), and a poet of outstanding ability and of great influence upon later poets such as Lucretius. His works On Nature and Purifications (whether they are two poems or only one – see below) exist in more than 150 fragments. He has been regarded variously as a materialist physicist, a shamanic magician, a mystical theologian, a healer, a democratic politician, a living god, and a fraud. To him is attributed the invention of the four-element theory of matter (earth, air, fire, and water), one of the earliest theories of particle physics, put forward seemingly to rescue the phenomenal world from the static monism of Parmenides. Empedocles’ world-view is of a cosmic cycle of eternal change, growth and decay, in which two personified cosmic forces, Love and Strife, engage in an eternal battle for supremacy. In psychology and ethics Empedocles was a follower of Pythagoras, hence a believer in the transmigration of souls, and hence also a vegetarian. He claims to be a daimà ´n, a divine or potentially divine being, who, having been banished from the immortals gods for ‘three times countless years’ for committing the sin of meat-eating and forced to suffer successive reincarnations in an purificatory journey through the different orders of nature and elements of the cosmos, has now achieved the most perfect of human states and will be reborn as an immortal. He also claims seemingly magical powers including the ability to revive the dead and to control the winds and rains.

Suspect in USS Cole bombing kills self in Yemen :: essays research papers

A suspected al Qaeda terrorist wanted in connection with the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole blew himself up with a grenade late Wednesday as Yemeni security forces closed in on him in Yemen's capital city, security sources said. Authorities had gone to a suspected al Qaeda hideout, a house in a poor section of Sana'a's downtown, and a firefight ensued. The suspect jumped into a taxi, and as authorities tried to stop the vehicle, the man pulled out a grenade and was apparently trying to throw it when it exploded in his hand, sources said. A police statement identified the suspect as Sameer Mohammed al-Hada, a 25-year-old Yemen native. He was one of the most important people on a list of wanted al Qaeda suspects that the United States had given to Yemeni officials, sources said. Al-Hada was wanted in connection with the bombing of the Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 39. Yemeni security sources said al-Hada had trained in Afghanistan. Security sources said al-Hada's family extensive ties to terrorism. One of al-Hada's sisters was married to one of the suspected September 11 hijackers who piloted an American Airlines jet into the Pentagon. His other sister, they said, is married to Mustafa Abdulkader Aabed al-Ansari, a Yemen native whose name showed up on an FBI terrorist alert late Monday. In that alert, the FBI warned law enforcement agencies and the public to be on the lookout for 18 suspected al Qaeda operatives, most from Yemen, who are planning an attack against U.S. interests. Al-Hada's name was not on the terror alert. In addition, one U.S. official said, al-Hada "was also the son of a man believed to be prominent in Al Qaeda." Yemen cracks down on al Qaeda The relationship between the United States and Yemen occasionally became strained in the months following the Cole bombing, with cultural differences hindering cooperation between the two countries. That changed following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, visited Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih this week, and President Bush called Salih on Monday, thanking him for his country's cooperation in the fight against terror. One U.S. official said Yemen had "one of the most significant" al Qaeda organizational links in the world. Thousands of veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war live in Yemen and are capable of launching "uncoordinated or coordinated attacks," diplomatic sources told CNN in October.

Fiction and Literature Outdoor Literature

â€Å"When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has not achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language. â€Å"- James Earl Jones The major types of literature across the world are English, Greek, Latin, Roman, African, Indian, American, French, Irish, Spain, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Sanskrit, Nepali, Russian and Canadian literature. Literature is a well-considered form of a language that influences the minds of readers of all age.Italian Renaissance is the age of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, whereas Greece Literature mostly comprises the literature of Greek Gods and Goddesses. Romanticism of Wordsworth is the literature which is oriented towards nature and can be considered to be reverse of classicism. Today's era of Modernism and Post modernism uses artificial language based on ambiguity, satire and parody. Some authors choose long composition methods to link more than one story. Moreover, literature being a part of scientific language is also used to analyze grammar, usage, lexis and semantics. Kinds of Literature Fictional LiteratureDrama: Drama is the theatrical dialog performed on stage, it consists of 5 acts. Tragedy, comedy and melodrama are the sub types of drama. e. g William Shakespeare, an Elizabethan dramatist composed the plays Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear that are famous because of its combination of tragedy and comedy. Problem play, farce, fantasy, monologue and comedy of manners are some kinds of drama. Tragedy: It is a story of the major character who faces bad luck. Tragedy, elements of horrors and struggle usually concludes with the death of a person. The Illiad and The Odyssey by Homer are the two famous Greek tragedies.Comedy: The lead character overcomes the conflicts and overall look of the comedy is full of laughter and the issues are handled very lightly. The elements used in the comedy are romanticism, exaggeration, surprises and a comic view of life. Melodrama: Melodrama is a blend of two nouns – ‘melody' and ‘drama'. It is a musical play most popular by 1840. Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the most popular plays describing cruelty of labor life. It has happy ending like comedy. Tragicomedy: The play that begins with serious mode but has a happy ending is tragicomedy. Prose LiteratureHistory, journalism, philosophy, fiction and fantasy writings, scientific writings, children's literature authors and writers are included in Prose Literature. Myth Myths are the fairy tales with lots of adventure, magic and it lacks scientific proof. Nursery rhymes, songs and lullabies are forms of myths that strike the interest of children. Creative and nature myth are stories of the stars and moon. Magic tales are wonderful tales of quests and fantasy. Hero myths are ideal heroes of adventure. Short story The small commercial fiction, true or imaginary, smaller than a novel is known as short st ory.Short stories are well-grouped that followed the sequence of easy and no complexity in beginning, concrete theme, some dialogs and ends with resolution. They are oral and short-lived which have gossip, joke, fable, myth, parable, hearsay and legend. Novel Novel can be based on comic, crime, detective, adventurous, romantic or political story divided into many parts. The major kinds of novels are: Allegory: The symbolic story revolves around two meanings. What the writer says directly is totally different from the conveyed meanings at the end. Political and Historical allegory are two forms of Allegory.Comedy: Satire is very common form in comedy novels and tries to focus on the facts of the society and their desires. Epistolary: The collection of letters or mails is the epistolary novels. Samuel Richardson's Pamela and Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrew are the few examples of Epistolary novels. Feminist: These types of novels are written by women writers around the world to describ e the place of women in a male dominated society. E. g Virginia Woolf's â€Å"A Room of one's Own†. Gothic: Gothic fiction is the combination of both horror and romance. Melodrama and parody were grouped in the Gothic literature in its early stages.Ironic: Ironic novels are known for excessive use of narrative technique. It is satire on the contemporary society about cultural, social and political issues. Realism: The realistic novels are based on the truths of