Aesthetic value Essay Example

Aesthetic value Essay Example Aesthetic value Paper Aesthetic value Paper valuable. And to say that X has greater aesthetic value than Y is to say that X has the capacity to afford an experience that is more valuable, on account of its more marked aesthetic character, than any experience that Y has the capacity to afford assuming, again, that such a character is good. The analysis of aesthetic value just sketched is not without its difficulties, at least some of which ought to be acknowledged. Jerome Stolnitz, who defends well what he calls an objective relativist account of aesthetic value that is in its most fundamental respects close to mine (see Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Criticism, Chapter 15), notes some of the problems in verifying the presence of a capacity. I think he makes the task more difficult by confounding capacity-assertions with predictions, and I would rather not call the basic position he and I share a relativistic one, since it does not entail that the aesthetic value of a painting is relative to the viewer or some class of viewers. Once we distinguish the aesthetic capacity of the painting (how much it is capable of giving those who are able to appreciate it fully) from the capacities of the viewers (who may vary enormously in their ability to appreciate it), we eliminate many common confusions. There are problems about abnormal situations in which a person may seem to be getting more out of a painting than it has in it (see The Aesthetic Point of View); but I think these can be avoided by a proper understanding of the phrase through the cognition of it, inserted in my definition, which rules out not only failures to apprehend the painting but misapprehensions of it. For example, among the problems noted by Joel Kupperman (Aesthetic Value) though he is discussing G. E. Moores definition of beauty is that if we wish to define aesthetic value in terms of the art-receivers experience, we may get into great difficulties in saying what constitutes a proper experience of the work, for it is in terms of such experiences that the value is presumably to be rated. My hope is that such problems can be resolved by the requirement of the receivers cognitive grasp of what is actually in the work. Michael Slote (The Rationality of Aesthetic Value Judgments) also holds that aesthetic value is a dispositional property (of which I consider capacities to be one species), but he treats it as a tendency. (Even brittleness and flexibility, as well as his other examples, can be analyzed either as capacities or as tendencies, and it makes a difference how we consider them for different purposes or occasions. ) He notes that aesthetic value might be definable without specifying the conditions under which (including the features given which) the painting will in fact provide art experience of marked aesthetic character but this is just the difference between a tendency and a capacity: and it seems to me that it is capacities that a critic is in a position to estimate, not tendencies (which require much more empirical knowledge). When the critic gives reasons, pointing out features of the painting that enable it to be aesthetically appreciated, that confer aesthetic value upon it, he needs no statistical generalizations about what proportion of what sample of the population will in fact appreciate the painting (in order to infer a tendency), but only how in certain kinds of paintings certain features can help to increase unity, complexity, or intensity of positive regional qualities on the justifiable assumption (see below) that such increases will enable the painting to give more, aesthetically, to those who can take advantage of it. The concept of aesthetic experience (which was used in the first edition to define aesthetic value) has suffered various vicissitudes in the past two decades; although some of the debate has refined and clarified it, much of the debate has engendered skeptical doubts about whether there is such a thing (or whether such a concept can be rendered usable in aesthetic theory). For example, George Dickie (Beardsleys Phantom Aesthetic Experience) subjected the concept to a sharp critique, which I answered with a further defense (Aesthetic Experience Regained). He, in turn (in Art and the Aesthetic, Chapter 8), has launched a further argument. Perhaps the most serious issue concerns my view that we can characterize aesthetic experience in terms of certain properties of experience, or of an experience, as such notably unity, including especially the dimension of coherence (as well as completeness). Unity is important to my theory because I hold that it is a merit in artworks, and hence a positive criterion of criticism, because it enables the artwork to afford a unified experience, and thus to have aesthetic value (since unity in an experience is part of what makes it an aesthetic experience). Dickie has several penetrating criticisms that deserve considerable discussion. For example, in my idea of a unified experience the percepts are integrated with affects of various kinds, but Dickie is inclined to think that many artworks do not arouse affects at all: some abstract paintings can be taken in, as it were, at a glance; no expectations or emotions are aroused. My reply, in outline, would be that all pattern-perception involves active seeking and searching, however rapid, and in the time it takes for a full apprehension even of a fairly simple abstract pattern there is indeed room for affect, for comparisons and contrasts of parts, for discovery of inward fittingness, for the emergence of human regional qualities. But I see now that aesthetic experience is too narrow a basis on which to construct a concept of aesthetic value. I do not object at all to saying that experiences of some duration, marked throughout or pervasively by aesthetic character, are aesthetic experiences. But I also admit fairly fleeting or persistent but low-keyed experiences such as might involve a glance at a natural or urban prospect in which there is a decided sudden lift of experiential level in an aesthetic way, and I think there is increased coherence, though not the kind of development of demands and fulfillments