ordinary society and their problems. It focuses on the plot, structure and the characters of the novel. Romance: Love and relationship topics are handled optimistically in the romantic novels. It originated in western countries; basically the story revolves around love affairs of main characters. Some popular sub categories of romantic novels are paranormal, erotic, suspense, multicultural and inspirational romance.Narration: In narrative style, writer becomes the third person who narrates whole story around the charac ters. Naturalism: Naturalism is based on the theory of Darwin. Picaresque: It is opposite to romance novels as it involves ideals, themes and principles that refuse the so-called prejudices of the society. Psychological: It's the psychological prospective of mind with a resolution. Satire: Satirical novels criticize the contemporary society. The most famous novels are Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim (1954), George Orwell's Animal Farm and Randell Jarrell's Pictures from an Institution (1954).Stream of Consciousness: James Joyce's stream of consciousness is all about the thought coming up in the minds of the readers. A novel also constitutes categories on social and political aspects like proletarian, psychological, protest novel, government, didactic, materialist novel, allegorical novel, novel of engagement, naturalistic novel, Marxist novel, radical novel, revolutionary novel, anti-war novel, utopian novel, futuristic novel, anarchist novel, p roblem novel, social philosophy novel, novel of ideas, problem play and speculative novel. Folk TaleFolk Tales are traditional stories that have been creating interest since ancient times. The children and old persons like religious story, magic and superstition as well. Fable, tall tales, cumulative, trickster and proverbs are the sub categories of folk tales. Mythology or legend is the ancient religious stories of origin and human civilization such as story of Robin Hood. Types of poetry Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in the tranquility. Greek poetry is found in free verse and we have rhymes in the Persian poem. Are you wondering how to write a poem, here are the followings forms of poem?Sonnet: Sonnet is the short poem of 14 lines grouped into Shakespearean and Italian sonnets. Ballad: The poems that are on the subject matter of love and sung by the poet or group of singers as telling readers a story. Elegy: This type of poem is the lamenting of the death of a person or his near one. Elegy Written in Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray is one of the famous poems marked as sad poems of the ages. Ode: Ode is the formal and long poem serious in nature. Allegory: Allegory is the famous form of poetry and is loved by the readers because of its two symbolic meanings.One is the literal meaning and another is the deep meaning. Epic and Mock epic: Epics are the narrative poems that convey moral and culture of that period. The Odyssey and Iliad are one of the largest philosophical epics written by Samuel Butler. Rape of the Lock is the great mock epic focusing on the minor incident of cutting of a curl. Lyric: It has Greek origin that gives a melody of imagery. It is the direct appeal of a poet to the readers about any incident or historical events. Lyrics are most of the time similar to ode or sonnets in the form. Nonfiction Literature:Nonfiction Literature is opposite to fiction as it is informative and comprises the interesting f acts with analysis and illustrations. Main types of Non- fiction literature Autobiography and Biography An autobiography is the story of the author's own life. ‘Family Life at the White House' by Bill Clinton is focused on his life and achievements. ‘Wings of fire' by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Mein kampf of Adolph Hitler are the autobiography books on real life. Essay Generally the authors' point of view about any particular topic in a detailed way is an essay.Essay has simple way of narrating the main subject; therefore they are descriptive, lengthy, subject oriented and comparative. Different types of essay: Personal essay, expository essay type, response essay, process essay, persuasive essay, argumentative essay, critical essay type, interview essay, reflective essay type, evaluation, observation essay, comparison type of essay, application essay, compare and contrast essay and narrative essay type. Literary criticism It is the critical study of a piece of literature . Here critics apply different theories, evaluation, discussion and explanation to the text or an essay to give total judgments.Plato, Aristotle, T. S. Eliot, Saussure and Frye are some of the famous critics. Travel literature It is the narration of any tour or foreign journey with the description of the events, dates, places, sights and author's views. Francis Bacon's natural philosophies in the middle of Seventeenth century is one famous example of travel literature. Diary Diaries are the incidents recorded by the author without any means of publishing them. It is the rough work of one's daily routine, happenings, memorable days or events in their life. E. g.Anne Frank's ‘Diary of a Young Girl' was published by her father in 1940s; it's a story of a girl trapped during German invade Amsterdam. Diaries consists of business letters, newsletters, weather listing. In today's world of Internet, writers write in blogs, forums, polls and social networking sites to convey their thou ghts. This also is a form of diary writing. Some profound forms of diaries are online diary, travel, sleep, tagebuch, fictional, dream and death diaries. Journal Journal is one of types of diaries that records infinite information. They are of following types:Personal: It is for personal analysis. In this journal one can write his goal, daily thoughts, events and situations. Academic: It is for students who do research or dissertation on particular subjects. Creative journals: Creative journals are the imaginative writing of a story, poem or narrative. Trade: Trade journals are used by industrial purposes where they dictate practical information. Dialectical: This journal is use by students to write on double column notebook. They can write facts, experiments, and observation on the left side and right side can be a series of thoughts and response with an end.Newspaper It is a collection of daily or weekly news of politics, sports, leisure, fashion, movies and business. Magazine Mag azines can be the current affairs or opinions well collected covering various content. Frame Narrative The psychoanalysis of human mind is present in a frame narrative. Here we find another story within the main story. Some of the popular narratives are Pegasus, Wuthering Heights, The Flying Horse, The Three Pigs, A Time to keep and the Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays. Outdoor literature Outdoor literature is the literature of adventure that gives whole exploration of an event.Exciting moments of life such as horse riding, fishing, trekking can be a part of literature. Some outdoor books are ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' by Mark Twain, ‘Treasure Island' by Robert Louis, ‘Voyages' by Richard Hakluyt and ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush' by Eric Newby. Narrative form of Literature Today we find movies, audio and video CD's and Cassettes that present current literature in use. Digital poetry is an upcoming trend too. Comic books, cartoons, eBook and Internet games are the learning methods for children. Literature includes centuries, human nature, cultures and souls. Isn't it?

Native American Literature

Indians, we picture them as half naked people causing raucous throughout the land, messing with the settlers, and being completely uncivilized and uneducated. There Is no way that these people could have created stones to be passed down throughout the generations but they did and they still are around to this very day. These oral traditions, or stories that are told by word of mouth, include â€Å"The World on the Turtle's Back†, which explains to us how our world came to be.The story â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo† gives us lessons that easily correlate with the building of a person's hearted, and finally, â€Å"Fox and Coyote and the Whale† persuades us to fight for who and what we love. These tall tales can be Influential to our lives as Americans because the stories tell of lessons that could be essential to all of the human race when it comes to developing one's self to become a better soul. The story called â€Å"World on Turtle's Back† gives us an idea on how the Indians believed the world began.Before there was an Earth there was a skyward. There, a pregnant lady went to dig up the roots from a sacred tree and was then either pushed Into or accidental fallen through a hole that exposed an entire new world underneath. (Page 42, Paragraph 1) As she fell and grasped to the edges of skyward, remnants of soil and roots were attached to her hands. Luckily, as she fell a group of birds caught her on their wingspan and finally laded her down upon a sea turtle's shell.Then, a heroic muskrat brought up soil from deep within the ocean underneath so the fallen lady could set to work creating land. ( Page 42, Paragraph 9) Soon the pregnant woman gave birth to her child, a daughter, and together the two travel around the turtle's back until land was formed. As her child aged she became magically pregnant by the West Wind. Page 42) She then gives birth to twins who constantly quarrel, for they are opposites, good and evil. Together they balance t he world, inventing opposing animals such as the peaceful deer and violent mountain lion. Page 40, Paragraph 2) As the story progresses, it tells of reasons for most common assurances in nature, such as the moon being the twin, as in today's ideas of evil It Is associated with the darkness that comes from the night. The second story Is entitled â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo†. This story expresses to the dalliance various character traits that should be Instilled within a person or avoided. One of these values is to respect others. When coyote kicks the skull of the dead bull, and the bull comes back alive to kill him, it expresses how important it is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Page 25, paragraph 1) Another lesson it emphasizes Is to listen to what you're told to do, as it is for a reason. When the bull gives coyote the cow, he tells him not to eat It, but coyote does not listen and defies him. (page 28-29) Coyote at this point Is very dishonest and greed y. He thinks that he can get away with eating the cow and perhaps getting another one from the bull, hush leading up to another life lesson, karma. When coyote kills the cow, an old woman tells him that he should not be cooking the cow for that is woman's work.At this point, coyote is being incredibly vain and this woman is being very sneaky and steals all of his food. (Page 28, paragraph 2) This proves that what comes around goes around and that you should let yourself become slobbered, which all people have The last story is called â€Å"The Fox, Coyote, and Whale† and it teaches a lesson on fighting for those you love. Fox's wife, leaves him to be the evil whale that occupies the river. Page 44, Paragraph 1) Fox is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he stops at no cost and risks his life to retrieve her from the whale's possession.While trying to take his wife back, the evil whale attempts to kill Fox, Coyote, and Fox's wife, but Fox loves these people and protects th em over himself and hides them within his pipe, saving them all. (Page 45, Paragraph 1) As Fox's wife gets away from Whale, she feels as if she had been awaken from a spell, for once she is returned to fox she becomes happy again. (Page 45, Paragraph 4) So in other words, love can cast a spell n you causing you to make rash decisions while under its magical powers.Of course, Fox finally forgives his wife, but this proves that you should not cheat on your significant other. So in conclusion, Native American literature is very important to our society. The themes of all of the stories are easily related to everyday life. From the positive moments to the very lows, lessons can be learned from these tales. To the people of Indian cultures these stories are still very relevant to their lives. It is the only surviving history that they have of the prior lives of their relatives, so they must keep it preserved for generations to come. Native American Literature Indians, we picture them as half naked people causing raucous throughout the land, messing with the settlers, and being completely uncivilized and uneducated. There Is no way that these people could have created stones to be passed down throughout the generations but they did and they still are around to this very day. These oral traditions, or stories that are told by word of mouth, include â€Å"The World on the Turtle's Back†, which explains to us how our world came to be.The story â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo† gives us lessons that easily correlate with the building of a person's hearted, and finally, â€Å"Fox and Coyote and the Whale† persuades us to fight for who and what we love. These tall tales can be Influential to our lives as Americans because the stories tell of lessons that could be essential to all of the human race when it comes to developing one's self to become a better soul. The story called â€Å"World on Turtle's Back† gives us an idea on how the Indians believed the world began.Before there was an Earth there was a skyward. There, a pregnant lady went to dig up the roots from a sacred tree and was then either pushed Into or accidental fallen through a hole that exposed an entire new world underneath. (Page 42, Paragraph 1) As she fell and grasped to the edges of skyward, remnants of soil and roots were attached to her hands. Luckily, as she fell a group of birds caught her on their wingspan and finally laded her down upon a sea turtle's shell.Then, a heroic muskrat brought up soil from deep within the ocean underneath so the fallen lady could set to work creating land. ( Page 42, Paragraph 9) Soon the pregnant woman gave birth to her child, a daughter, and together the two travel around the turtle's back until land was formed. As her child aged she became magically pregnant by the West Wind. Page 42) She then gives birth to twins who constantly quarrel, for they are opposites, good and evil. Together they balance t he world, inventing opposing animals such as the peaceful deer and violent mountain lion. Page 40, Paragraph 2) As the story progresses, it tells of reasons for most common assurances in nature, such as the moon being the twin, as in today's ideas of evil It Is associated with the darkness that comes from the night. The second story Is entitled â€Å"Coyote and Buffalo†. This story expresses to the dalliance various character traits that should be Instilled within a person or avoided. One of these values is to respect others. When coyote kicks the skull of the dead bull, and the bull comes back alive to kill him, it expresses how important it is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Page 25, paragraph 1) Another lesson it emphasizes Is to listen to what you're told to do, as it is for a reason. When the bull gives coyote the cow, he tells him not to eat It, but coyote does not listen and defies him. (page 28-29) Coyote at this point Is very dishonest and greed y. He thinks that he can get away with eating the cow and perhaps getting another one from the bull, hush leading up to another life lesson, karma. When coyote kills the cow, an old woman tells him that he should not be cooking the cow for that is woman's work.At this point, coyote is being incredibly vain and this woman is being very sneaky and steals all of his food. (Page 28, paragraph 2) This proves that what comes around goes around and that you should let yourself become slobbered, which all people have The last story is called â€Å"The Fox, Coyote, and Whale† and it teaches a lesson on fighting for those you love. Fox's wife, leaves him to be the evil whale that occupies the river. Page 44, Paragraph 1) Fox is so overwhelmed by his love for her that he stops at no cost and risks his life to retrieve her from the whale's possession.While trying to take his wife back, the evil whale attempts to kill Fox, Coyote, and Fox's wife, but Fox loves these people and protects th em over himself and hides them within his pipe, saving them all. (Page 45, Paragraph 1) As Fox's wife gets away from Whale, she feels as if she had been awaken from a spell, for once she is returned to fox she becomes happy again. (Page 45, Paragraph 4) So in other words, love can cast a spell n you causing you to make rash decisions while under its magical powers.Of course, Fox finally forgives his wife, but this proves that you should not cheat on your significant other. So in conclusion, Native American literature is very important to our society. The themes of all of the stories are easily related to everyday life. From the positive moments to the very lows, lessons can be learned from these tales. To the people of Indian cultures these stories are still very relevant to their lives. It is the only surviving history that they have of the prior lives of their relatives, so they must keep it preserved for generations to come.