characteristic of the classic Deweyan phenomenon he called having an experience. For most purposes, in reference to artworks and their aesthetic value, we can still talk of aesthetic experiences. It may be useful to note how the concept of aesthetic experience relates to the concept of aesthetic attitude, which, despite GeorgeDickies continuing attack on it (see Art and the Aesthetic, Chapters 2-5), is still sometimes invoked. Dickie makes much of his distinction between theories of taste and aesthetic-attitude theories. In their strong form, the latter involve the notion that anything can be transformed into an aesthetic object (a source of aesthetic satisfaction) by taking a certain attitude toward it. I have been much persuaded by his arguments against such views. However, sometimes the term aesthetic attitude refers to an ingredient in aesthetic experience, a psychological relation (between the art-recipient and the artwork) characteristic of that experience; and this may be a harmless way of speaking, provided confusion is avoided. In this context, the aesthetic attitude is often characterized as involving disinterested attention and psychical distance both of which have been severely and effectively criticized, though perhaps not totally destroyed, by Dickie. I think distance or detachment withdrawal from practical engagement in some form, although hard to describe accurate ly and safely, is a factor in the aesthetic character. But what is the aesthetic character? My present inclination is to think of it in terms of a set of features we find characteristic of successful encounters with artworks (and also some natural and technological objects), features that are criteria of the aesthetic in experience, that help to make; experience (however short) aesthetic, and when several of them are combined guarantee that experience is aesthetic, although even if one or two are lacking in a particular case, the experience can still be aesthetic. To summarize what no doubt calls for detailed explanation (see final essay in The Aesthetic Point of View), experience has a marked aesthetic character when it has some of the following features, including the first one: attention firmly fixed on a perceptual or intentional object; a feeling of freedom from concerns about matters outside that object; notable affect that is detached from practical ends; the sense of exercising powers of discovery; and integration of the self and of its experiences. Such a description of the aesthetic character comports with the conclusions of others: for example, the illuminating phenomenological analysis by M. J. Zenzen (A Ground for Aesthetic Experience). Recent critics have raised important questions. Kingsley Price (What Makes an Experience Aesthetic? ) distinguishes aesthetic experience by the nature of its object (as I tried, in another way, in The Discrimination of Aesthetic Enjoyment). But he mistakenly attributes to me an effort to isolate a pure aesthetic experience, apart from its object, whereas I consider the perceived phenomenally objective features of tha object as part, although only a part, of the content that is unified in tha experience. Joel Kupperman (Art and Aesthetic Experience) quotes one of my proposed definitions of aesthetic experience (Aesthetic Experience Regained) that it involves having the greater part of ones mental activity . . . unified and made pleasurable by being tied to the form and qualities of a sensuously presented or imaginatively intended object on which ones primary attention is concentrated. This he considers too broad since it could apply to a sexual experience as well as an aesthetic experience. Perhaps my references to mental activity and attention were insufficiently stressed, or perhaps they sound too Cartesian; but I think of aesthetic experience (as in the first criterion above) as requiring a kind of absorption in form and quality, a giving-in to their force, that precludes much overt physical interaction with the environment. Jerome Stolnitz (The Artistic Values in Aesthetic Experience) has advanced a strong claim of a different kind: that aesthetic experience includes (but I have excluded) a recognition and enjoyment of artistic values e. g. , admirable skill and virtuosity, deftness, adroitness, and economy of action. His excellent argument directed against my treatment of skill, for example, as strictly a property of the artist, not of his work, and hence not germane to evaluations of the work shows how skill can be regarded as an experienceable feature of artworks, and thus can make a difference to aesthetic experience and aesthetic value. When judgments of skill are carefully guarded, in Stolnitzs way, they do not lead away from the work to biographical inquiry, but become part of the expressiveness of the work. Finally, it must be noted that if the difficulties in the concepts of aesthetic value and aesthetic experience which we have reviewed in this section remain intractible. the alternative seems to be to reject both concepts and build aesthetic theory without them. Although such an attempt has been initiated by Nelson Goodman (Languages of Art, Chapter 6, and Ways of Worldmaking, Chapters 6 and 7), it is too early to be sure how successful it will be. Goodman dispenses with aesthetic value entirely in favor of a very general concept of cognitive value, or contributiveness to knowledge and understanding; right rendering in art becomes a general cognitive category, of which truth in certain fields of endeavor is a special case; artworks get their value from entering into the activities by which we grasp and at the same time remake our world or worlds, and this being their primary function, they are to be judged by their success in carrying it out. This strong, tempting, and radical view does not seem able to account satisfactorily for the practice of art critics, the reasons they give in support of their judgments (see Languages of Art and Art Criticism), and it is not yet clear how all artworks can be treated as symbols, as this theory requires (see In Defense of Aesthetic Value and Sections 3 and 5 above). But at present it seems to be the most fully-developed alternative to a theory of art that includes a theory of aesthetic value.