Eastern State Penitentiary Field Visit Essays - Free Essays

Eastern State Penitentiary Field Visit Essays - Free Essays Alexandra Swim LEN 101 Eastern State Penitentiary Field Visit On this day of Saturday, November 16th, we know weve arrived at the right place at this medieval castle seems very out of place. Our tour guide meets us right outside of the front gate and proceeds to tell us that when Eastern State Penitentiary was opened two miles outside downtown Philadelphia in 1829, it was built as a gothic fortress to deter crime. Architect John Haviland said of the building, it should strike fear into the hearts of those who thought of committing a crime. Before entering the prison, we learn the brief history of the beginning of Eastern State. In 1787, a group of powerful Philadelphians gathered with Ben Franklin. The members of The Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons was formed, and spoke to see the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania build a revolutionary new prison designed to create genuine regret and penitence in a prisoners heart on farmland outside Philadelphia. Eastern abandoned corporal punishment and ill treatment, adopting a system of spiritual reflection and change while being punished. Inmates were hooded whenever outside of their cells to prevent any distraction, interaction, or knowledge of the prison. They were to focus only on thought of their behavior and the ugliness of their crimes. This made Eastern State Penitentiary the most famous prison in the world. The first stop we make as we walk into the prison is the front tower. This is where multiple guards were at all times to watch over the whole prison. From here, you can get a birds eye view of the whole 11-acre prison complex. The front tower housed the alarm bell and the only clock visible to prisoners when they were outside in their private exercise yards. Down from this main tower and to the left, we traveled up another set of tight stairs in the West Tower to a door under lock and key: the administration building office, also known as the Wardens office. Between 1872 and 1885, the Warden had his office relocated to the main prison building between cell blocks 1 and 9. However, because of security concerns with the prisoners, the office had to be relocated back to the West Tower in the administration office building in 1923, where it stayed until the Penitentiarys closing in 1970. Still untouched in the office lies the remains of many filing cabinets strewn around that once held t he files of each of Easterns prisoners. We have now finished our introduction to the penitentiary with the main gate, which means we are ready to move to the main prison building. As we leave the gate building, Havilands masterpiece is before us. Eastern was initially built to house 250 of the harshest criminals; the job was to create blocks where prisoners could be kept completely isolated from each other in surroundings not injurious to their health but secure from escape and easily accessible to constant inspection by guards. To carry out this revolutionary task in prison reform, Haviland chose to build Eastern State Penitentiary as a radial layout, with a central hub with seven wings converging on it and connecting to the center building by covered passageways. The center building served as an inspection hall for vantage point guards to view all corridors of the prison. The first three wings built were single story, each containing about forty cells each. Entry to these cells was not through the corridor, but through t he private exercise yard connected to each cell. The remaining four cell blocks were two stories in height. Access to the cells was through double doors opening into the corridors. Each cell contained a toilet, water tap, a bunk on chains, and equipment for the prisoners work activities. The only light came from an 8-inch window in the ceiling. Eastern State Penitentiary had become the tangible symbol for the emerging system of solitary confinement through Havilands design. The first stop we make in the main building of the penitentiary is the rotunda. This is the physical and symbolic center of the prison. Designed for maximum surveillance into all corridors, the idea was copied in hundreds of prisons throughout the 19th century, and provided a very powerful

El HACHA Parte Medios Cultivan

El HACHA Parte Medios Cultivan Free Online Research Papers Hoy en dà ­a la campaà ±a televisiva de desodorantes de AXE forma parte de la cultura meditica de los jà ³venes y se ha convertido en una referencia de consumo. Es de esta manera que este proyecto de investigacià ³n busca explorar la publicidad de AXE en Mà ©xico para lo que se estudiarn los comerciales de manera semià ³tica para analizar la construccià ³n de lo femenino y de lo masculino, asà ­ como la funcià ³n narrativa de los gà ©neros en esta publicidad. Para lo anterior se utilizarn los grupos de foco como metodologà ­a; de hecho, se harn tres grupos distintos para obtener la perspectiva femenina, la masculina y la extranjera de la publicidad de este producto. En estos grupos foco se utilizarn 15 comerciales de AXE previamente elegidos al azar, recuperado de Internet. Para la teorà ­a se manejar el circuito de la cultura enfocado especialmente a los momentos de consumo y produccià ³n, aunque no se dejar a un lado el momento de la representacià ³n puesto que es tambià ©n importante para el estudio. Sin embargo, este estudio no se detendr del todo en este punto; sà ³lo se mencionar el porquà © se considera importante este momento del circuito de produccià ³n para el presente proyecto de investigacià ³n. Asimismo se utilizar la teorà ­a de Paul du Gay en cuanto al anlisis de las prcticas culturales debido a que se considera que el consumo del producto viene acompaà ±ado por una prctica cultural que depende del paà ­s en el que se lance dicho producto dado que se infiere que los comerciales se diseà ±an de diferente manera basados en la cultura para lograr su aceptacià ³n. Para hacer esta inferencia se parte del hecho de que cada cultura tiene distintos estereotipos y de que su percepcià ³n ser diferente aunque se trate del mismo producto y de que se trate de llevar el mismo mensaje a los consumidores. Se utilizar la teorà ­a de las prcticas culturales de Paul du Gay para analizar los tipos de interpretacià ³n de cada uno de los pà ºblicos a los que va dirigida la publicidad de AXE. Esto con el fin de poder ver como las prcticas culturales en Mà ©xico se ven marcadas por el manejo de la publicidad para introducir el producto en nuestro paà ­s y seguir la là ­nea general de su publicidad de tal manera que sea aceptado dentro del nicho de mercado pertinente. Se analizarn los comerciales televisivos para tratar de descubrir los elementos que se manejan para configurar o reforzar los estereotipos de lo femenino y de lo masculino en los consumidores mexicanos y los extranjeros. No obstante vale la pena recalcar que este trabajo se enfoca principalmente en las prcticas de consumo e interpretacià ³n de la sociedad mexicana y de esta manera descubrir como es que los valores del producto se relacionan con los de la sociedad mexicana y el tipo de interpretacià ³n para explorar las razones del consumo. Este estudio es importante para poder ver como es que lo masculino y lo femenino se configuran en la publicidad, especà ­ficamente en la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE. Lo anterior es relevante debido a que dà ­a a dà ­a la sociedad se encuentra rodeada por la publicidad e incluso puede volverse parte de la informacià ³n utilizada para la construccià ³n de una concepcià ³n propia de la figura femenina y masculina. De igual manera este estudio pretende obtener la opinià ³n de los consumidores de publicidad, asà ­ como su opinià ³n acerca del uso de estas figuras en ella. 2. REVISIÓN BIBLIOGRFICA Goddard (2000) en su documento The Female gaze and the construction of masculinity expone que la construccià ³n de la masculinidad se hace a partir de lo que los hombres piensan que las mujeres quieren o buscan en ellos; es decir, los hombres crean su identidad a partir de la representacià ³n que las mujeres tienen de cà ³mo debe de ser un hombre. Es de esta manera que Goddard explica que el cambio dentro de los patrones de comportamiento de ambos sexos se basa en el hecho de que se encuentran bajo la mirada del otro, o mejor dicho, ambos sexos construyen su identidad a partir del supuesto de que tienen que complacer al otro. Lo anterior puede ser explicado, segà ºn este autor, a partir de que la construccià ³n de lo femenino y lo masculino se hace como una relacià ³n de poder en la que se busca ser lo que el otro espera para asà ­ poder controlarlo. Es asà ­ que el texto de Goddard nos puede servir para entender como es que se trata lo femenino y lo masculino en los comerci ales televisivos de AXE y como es que se construyen sus figuras en su publicidad. Karen y William O’Donnell (s/a), por su lado, hicieron un estudio con el nombre de Update: Sex-Role Messages in TV Commercials en donde exponen que, en general, el rol de la mujer y del hombre en la publicidad se refiere a la construccià ³n de los roles que se les asignan a cada uno. Estos autores dicen que en estudios previos se ha podido concluir que la figura de la mujer se usa mucho ms en productos domà ©sticos, mientras que la del hombre se utiliza en otros aspectos. En el artà ­culo de Sthepen Whitfield (2000), llamado Sex and the single decade, toma como muestra la dà ©cada de los 50 ´s y explican que los roles sociales del hombre y de la mujer estaban predeterminados por la sociedad; es decir que el hombre era hombre y la mujer era ama de casa. En este sentido los roles masculino y femenino estaban limitados en su campo de accià ³n. La figura masculina es vista como la figura dominante y con el poder suficiente para hacer lo que sea. Muestra como la mujer comenzà ³ a cobrar importancia hasta el momento en el que se dio la liberacià ³n sexual. Ya que antes la mujer es vista solamente como un mero objeto, que por el hecho de ser el sexo â€Å"dà ©bil† est relegada a ser inferior. Whitfield (2000) menciona tambià ©n que el hombre es visto como la figura dominante dentro de la cultura de los aà ±os 50 ´s. Situacià ³n que no ha cambiado a lo largo de los aà ±os, el hombre aà ºn es visto como el que debe dominar dentro la sociedad. Whitfield se enfoca en el anlisis de las relaciones de poder entre el hombre y la mujer mostrando como es importante ser hombre, blanco y americano. El documento expone à ©sta como la à ºnica manera para ser aceptado y respetado. Por otro lado no hay que olvidar que la publicidad es punto clave de este proyecto de investigacià ³n por lo cual es importante tomar en cuenta el texto de Steiner (1996). En este texto se menciona que los comerciales van a tener un distinto recibimiento dependiendo la persona, cada comercial va a generar cierta atencià ³n en el espectador dependiendo del tema que este tratando. El autor encuentra que las personas van a generar cierto tipo de reacciones frente al comercial y dice que pueden ser de aburrimiento, de interà ©s, neutral o que simplemente no tienen ningà ºn comentario sobre el comercial. Asimismo es elemental notar que la campaà ±a de AXE ms fuerte se ve en la televisià ³n por lo que este proyecto busca apoyarse tambià ©n en textos como el de Moschis y Moore (1982) en el cual declaran que se deben buscar ciertas evidencias que demuestran los efectos de la televisià ³n: â€Å"variacià ³n concomitante† es la correlacià ³n de la publicidad con el comportamiento del consumidor; â€Å"orden de tiempo de ocurrencia† se refiere a que la publicidad debe presentarse antes del cambio en el comportamiento; â€Å"eliminacià ³n de otros factores posibles† es la eliminacià ³n de factores que pueden inducir al cambio de comportamiento en los consumidores. Krugman (1995) en su texto The Measurement of Advertising Involvement nos habla de dos proceso de cambio de actitud en los consumidores; el primero se utiliza cuando hay un bajo nivel de participacià ³n hacà ­a el està ­mulo persuasivo, entonces lo que se busca es un cambio gradual debido a la repeticià ³n lo que muchas veces concluye en un cambio de actitud. El segundo se refiere a cuando hay un alto nivel de participacià ³n en donde uno podrà ­a buscar la imagen clsica en un nivel de conciencia en cuanto a opinià ³n y actitud precedida por un cambio en el comportamiento. Carolyn Lin (1998) establece caracterà ­sticas fà ­sicas, como vestimenta y cuerpo, y de comportamiento, como contacto fà ­sico, para establecer la atraccià ³n sexual mostrada en el comercial, al cual se refiere como sex appeal. Las personas atractivas son las que provocan un mayor sentimiento de deseo, aceptacià ³n social, respeto e influencia. Lin (1998) cita a la hipà ³tesis de Patzer que establece que una persona atractiva determina la efectividad de la persuasià ³n y el resultado del marketing. Por otro lado, un mayor contenido de erotismo y desnudo puede revertir los resultados y generar una actitud negativa sobre el producto. Por otro lado, Forbes, Jung y Haas (2006) nos mencionan la existencia de 2 tipos de sexismos en las mujeres propuestos por Glick y Fiske. El primero se denomina â€Å"sexismo hostil† y el segundo â€Å"sexismo benevolente†. El sexismo benevolente, se refiere a la mujer â€Å"tradicional† que proporciona privilegios limitados a la mujer en los roles â€Å"tradicionales† previamente establecidos por la sociedad. Esta benevolencia proviene de la percepcià ³n de la mujer como frgil, inadecuada y subordinada al hombre. Este sexismo subordina con recompensas a las mujeres que cumplen con su papel tradicional y roles restringidos del gà ©nero femenino. Por su lado, el sexismo hostil somete a las mujeres castigndolas cuando à ©stas no cumplen con su papel tradicional y roles restringidos del gà ©nero femenino. La campaà ±a televisiva de AXE tiene un alto contenido de lenguaje no verbal que utiliza para hacer ms atractivo su producto. Kirch (1993) habla de los sistemas de comunicacià ³n no verbal debido a que siempre han tenido gran importancia en los procesos de comunicacià ³n, aun cuando el sistema, tanto verbal como no-verbal, varà ­e entre las culturas. El autor explica que este proceso se lleva a cabo a travà ©s signos como: imgenes, sonidos, expresiones, movimientos corporales, vestimenta, lenguaje icà ³nico, y otros. En este texto se aclara que en la mayorà ­a de las ocasiones este proceso se emplea junto con el lenguaje verbal comà ºn produciendo un mejor resultado en el entendimiento del mensaje, ya que funciona como regulador en el proceso de comunicacià ³n, ampliando o reduciendo el significado del mensaje. 3. MARCO TEÓRICO El marco teà ³rico de este estudio pretende explorar conceptos en donde se interrelacionan los roles femeninos y masculino; la transmisià ³n de valores por parte de la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE y la forma en la cual estos valores influyen en las personas que estn observando à ©sta. Se desarrollaran conceptos como la publicidad, la seduccià ³n, el lenguaje no verbal, el sexismo y los estereotipos; a travà ©s de los cuales se va a comenzar a construir el anlisis de esta campaà ±a. 3.1. Publicidad: La publicidad da a conocer un producto y persuade al mercado a experimentarlo. La teorà ­a de la publicidad la define como â€Å"la disciplina cientà ­fica cuyo objetivo es persuadir al pà ºblico con un mensaje comercial para que tome la decisià ³n de compra de un producto o servicio que una organizacià ³n ofrece† . Asà ­, vemos que la publicidad es una actividad de la comunicacià ³n con la cual se busca persuadir al receptor, para que este consuma un servicio o producto (Steiner, 1996). 3.1.1. Reglas de la publicidad: Existen varias reglas en cuanto a la composicià ³n de la publicidad, una de las ms recurrentes es: AIDA. La palabra AIDA se compone de las siglas de los conceptos en inglà ©s de atencià ³n (attention), interà ©s (interest), deseo (desire) y accià ³n (action). La estructuracià ³n de los elementos publicitarios, se traduce en que en primer lugar, hay que llamar la atencià ³n, despuà ©s despertar el interà ©s por la oferta, seguidamente despertar el deseo de adquisicià ³n y, finalmente, inducir a la reaccià ³n u ofrecer la posibilidad de reaccionar al mensaje (Marquà ©s, 2006). 3.1.2. Valores de la publicidad: La publicidad crea necesidades para poder vender sus productos. â€Å"El alma de todo anuncio es una promesa de felicidad, à ©xito, belleza, juventud, libertad, poder, seguridad† (Marquà ©s, 2000). Es por lo que se transmiten valores que van de acuerdo al tipo de producto que se ofrece. Es con estos valores que se pretende llevar a cabo un anlisis ms completo acerca de cules son los que se utilizan en la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE y encontrara como es que son percibidos por los consumidores. 