Behavior Management Tips and Techniques

Behavior Management Tips and Techniques As teachers, we often have to deal uncooperative or disrespectful behavior from our students. To eliminate this behavior, its important to address it quickly. A great way to do this is by using a few simple behavior management strategies that help promote appropriate behavior. Morning Message The best way to start your day in an organized way is with a morning message to your students. Each morning, write a short message on the front board that includes quick tasks for the students to complete. These short tasks will keep the students busy and, in turn, eliminate the chaos and chatter in the morning. Example: Good morning Class! Its a beautiful day today! Try and see how many words you can create from the phrase beautiful day. Pick a Stick To help manage the classroom and avoid hurt feelings, assign each student a number in the beginning of the school year. Put each students number on a Popsicle stick, and use these sticks to choose helpers, line leaders or when you need to call on someone for an answer. These sticks can also be used with your behavior management chart. Traffic Control This classic behavior modification system has proven to work in elementary classrooms. All you need to do is make a traffic light on the bulletin board  and place the students names or numbers (use the number sticks from the idea above) in the green section of the light. Then, as you monitor the students behavior throughout the day, place their name or number under the appropriately-colored section. For instance, if a student becomes disruptive, give them a warning and place their name on the yellow light. If this behavior continues, place their name on the red light and either call home or write a letter to the parent. It’s a simple concept that the students seem to understand, and once they go on yellow light, that is usually enough to turn their behavior around. Keep Quiet There are going to be times when you receive a phone call or another teacher needs your assistance. But, how do you keep the students quiet while attending to your priority? Thats easy; just make a bet with them! If they can stay quite without you asking them, and for the whole time youre busy with your task, then they win. You can bet extra free time, a pizza party, or other fun rewards.   Prize Incentive To help promote good behavior throughout the day, try a prize box incentive. If a student wants a chance at picking from the prize box at the end of the day they must†¦(stay on green light, hand in homework assignments, complete tasks throughout the day, etc.) At the end of each day, award the students that had good behavior and/or completed the task assigned. Prize Ideas: SuckersCandyPencilsErasersBraceletsStampsStickersAny small trinket Stick and Save A great way to motivate students to keep on track and reward for good behavior is to use sticky notes. Every time you see a student displaying good behavior, place a sticky note in the corner of their desk. At the end of the day, each student can turn in their sticky notes for a reward. This strategy works best during transitions. Simply place a sticky note on the desk of the first person who is ready for the lesson to eliminate wasted time in between lessons. Looking for more information? Try a behavior management clip chart, or learn the 5 tools to manage young learners.

Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Immigration - Essay Example While some of the realized immigrations are legal, other people cross countries boarders illegally. Many reasons have been offered for immigrations, especially from developing countries to developed countries with economic factors such as search for employment opportunities and better economic status as key. Varying opinions also exist over the effects of such immigration with some views against immigration because of proposed negative effects. There are however positive impacts of immigration that support opinions for allowing immigrants into a country. Immigrants are for example a source of cheap labor for the host economy. This is majorly because of their main reason for immigration that targets jobs in the recipient countries. Immigrants from developing countries are for example driven by unemployment in their countries and the hope of finding jobs upon immigration. Consequently, they are desperate for jobs, and accept lower pays for their economic stability. Difference in macroe conomic factors between developing countries and developed countries also identifies wage rate disparity in which developed countries, normally the recipient, have higher wage rates. Immigrants are therefore comfortable with a wage rate that is considerably low in the host country, but is better that wage rates in their native countries. They therefore offer cheaper labor and consequently lower production costs (Camarota, p. 1). Immigrants have also been identified with higher labor input than natives have. This may also be a factor of their high utility in their work, especially for those immigrants whose main reason for movement was to get an employment opportunity. Better labor input in terms of quality and quantity therefore means efficiency in production and higher quantity of production towards higher gross domestic product. More immigrants in the labor market therefore translate to higher productivity in an economy. Immigration also has a general impact of increasing labor su pply in an economy because availability of labor is a factor of the total active adult population size. Consequently, immigration helps an economy to solve its general problem of scarcity of human resource. The trend of immigrants’ jobs in the labor market also identifies their significance with respect to the types of jobs that they do. Research has for example shown that immigrants majorly occupy unskilled employments that are rarely performed by natives. They consequently fill a labor gap that would be realized in their absence. This means that regardless of reported unemployment rates in the host countries’ economies, immigration is not a factor because majority of immigrants fit into types of jobs that are not sought by the natives (Camarota, p. 1). The fact that some immigrants, especially legal immigrants, have skilled potential is another advantage to the host country’s economy because of the diversified skills that they offer towards consumer utility an d contribution to the economy’s productivity. These categories of immigrants are however few and do not impose significant competition, in the job market, to natives. A general influx of immigrants also has social benefits to the hosts, as it

Potential grows for food crisis as prices surge Essay

Potential grows for food crisis as prices surge - Essay Example Point where this demand and supply meets determines the equilibrium price level at given point in time (Leamer, 2009). (Arnold, 2008) Agricultural goods demand and supply and its respective equilibrium price are largely intervened by government due to many factors such as maintaining farmers’ income stream etc. It is done by restricting supply by restricting the overall production per acreage, restricting export to certain countries, increasing tariffs, restricting price over and above equilibrium( floor price) etc. Figure below explains demand supply scenario that increases price due to supplier responding to international demand. Initially with given demand D and supply S in a country, the price is determined at equilibrium P. In case of issues in other countries such as drought etc and the country in discussion starts exporting agricultural goods to them, the supply curve shifts in the local market from S to S’. At the current point where local demand in the country is D and the supply squeezes from S to S’, the price in the local market increases from P to P1. Demand from other countries increases and the curve shifts from D to D’ towards right. The supply curve also sifting from S to S’ with supply distributed between local and international market, the new price determined will be P2. This new price is high above then price determined based on local market demand. The supplier to get benefit of this increased demand responds to the international demand, hence neglecting local demand (Mankiw, 2009). To mention as evident from the above figure, it is visible that demand curve had a greater shift towards right as it is incorporating the increased demand from the other countries in trouble, hence causing greater shift in price. The supply curve on the other hand had smaller shift due to inelastic in nature causing comparatively less shift in price (O'Sullivan and Sheffrin, 2003). The scenario can also be reverse as in case t he surplus supplies overall worlds is enough to meet the demand. These cause huge variations in the income of farmers, increased supplies causes decline in prices that negatively affects farmers’ situation whereas shortage cause inflated prices and disadvantage to buyer. To control this variation in pricing, government of different countries intervenes in the market and control the supply with restrictions exports and increased tariffs on exports or even bans that maintain the price level in local market (Brickley and Zimmerman, 2009). Whereas to control the declining prices of the agricultural products government fixes floor prices (that is over and above equilibrium prices) and buys from farmer surplus products (Wessels, 2000). When excess is bought by government the level of supply available for customer is less and hence the floor price is adjusted as equilibrium price. (Rittenberg and Tregarthen) The surplus bought from farmer is then used for other purposes. For instanc e, US government uses this surplus for sending in aid programs. Also to maintain this excess supply, government pays farmer certain amount to reduce the per acreage production. These measures to maintain price from access price are however, harmful as they appear not aimed to maintain the income level of farmer but to maintain the international price level. As evident from the history, the supply has never in excess as compare to increase in demand of entire world keeping in consideration the factor of rising population level around the

Partick O'Donnell City Councilman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Partick O'Donnell City Councilman - Essay Example Chapters 13 and 15 of the book are titled, Counties, Special Districts and Regional Agencies and Issues for the New Century, respectively. This is because; the meeting being announced is scheduled for discussions on present matters that have a strong bearing on California’s future and welfare. Particularly, in pages 90-92 in chapter 13 of the book, Field discusses how regional agencies and corporate entities affect the growth and stability of the ‘golden state.’ In chapter 15 of the book, particularly in pages 102-108, the author divulges on and discusses the challenges that continue to beset Chicago. It is not in doubt that recent events in Chicago at the time would discuss the setbacks that Chicago would be facing at the time. It is also very likely that the prospects that the 7- eleven convenience stores bring towards Chicago’s security, economic development and local employment will be applicable in the meeting (Field, 90-3, 102-8). All these are indica ted in the index page 134. The summary of the article is effective since it amplifies the intent of the article and the meeting that it is intending to communicate. The success of the meeting is premised on the manner in which it communicates the intricacies of the message: the date (May 30th, 2012), the venue (Lawn Bowling Club Recreational Park) and the theme of the meeting (the 7- eleven convenience stores of Anaheim and Ximeno). The May 1st, 2012 article titled Chat with Special Guest: LBPD Specialist Kymberly Cloughesy is also important and successful since it communicates the challenges that Chicago has faced and the solutions that O’Donnell has proposed and continues to ratify. The article O’Donnell Keeps Long Beach Moving is also important since it explains O’Donnell’s rationale that having a flowing traffic is not only an efficient and fair way of using Chicago’s budget. Likewise, by expanding 405 Freeway