3.2. Seduccià ³n: La seduccià ³n se puede definir como la fascinacià ³n o atraccià ³n de una cosa o persona que provoca su deseo o afecto. Es asà ­ como la seduccià ³n se utiliza en la publicidad de AXE, se usa para despertar el deseo del consumidor. No obstante hay que recordar que la seduccià ³n se tiene estereotipada partiendo de que tradicionalmente los hombres son los que toman la iniciativa, pero los patrones cambian hoy dà ­a y la mujer se involucra ms y ms, lo cual se trata de exponer en la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE, dndole en ciertas ocasiones un vuelco a los papeles del hombre y la mujer. La seduccià ³n puede observarse por varias actitudes tomadas por los personajes tratando de hacerles que reaccionen ante un producto. Las ms comunes son: la mirada, la sonrisa, los gestos, la seguridad, la auto confianza, el sentido del humor, el saber escuchar, mostrarse misterioso o enigmtico, la paciencia, y en este caso usando el producto en cuestià ³n. Sin embargo, la seduccià ³n obedece a cà ³digos especà ­ficos segà ºn las sociedades y culturas, pues no se tienen las mismas prcticas sociales en todo el mundo. 3.2.1. Sex appeal: A partir del texto de Lin (1998) se obtuvo una definicià ³n de sex appeal como todas aquellas caracterà ­sticas fà ­sicas de una persona, la forma de interactuar con los que se encuentran a su alrededor y su uso del contacto fà ­sico para atraer al sexo opuesto. Es asà ­ que el sex appeal se utiliza en la publicidad para atraer al potencial consumidor mediante cierto contenido de erotismo que genera interà ©s y deseo. 3.3. Lenguaje no verbal: En nuestro tiempo cada vez tienen ms importancia los sistemas de comunicacià ³n no verbal la cual se realiza a travà ©s de una serie de signos de gran variedad: Imgenes sensoriales (visuales, auditivas, olfativas, etc.), sonidos, gestos, movimientos corporales y otros. Son todos estos recursos muy utilizados en la publicidad para que el consumidor se vea atraà ­do hacà ­a cierto producto (Kirch, 1993). 3.3.1. Caracterà ­sticas de la comunicacià ³n no verbal en la publicidad: La comunicacià ³n no verbal mantiene una relacià ³n con la comunicacià ³n verbal pues suelen emplearse juntas. En muchas ocasiones actà ºa como reguladora del proceso de comunicacià ³n, contribuyendo a ampliar o reducir el significado del mensaje. Por otra parte, los sistemas de comunicacià ³n no verbal varà ­an segà ºn las culturas y el tipo de publicidad en el que se encuentre. Generalmente la comunicacià ³n no verbal cumple mayor nà ºmero de funciones que el verbal, pues lo acompaà ±a, completa, modifica o sustituye en ocasiones (Kirch, 1993). 3.3.2. Elementos de la comunicacià ³n no verbal en la publicidad: Entre los sistemas de comunicacià ³n no verbal que se aprecia en la publicidad, tenemos el lenguaje corporal y el lenguaje icà ³nico. En el lenguaje corporal nuestros gestos, movimientos, el tono de voz, nuestra ropa e incluso nuestro olor corporal tambià ©n forman parte de los mensajes cuando nos comunicamos con los dems. En el lenguaje icà ³nico se engloban muchas formas de comunicacià ³n no verbal como el cà ³digo Morse, los cà ³digos universales como las sirenas, el Braylle, el lenguaje de los sordomudos; cà ³digos semi-universales como el beso, los signos de luto o de duelo; cà ³digos particulares o secretos como las seà ±ales de los rbitros deportivos (Kirch, 1993). 3.4. Sexismo: El sexismo es un conjunto estructurado de creencias, compartidas dentro de una cultura, acerca de los atributos que poseen los hombres y las mujeres. Esta diferenciacià ³n referida al sexo de los sujetos a menudo produce situaciones de desigualdad, especialmente en el caso de las mujeres (Whitfield, 2000). Tener una actitud basada en la supuesta inferioridad de las mujeres influye de manera notable en los juicios que se hacen sobre ellas, favoreciendo su discriminacià ³n por razones de gà ©nero. Este sexismo hostil est formado por tres componentes bsicos, tal y como seà ±alan Glick y Fiske en el estudio de Forbes, Jung y Haas (2006) y tambià ©n en el de Whitfield (2000). Los componentes bsicos son el paternalismo dominador, la diferenciacià ³n de gà ©nero competitiva y la hostilidad heterosexual. El primero justifica a la figura masculina dominante ya que se piensa que las mujeres son ms dà ©biles e inferiores que los hombres. El segundo se refiere a la creencia de que las mujeres son diferentes y no poseen las caracterà ­sticas necesarias para gobernar las instituciones sociales, siendo su mbito la familia y el hogar. El à ºltimo concepto se refiere al â€Å"poder sexual† cuando se cree que las mujeres son peligrosas y manipulan a los hombres. Entre quienes han desarrollado estos temas, cabe destacar propuestas como la de Glick y Fiske (2006) que son citados por los autores antes mencionados que entienden el sexismo como una construccià ³n multidimensional que incluye dos conjuntos de actitudes sexistas: el sexismo hostil y el sexismo benà ©volo. Si bien el sexismo como tal supone una discriminacià ³n para ambos gà ©neros implicados, es cierto que podemos hablar de dos clases de sexismo, en funcià ³n de quà © gà ©nero es objeto de la mayor discriminacià ³n en cada caso. El ms difundido es el machismo, tipo de sexismo que favorece socialmente al hombre sobre la mujer, aunque tambià ©n cabe definir el hembrismo, sexismo efectuado del gà ©nero femenino hacia el masculino (Forbes, Jung y Haas, 2006). 3.4.1. Sexismo en la publicidad: En el mbito de la publicidad televisiva los roles masculinos y femeninos han estado subordinados e influenciados por valores y estereotipos que vienen a coartar a ambos sexos. Es en el desarrollo de la publicidad televisiva en donde la mujer es utilizada principalmente para representar roles que està ©n ligados al hogar y a los productos de limpieza (O’Donnell, s/a) 3.5. Estereotipos: Un estereotipo es una imagen mental muy simplificada y con pocos detalles acerca de un grupo de gente que comparte ciertas caracterà ­sticas y habilidades. En general, se usa el concepto en un sentido negativo porque los estereotipos son â€Å"creencias ilà ³gicas† (Goddard, 2000) que sà ³lo se pueden cambiar mediante la educacià ³n. Es asà ­ que, por lo general, los estereotipos dependen de los grupos raciales y de conductas basadas en el â€Å"estatus social o la riqueza†, aunque hay que tener cuidado en no confundir a los estereotipos con los clichà ©s. Para efectos de este proyecto de investigacià ³n se ha utilizara una definicià ³n aà ºn ms concisa de estereotipo, ser la siguiente: â€Å"Los estereotipos pertenecen al repertorio de fà ³rmulas, imgenes, tà ³picos y representaciones que comparten los hablantes de una lengua determinada o de una misma comunidad social o cultural† (Herrero, 2002, p. 46). Como son esquemas fijos y preconstruidos se asimilan en el contexto cultural o a travà ©s de uso de la lengua por lo que varà ­an de cultura a cultura. Es debido a lo anterior que à ©stos producen un sentimiento de complicidad sociocultural sobre ciertos temas (Goddard, 2000). 