Political Application of Liberty and Rights

Political Application of Liberty and Rights The concept of freedom A general definition of liberty or freedom defines it as immunity from subjective exercise of authority. However, philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth century seem to explore deeper aspects of this concept. Among these philosophers are Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau, who held strong philosophies of liberty but somewhere along the line, their views differed. To begin with, Hobbes presents two categories of freedom in a persuasive manner where he argues that the first category of freedom is granting individual’s liberty to choose from alternatives, while the second category of freedom is freedom to approve individual’s choice in an instance (Tuckness, 2002, p,105). Analysts claim that Hobbes concept of liberty or freedom is persuasive in nature because the philosopher argues that only the exercise of a power has the ability to reduce people’s freedom. In this case, Hobbes is a determinist because he perceives that any happenings including human action is trig gered by the effect of ancestral or unpreventable causes. Therefore, man exists in a state of withdrawn liberty because the law of nature determines it; hence, freedom is of little use because it benefits no one and that whoever desires to live in freedom end up contradicting oneself (Tuckness, 2002, p, 105). Rousseau on his part brings forth two types of liberties namely, civil or moral liberty and natural liberty. He further explains that natural liberty is the freedom to influence personal desires, while civil liberty is the freedom to convince the general will (Tuckness, 2002, p, 105). Rousseau seems to dig deeper into freedom analysis where he explains that man is extremely free because the cruel state or fellow man does not dominate him nor does the spirituality of artificial needs that exist in the current society enslaves him. However, the scholar claims that man is enslaving himself with needs, which result to the ills experienced in the society today. The concepts outlined by the two scholars present the fact that both of them have similar perception on liberty but they differ in the sense that Hobbes supports negative liberty, while Locke supports the negative side of it. Locke’s positivity exhibits in the sense that he focuses on the positive aspects of what result the law can accomplish because it is only the law that do not restrict freedom (Tuckness, 2002, p, 105). However, this is the point through which differences chip in because Hobbes claims that law restricts peoples many choices; hence, restricting them from freedom (Tuckness, 2002, p, 105). However, he advocates for this kind of freedom by asserting that people should learn how to part with much liberty in order to acquire security and peace. Political application of the theory The two authors seem to disagree on political application of liberty theory. Hobbes believes that liberties must comply and surrender to a sovereign in order to flee the state of nature (Tuckness, 2002, p, 106). He further argues that the government should solely pass rules that govern the society in order to curb human conflicts and that no one should interfere with the government’s business. Hobbes meant that as long as people had basic freedom, acquired after letting go of the much-needed freedom, adhering to the government laws was not a hard task. This is the reason why the philosopher argued that equality is established in covenant form between people and not between people and sovereignty; hence, denying the many the decision making process. Conclusively, Hobbes meant to simplify that people should embrace a little liberty as long as their existed security and peace and grant the sovereign liberty to rule them. Rousseau on his part claims that the most fundamental objective of any government is to allow its citizens exercise freedom. Therefore, the endorsement and existence of certain government codes can grant a certain level of freedom to the society. In this regard, the philosopher meant that the government should not be extremely rigid towards its people in terms of passing laws that could lead to enslavement but rather should advocate for the society’s views and opinions in order to foster the needed freedom (Tuckness, 2002, p, 106). Unlike Hobbes who advocates for sovereign powers to restrict peoples’ freedom, Rousseau seems to advocate for equity and coordination between the sovereign and its people as a form of liberty. The concept of rights According to Hobbes, rights are liberty to do things without facing any sort of restriction and that Man is equal to the other. The philosopher outlines two types of rights namely basic and civil rights, where basic right is the right to cloth, shelter, food and other basic needs, while civil right is the right to freedom of expression, life and other fundamental rights (Edmundson, 2012, p, 23). However, a deeper perspective reflects that Hobbes generalizes the concept of rights on a social platform because he differs with the manner in which rights apply between society and the government. John Locke’s philosophy concerning rights is reviewed in a wider dimension because he believes that human beings are entitled to every necessary right that include the right to live, the right to freedom among other rights (Edmundson, 2012, p, 24). Unlike Hobbes who believes in social rights, Locke differs greatly because he believes that man should posses the right to dominate the society in every means possible. The difference between the two scholars is that Locke involves rights with larger moral complexity compared to Hobbes who views rights as doing whatever one pleased for their own survival. Political application of the rights concept Hobbes clarify that sovereign should safeguards people’s rights but in a shallow dimension because he advocates for government control over its citizens (Edmundson, 2012, p, 24). The reason why the philosopher argues that government should safeguard its people is because people undergo different aspects of conflicts that in one way or another will need superior intervention. The purpose of government at this point is to advocate for equality in the social context because it will ensure that people’s enacted rights are safeguarded (Edmundson, 2012, p, 24). However, sovereign safeguarding of rights occurs due to people’s inferiority and lack of adequate liberty to safeguard their own rights. Hobbes advocates for this type of liberty and the right to protection where the sovereign is the overall determiner of what rights befits the society. This concept drives to the fact that ordinary citizens will suffer because what the sovereign decides is final because no invol vement or negotiations between the two parties exist. Therefore, Hobbes political theory of rights is problematic because it enhances absolute obedience of sovereignty above the rights of millions of people in the society (Edmundson, 2012, p, 24). The philosopher further asserts that once the government is in place, people have no right to criticize or change its form; hence, defying peoples’ right to freedom of expression. Locke seems to challenge Hobbes view on sovereignty and rights because he believed that people had numerous rights that they could safeguard without the dictatorship of the sovereign. Among these rights is the right to challenge the government, which further grants people the right to overthrow an oppressive government (Edmundson, 2012, p, 24). This clarifies the fact that people’s rights should not face any sovereign dictatorship but rather the sovereign should grant its people the right to criticize injustices from any horizon including their rulers because they possess the liberty to do so. The two philosophers differ greatly because Hobbes advocates for the sovereign safeguarding people’s rights while Locke believes in peoples’ empowerment to the extent that they can fight for their own rights. The concept of private property Lock held strong views on property institution due to its importance to humankind and sacredness. Locke begins by reminding everyone that God the creator gave the world to man to dominate it and no one has an elite claim to anything. However, different versions of laws and policies have modified God’s will by allowing man to share the properties of the world according to sovereign constitutions and codes. These institutions grant human beings the right to property because it is the fruit of their labor. In this regard, Locke advocates for the right to own private property through labor and hard work. More so, the scholar advocates for heredity form of property ownership where an individual should not only acquire property through labor but also acquire it through inheritance (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). This clarifies the point that man has fundamental objectives in the society that include ownership of property because it is beneficial to both the society and the sovereign. Lock ’s theory of property resulted from the reason that man mixes his labor with then earth in order to acquire as much as he needs. On the other hand, Karl Marx held a different view on property ownership because he advocated for its abolishment in all possible means. On his argument, Marx believed that a community should exercise equality in the sense that the community should not undergo any form of separation in form of classes. Resources that include private property ownership bring about these class variations within the society (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). Marx argued that private property ownership oppressed the poor and should not be encouraged. The communist further differs with Locke’s view on property ownership as man’s own labor because he argues that man did not acquire property through labor, but rather became a victim of this property because it ended up exploiting them (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). Marx wished to see equity especially on the amount of labor applied as well as its rewarding system because as much as he faced critics concerning man’s labor to acquire property, he saw a vacuum through which workers would face exploitation (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). This leads to the conclusion that the two philosophers greatly differed on property ownership concept because Locke perceived property ownership as the main fundamental aspect to both the government and the society. This is the reason why he advocated for property ownership right and looked forward to a period when all citizens would acquire their own property. Marx on his perspective argues that property ownership does not necessarily imply to home or land ownership as perceived by many, but rather as a means of production, that ended up contributing to unequal distribution of wealth and exploitation of many. Therefore, as much as Locke campaigned for property ownership, Marx called upon its abolition. Political application of the private property concept Concerning legislative, Locke argues that the government should not interfere with an individual’s property without his consent irrespective of the existing constitution (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). Such government involvement arises in form of taxes, where the philosopher argues that sovereign should not inflict tax payments on property owners if possible. Locke further argues that government should adhere to the will of the people by meeting their vast needs that include empowerment to acquire property rather than oppressing them through taxation. Marx on the other hand did not contribute much on issues concerning the government but he still depicted his mistrust in it. This came up because Marx claimed that most of the ruling class in the society supported the government and vice versa. This leads to the notion that the government will not foster the much-needed change in the society in terms of class equity but rather the solution lies on the society itself. Therefore, property ownership has led to social class emergence that even the government cannot help equate; hence, abolition of private property seemed to be Marx’s final option (Bhargava, 2008, p, 216). Conclusively, the two scholars seem to agree on government’s inefficiency in handling property ownership issues and the impact it inflicts towards the society. References Bhargava, R. (2008). Political Theory. Pearson Longman. Edmundson, W. A. (2012). An introduction to rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tuckness, A. S. (2002). Locke and the legislative point of view: Toleration, contested principles, and law. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Swimming :: essays research papers