4. PREGUNTAS DE INVESTIGACIÓN: PI1:  ¿Cà ³mo la publicidad televisiva de AXE configura lo masculino y lo femenino? PI2:  ¿Cà ³mo identifican los mexicanos el rol de la mujer y del hombre en la publicidad televisiva de AXE? PI3:  ¿Cules son las similitudes y las diferencias en la configuracià ³n de lo masculino y de lo femenino en los comerciales televisivos de AXE en Mà ©xico, Bà ©lgica y Argentina? PI4:  ¿Cà ³mo interpretan los consumidores mexicanos los mensajes de lo masculino y de lo femenino en la publicidad televisiva de AXE? 5. MÉTODO: Este trabajo pretende plantear preguntas y pruebas, claras y concisas antes de llegar a una conclusià ³n acerca del planteamiento del problema que hemos expuesto anteriormente. La metodologà ­a que se utilizara para este proyecto ser la realizacià ³n de un grupo foco. Con esto pretendemos indagar de manera directa sobre las opiniones o concepciones de los hombres y mujeres que sean expuestos durante la duracià ³n del ejercicio. A travà ©s de los grupos foco vamos a poder conocer de quà © manera los hombres y las mujeres interpretan un mismo mensaje, asimismo cuales sern las diferencias interpretativas para los comerciales televisivos de AXE producidos para diferentes paà ­ses. Utilizaremos 15 comerciales televisivos de Mà ©xico, Bà ©lgica, Estados Unidos y Argentina. Al inicio del grupo foco entregaremos unas hojas en donde pediremos que anoten su nombre y el nà ºmero de comercial con sus respectivas observaciones. Al terminar de ver los comerciales haremos las preguntas y se podrn guiar con sus anotaciones previas. Para realizar nuestra investigacià ³n vamos a disponer tres grupos foco: el primero conformado por hombres, el segundo por mujeres y el tercero por dos australianos, una espaà ±ola, un sueco y una alemana. Con esto se pretende analizar la perspectiva de cada grupo de participantes y determinar las variaciones en la interpretacià ³n que puedan llegar a existir dependiendo del sexo del participante o de la nacionalidad. La ventaja de utilizar los grupos foco, es que los participantes se sentirn en un ambiente cà ³modo en donde podrn expresarse libremente sobre los comerciales que està ©n observando y de igual manera van a poder aportar ms opiniones importantes para nuestra investigacià ³n. Sin embargo no hay que olvidar que los grupos foco tienen sus limitaciones debido a que son grupos creados artificialmente y a que se organizara en un espacio que no es en el que los participantes normalmente se desenvuelven (Krueger Casey, 2000). Igualmente vale la pena mencionar que este estudio tiene la limitacià ³n de que el grupo foco de los extranjeros fue reducido debido a la disponibilidad de los participantes interesados en cooperar con à ©ste. 6. ANLISIS DE DATOS E INTERPRETACIÓN Uniendo todas las categorà ­as de estudio podemos ver que los anuncios televisivos de AXE marcan una tendencia de consumo reflejado en la produccià ³n de estereotipos femeninos y masculinos por medio de los cuales se puede ver que AXE configura al hombre como un elemento de dominacià ³n sobre las mujeres. No obstante hay que enfatizar el hecho de que lo hace en el sentido del sexismo benevolente mencionado en el texto de Forbes, Jung y Haas (2006) debido a que no se encontraron figuras masculinas fuertes o varoniles, sino ms bien hombres con falta de autoestima y por debajo del promedio â€Å"no importa si esta horrible, feo o chaparro o lo que sea, no importa mientras huela a AXE y ya†. Se aprecia de igual manera que los comerciales dan a entender que el â€Å"efecto AXE† es tan poderoso que hace que los hombres no necesiten interactuar con las mujeres, y à ©stas adoptan un papel en el cual se encuentran a disposicià ³n del hombre. Profundizando en cuanto a la falta de interaccià ³n del hombre se puede encontrar que los participantes de los grupos foco que se organizaron para este proyecto concluyeron â€Å"[en el del tubo] que es uno en donde ni siquiera sale el hombre, o sea se nota luego luego que el hombre es como el hegemon y tanto asà ­ que ni siquiera necesita aparecer en el anuncio† . Vemos aquà ­ como es que se puede apreciar la teorà ­a del circuito de la cultura de Paul du Gay en el momento de la representacià ³n dado que es lo que la gente puede ver y a partir de lo cual ms tarde se habla de la creacià ³n de una identidad del hombre promedio que usa AXE. Es asà ­ que tambià ©n se aprecia que dentro de la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE, el hombre, a pesar de ser el eje alrededor del que gira toda la publicidad, es expuesto de una manera bastante promedio, mientras que con las mujeres se puede ver lo contrario, ya que â€Å"solo son mujeres altas, delgadas, de ojos claros, o sea guapas y voluptuosas o de buen cuerpo, mujeres que crean fantasà ­as en los hombres† , la fiel representacià ³n utà ³pica de la mujer perfecta fà ­sicamente, por lo que muchas mujeres ms tarde tratar de hacerse de una identidad que se apegue a lo que se piensa que es lo que buscan los hombres de las mujeres. Por otro lado, no hay que olvidar adentrarse en el tema del hecho de que, segà ºn la visià ³n de los sujetos de los grupos foco, la mujer toma el papel de aquella que se encuentra a la disposicià ³n del hombre, y en este tema coincidieron tanto las mujeres como los hombres mexicanos. Los hombres lo exponen asà ­: â€Å"de lo que se tiene que preocupar la mujer es por quedar bien con el hombre, asà ­ de que si se le quema el departamento bien, o sea tiene que correr para estar en forma si esta en tacones o esta arreglada, si se tropieza o lo que sea no importa, el chiste es estar bien arreglada y verse bien y decà ­a: â€Å"mujeres tienen que estar siempre preparadas† o sea siempre tienen que estar como a la disposicià ³n del hombre, si, como los hombres quieren que està ©n† , mientras que las mujeres lo expusieron de una manera ms brusca: â€Å"Pero lo peor es el comercial de â€Å"chicas està ©n siempre listas†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..  ¿Porquà © nosotras? [†¦ ] Sà ­, o sea, creen que por ser chavas siempre tenemos que estar esperando a que lleguen los hombres [†¦] Adems hombres con AXE jajajajaja [†¦] Sà ­, por eso vemos que es lo que nos hacen pensar que es lo que los hombres quieren de nosotras†¦.que siempre estemos listas y ellos, no importa si son guapos, feos o que†¦ mientras tengan AXE ya tienen ganadas a las chavas ms buenas y guapas† . De nuevo se puede identificar que la teorà ­a del circuito de la cultura de Paul du Gay es esencial para el presente proyecto dado que la publicidad televisiva de AXE se basa en los conceptos de representacià ³n e identidad puesto que esta publicidad se basa en la construccià ³n de representaciones, que a veces no son seguidas por los espectadores, pero ciertas veces puede ser un patrà ³n usado debido a que los hombres y las mujeres pueden considerar que el papel que juegan los personajes de estos comerciales son los ideales del sexo opuesto y se crea un concepto de lo que el sex appeal puede hacer en las relaciones interpersonales, aunque se trate de uno creado artificialmente por los productos de AXE, y lo anterior se puede ver a travà ©s de todas las explicaciones siguientes. Asimismo se encontraron ms diferencias que similitudes en la configuracià ³n de ambos gà ©neros en cuanto a la campaà ±a televisiva de AXE en el extranjero tal y como notaron los participantes de los grupos foco. La sociedad mexicana es conservadora, y un tanto machista, inclusive los hombres lo destacaron: â€Å"bueno no pienso generalizar tampoco pero creo que va mas bien como es la cultura mexicana, o sea, yo podrà ­a decir que hay gente que igual pensarà ­a hay no como voy a usar AXE si hasta le atraigo a los hombres, o sea al revà ©s porque hay mucha gente machista aquà ­, o sea no digo que todos, pero si un gran porcentaje† . Por el lado de los extranjeros ellos concluyen que quizs la falta de apertura hacia ciertos temas sea por la gran influencia religiosa, a pesar de esto, les resulta contradictorio la forma de actuar de los mexicanos: â€Å"definitivamente aquà ­ el catolicismo hace la diferencia en tà ©rminos de emm lo que es permitido o no en la televisià ³n, aun asà ­ encuentro que†¦cuando voy en el metro veo a sujetos leyendo revistas pornogrficas enfrente de todos y eso para mi es un gran contraste† . De igual manera, se presentà ³ la idea de que, el hecho de presentar a un hombre semi-desnudo en un comercial para hombres podrà ­a resultar contraproducente ya que no atrae a la audiencia a la cual se enfoca: â€Å"Por ejemplo ver a un hombre desnudo en un comercial que es para hombres, como que no es muy atractivo en Mà ©xico, igual puede ser cuestià ³n cultural de nuestro paà ­s o sea que no es algo muy natural no puede funcionar muy bien aquà ­ en Mà ©xico† En cuanto a las similitudes se ve que la principal que manejan los comerciales de AXE es la del proceso de interaccià ³n entre las mujeres y hombres, el proceso de seduccià ³n basado primordialmente en el producto, aunque no hay que olvidar que existen diferencias significativas en su publicidad televisiva para poder llegar a diferentes mercados, ya que estos tienen bases culturales diferentes entre sà ­ (aunque los comerciales de Argentina y Mà ©xico son bastante parecidos, de hecho, algunos son los mismos) y es debido a esta diferencia en las bases culturales que se intenta manejar el concepto de seduccià ³n basado en diferentes estrategias. Es asà ­ que si ponemos un comercial de AXE que pasa en Mà ©xico en algà ºn paà ­s Europeo, levantarà ­a cierta incomodidad y se le llamarà ­a sexista, y si ponemos un comercial que pasa en algà ºn paà ­s de Europa en Mà ©xico lo ms probable es que no se lograrà ­a el efecto en el mercado que se pretende. Lo anterior se deduce por el claro ejemplo del comercial de AXE en el elevador, el cual fue editado