The sun sleeps as the desolate city streets await the morning rush hour. Driven by an inexplicable compulsion, I enter the building along with ten other swimmers, inching my way toward the cold, dark locker room of the Esplanada Park Pool. One by one, we slip into our still-damp drag suits and make a mad dash through the chill of the morning air, stopping only to grab pull-buoys and kickboards on our way to the pool. Nighttime temperatures in coastal California dip into the high forties, but our pool is artificially warmed to seventy-nine degrees; the temperature differential propels an eerie column of steam up from the water's surface, producing the spooky ambience of a werewolf movie. Next comes the shock. Headfirst immersion into the tepid water sends our hearts racing, and we respond with a quick set of warm-up laps. As we finish, our coach emerges from the fog. He offers no friendly accolades, just a rigid regimen of sets, intervals, and exhortations. Thus starts another workout. 4,500 yards to go, then a quick shower and a five-minute drive to school. Then it's back to the pool; the afternoon training schedule features an additional 5,500 yards. Tomorrow, we start over again. The objective is to cut our times by another tenth of a second. The end goal is to achieve that tiny, unexplainable difference at the end of a race that separates success from failure, greatness from mediocrity. Somehow we accept the pitch--otherwise, we'd still be deep in our mattresses, slumbering beneath our blankets. In this sport, the antagonist is time. Coaches spend hours in specialized clinics, analyze the latest research on training technique, and experiment with workout schedules in an attempt to defeat time. Yet there are no shortcuts to winning, and workouts are agonizing. I took part in my first swimming race when I was ten years old. My parents, fearing injury, directed my athletic interests away from ice hockey and into the pool. Three weeks into my new swimming endeavor, I somehow persuaded my coach to let me enter the annual age group meet. To his surprise (and mine), I pulled out an "A" time. I furthered my achievements by winning "Top 16" awards for various age groups, setting club records, and being named National First Team All-American in the 100-Butterfly and Second Team All-American in the 200-Medley. I have since been elevated to the Senior Championship level, which means the competition now includes world-class swimmers.

Local and National policies regarding minorities in Japan and China Essay

There is no single community in the world today which does not consist of a minority group. In most cases, the minority ethnic groups and the majority are always in conflict, as the minorities are generally oppressed. This arises mostly as a result of cultural misunderstandings. Cultural misunderstandings have become a widespread problem in the contemporary society. Cultural identity is a broad notion which is composed of demographic components such as nationality and social status (Schwartz 2007, par. 1). However; the various governments of the world have tried to protect the rights of the minorities by ensuring that they are protected in their constitutions. Japan and China have very well stipulated rights of the minority in their constitutions; however, the minorities are still subjected to maltreatment in theses countries. Definition of a minority A minority is commonly described as a group of people in a given society with the following characteristics, â€Å"numerically smaller than the rest of the population of the state or a part of the state, which is not in a dominant position, which has no culture, language, religion, race among others, and is distinct from the rest of the population, whose members have a will to preserve the minorities, whose members are citizens of the state where they have the status of a minority, and have a long-term presence on the territory where they lived† (Smihula 2009, par. 1). China Chinese Cultural Centre (2010) states that, â€Å"From the hinterlands of the north, to the lush jungles in the south, from the mountains of Taiwan in the east, to the top of the world in the west, China serves as home to 56 official ethnic groups. The largest group, the Han, make up over ninety two of China’s vast population, and it is the elements of Han civilization that world considers â€Å"Chinese culture. † Yet, the fifty five ethnic minorities, nestled away on China’s vast frontiers, maintain their own rich traditions and customs, and all are part of Chinese culture†. The ethnic groups in China live together in very vast areas. Others live in small areas, in single concentrated communities which are normally inhabited predominantly by the Han people. This is a distribution which has been there since time immemorial in the history of China, as various ethnic groups mingled and migrated. China’s minority groups are scattered all over the republic. However, their population is small. They are found in every municipality, provinces and autonomous region under the Chinese Central government. In other county-level units, there are more than two ethnic groups which live together. Currently, the Chinese minority groups are concentrated in autonomous regions like Ningxia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Liaoning, Hainan, Hunan, Jilin, Gansu, Guizhou, Yunnan