para pasar en Mà ©xico, ya que la versià ³n original al final muestra un hombre (gay) que le guià ±a el ojo al hombre que usa AXE mientras que en nuestro paà ­s, al final, esta parte fue cambiada por una mujer mayor que igualmente le guià ±aba un ojo al hombre. La explicacià ³n que se concluye para esta estrategia de mercado es que, si se mostraba la parte del hombre homosexual en el comercial de Mà ©xico, podrà ­a provocar desprecio o negacià ³n en vez de aceptacià ³n del producto, debido a que es bien sabido que en su mayorà ­a los hombres en Mà ©xico son machi stas, tal como se cità ³ la là ­nea 33 anteriormente. Por lo tanto, en el caso de la sociedad mexicana, podemos relacionar directamente la adopcià ³n de los roles tradicionalistas, por el hecho de tener una historia machista que no ha dejado de existir hasta nuestros dà ­as. Tal como lo menciona Whitfield (2000) en su artà ­culo Sex and the single decade la figura masculina ha sido siempre vista como la dominante y la femenina con un rol de sumisià ³n e inferioridad y pese a que en Mà ©xico se comienza a dar una mayor apertura y aceptacià ³n por nuevos roles, no se ha eliminado por completo el hecho de que el hombre sea una figura dominante en nuestra sociedad. La tradicià ³n sigue vigente en Mà ©xico y se puede apreciar en muchas actividades de la vida cotidiana como en la publicidad. Ahora que refirià ©ndose especà ­ficamente al presente trabajo de investigacià ³n notamos como en la publicidad televisiva de AXE se apela a las fantasà ­as de un pà ºblico joven que ha sido capaz de identificarse con elementos que muestran a los hombres y a las mujeres como seres limitados por aquellos valores tradicionales que han marcado a la sociedad mexicana. AXE apela a estos valores de una forma satà ­rica e inclusive cà ³mica al presentar iconos arraigados dentro de la cultura del mexicano, asimismo se muestra que en las diferentes culturas existen elementos estereotipados, a manera de que la mujer es vista solamente por su imagen y belleza fà ­sica: â€Å"Sà ­ la verdad es que el papel del hombre que se ve en los comerciales es del hombre promedio, el hombre comà ºn que puede conseguir a las mejores mujeres con el sà ³lo uso de un pro ducto, mientras que las mujeres sà ­ tienen que estar guapas, bien formadas, hacer ejercicio, vestir bien, ser sexys, en fin†¦ toda la fantasà ­a de un hombre†. Igualmente se observa que la idea principal que promueven los comerciales de AXE es la de la adopcià ³n de roles, por una parte esta el hombre, el cual simplemente con el hecho de ser hombre puede disponer de las elecciones de la mujer y su poder de influencia sobre ella tal como se cità ³ anteriormente la là ­nea 30. Del otro lado, tenemos la cuestià ³n de la mujer, la cual actà ºa de cierta forma sumisa, sin poder de eleccià ³n y a disposicià ³n de los caprichos del hombre, aceptando sus conductas masculinas y controladoras sin reprobarlas ni cuestionarlas. Es por lo que se infiere que el mensaje que se quiere dar a conocer por parte de los comerciales de AXE es claro y es bien aceptado por la sociedad mexicana (aunque debatido por una parte de la sociedad, principalmente femenina: â€Å"†¦y no es que este guapo, ni bueno, ni nada sino que incluso es ridà ­culo, pero aà ºn asà ­ las chavas siguen todo lo que hace por AXE† ) debido a la aceptacià ³n y congenialidad en las ideologà ­as, tanto la que se presenta en el comercial como la que se vive dà ­a a dà ­a en nuestra sociedad en general. Debido a esta investigacià ³n se puede notar que los hombres mexicanos tienen estereotipos tan arraigados que no se dan cuenta de que existen elementos en donde se rebaja a la mujer: â€Å"Yo creo que se deja llevar demasiado, y en uno que otro la hacen ver como un poco tonta [†¦] de hecho cuando esta acostado en el comercial y se esta rociando, o sea para mi, para mi se ve muy tonta bailando enfrente del perchero† , los hombres ven a los personajes masculinos dentro de la publicidad televisiva de AXE como seres con poca autoestima y que resultan inferiores a la mujer por el hecho de tener que utilizar un producto como AXE para poder atraer al sexo femenino. Aunque no hay que dejar a un lado el caso de las mujeres mexicanas, ellas vieron a la representacià ³n femenina de AXE como una mujer en segundo plano y siempre atenida a lo que el hombre desea: â€Å"Se marca mucho el sexismo porque se ve como la mujer, se ve como un objeto sexual y que no piensa ni razona, sà ³lo se deja llevar por el olor del desodorante y no se cuenta de que el monito este est feo y todo X [†¦]† .En este sentido los hombres y las mujeres son vistas como seres irracionales ya que ninguno de los dos tiene la capacidad para darse cuenta de que son manipulados por un desodorante. 7. CONCLUSIONES Y LIMITACIONES Durante este estudio se logra comprender los factores que maneja AXE en la elaboracià ³n de su campaà ±a televisiva, en la que se utilizan aspectos diversos como lo serà ­an los estereotipos, las bases culturales y los roles de gà ©nero. AXE consigue manipular estos factores para poder tener efecto en mercados diversos y asà ­ alcanzar una aceptacià ³n y penetracià ³n ms profunda. Al analizar dentro de los grupos foco los diferentes comerciales que se mostraban en Bà ©lgica, Mà ©xico y Argentina pudimos contemplar que el tema de la seduccià ³n y el proceso de interaccià ³n entre el hombre y la mujer eran vistos desde distintas perspectivas. Aunque los videos de Europa eran ms explà ­citos (con relacià ³n al cuerpo), los comerciales que se presentaban en Mà ©xico y Argentina mostraban un mayor enfoque en los roles que manejan el hombre y la mujer dentro de la sociedad. Como mencionaba Sthepen Whitfield en su texto llamado Sex and the single decade, donde menciona que los roles masculino y femenino estaban limitados en su campo de accià ³n y la mujer es vista solamente como un mero objeto, que por el hecho de ser el sexo â€Å"dà ©bil† est relegada a ser inferior y a estar bajo disposicià ³n del hombre. Asà ­ de esta manera vemos como se manejan los estereotipos para la formacià ³n de cierto comportamiento dentro de la sociedad a travà ©s del uso de estos productos. En las bases culturales tambià ©n se encontraron diferencias significativas, y muy determinantes no solo para la elaboracià ³n de comerciales de AXE sino tambià ©n para los puntos de vista diversos principalmente en el estudio con extranjeros. Esto resultà ³ muy importante ya que es a travà ©s del estudio de las bases culturales cuando se construye o fabrica la estrategia adecuada para que exista una aceptacià ³n en el mercado que se pretende llegar. Es asà ­ como se considera como punto primordial del anlisis la sociedad mexicana y como se perciben los anuncios televisivos de AXE y se logrà ³ concluir es que hubo dos puntos de vista notables que surgieron durante el estudio. Por un lado esta la parte liberal (ms parecida al punto de vista de los extranjeros, principalmente europeos y australianos) donde se contemplaba de una forma irracional por ambos sexos estos tipos de comportamientos. Sin embargo, durante el estudio tambià ©n se distinguià ³ una conducta de aceptacià ³n (principalmente por hombres) a este tipo de comportamientos, aunque sabà ­an que era fantasiosa y poco creà ­ble, para ellos seguà ­a siendo de cierta forma vlida y aceptable. Lo anterior se entiende por la forma como expone Goddard, en su documento The Female gaze and the construction of masculinity, que la construccià ³n de la masculinidad se hace a partir de lo que los hombres piensan que las mujeres quieren o buscan en ellos; es decir, los hombres crean su identidad a partir de la representacià ³n que las mujeres tienen como debe ser aceptable para un hombre. Es de esta manera que el autor explica que el cambio dentro de los patrones de comportamiento de ambos sexos depende de las expectativas del sexo opuesto. Una de las conclusiones de mayor importancia para el proyecto es la presencia ineludible del circuito de la cultura de Paul du Gay que est presente en la publicidad pues siempre ser una representacià ³n de la sociedad mediante la cual se pueden crear algunas identidades en espectadores de menor edad o con dificultades para definirse a sà ­ mismos por lo que usan lo que tienen en la televisià ³n para crearse una propia. Du Gay es fundamental para explicar cualquier tipo de prctica cultural como lo es la publicidad televisiva de AXE que gira en torno a los roles femeninos y masculinos establecidos por la sociedad a la que se presentan. 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