and Taiwan (China UN 1999, par. 3). Generally, there are official efforts which have been made so as to cater for the rights of the minorities in China. The most obvious ones are the assistance of the minorities to get their own language, glorify their legendary heroes by compiling the history of the minorities , restore the medical practices of the minority as well as help them develop literature, compose music and opera ( Debra & Jensen 2002, 175). Policies on minorities Prior to the founding of the Chinese Republic in 1949, there was a general imbalance of ethnic minorities. They were denied social and economic development. Most of the minority societies were in the slave system, primitive system and others, in the serf system. Majority of the minority populations in these regions were slaves of feudal lords, temples, nobles and slave owners. The minority groups had no personal freedom, and all people would buy and sell them, and even give them out as gifts at their own will. The reason why there was so much oppression of the minority groups was because of the Sixteen-Point Law and the Thirteenth-Point Laws, which were formulated in the 17th century (China UN 1999, par. 11) The first policy that protects the rights of the minorities in China states that â€Å"All ethnic groups participate in State Affairs Administration on an equal footing† (China UN 1999, par. 14). The Chinese Government has ensures that the Han people and the minority participate in affairs management at local and state governments. More importantly, the government has stated that there is full guarantee of the minority ethnic groups’ rights so that they can effectively take part in state affairs management. For instance, the highest state power organ in China, National Peoples Congress (NPC), has demonstrated a full support of the ethnic minorities’ rights. The Local People’s Congresses (LPC) and NPC have Electoral Law provisions. These provisions state that â€Å"the minority peoples shall have their own deputies to sit in the NPC, and ethnic groups whose population is less than that prescribed for electing one deputy and permitted to elect one deputy† (China UN 1999,par. 14) In concentrated communities comprising of ethnic minorities, each of these communities is allowed to have their own deputy. The deputies elected sit in the LPC. Additionally, those who are scattered on vast areas are also allowed to elect their deputies in their LPC’s. The number of people that are represented by the deputies is less than in the concentrated regions, compared to those who are from concentrated communities (China UN 1999, Par. 15). Great efforts have been made by the state so as to ensure that there is good proportion of people from the minority groups who are trained to be cadres. This enables them to be of help in the government. The national and local state offices are also comprised of very many personnel of the minority proportions. This is in the procuratorial, administrative, judicial and management organs. From year 2000, the percentage of the minorities in the Standing Committee was twenty one percent. This number has been increasing within the years (China UN 1999, Par. 16) Since China became a republic, it has always ensured that â€Å"Identification of Ethnic Minorities† (China UN 1999, par. 17) is another policy which they should continually use. Previously, before independence, there was no figure which revealed the total number of the minority groups in China. It only started this in a bid to implement the equality policy among all ethnic groups. As a result, there were well organized large scale investigations which were meant to identify ethnic groups since 1953. Since then, all ethnic groups, regardless of their social development level and the areas they have inhabited are all regarded as equal. Several minority groups which were not recognized in old China became recognized as a result of the change. They had the privilege of enjoying equal rights with the other ethnic groups in China (China UN 1999, par. 17). Before 1951, there were no proper names given to the minority ethnic communities in China. This was considered as oppression and ethnic discrimination by the Chinese government. In fact, most of the names that were given to the minority groups portrayed implications of high class ethnic discrimination. Therefore, the Central People’s Government promulgated an order, which was meant to promote monuments, inscriptions, place names, tablets and appellations. Additionally, all inscriptions which had discriminative contents were all abolished. Some ethnic appellations which never implied insults were also changed so as to meet the wishes of certain ethnic groups. For example, the Tong ethnic group was converted to Zhuang (China UN1999, par. 18). Acts or words which were aimed at inciting discrimination and hostility against ethnic groups, and those which also aimed at sabotaging unity and equality among the people was regarded as a law violation. All the ethnic groups that were subjected to oppression, insults or discrimination were given rights to complain to their respective judicial institutions. At this point, all the complaints would be dealt with accordingly. China even joined several international conventions which were meant to protect the rights of all racial groups. Some of these include International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These organizations have helped the republic to continually advocate the national and local policy on equality in the Republic of China (China UN 1999, par. 20). The Chinese constitution also had provisions which enhanced the unity of the ethnic groups. The Chinese constitution has a policy which emphasized on the need to do away with group chauvinism, especially the Han chauvinism, as well as the local ethnic chauvinism. The Government has also worked hard to ensure that the media, literary works and publications groups are prohibited from revealing contents which damage ethnic unity among all Chinese communities (China UN 1999, par. 20). China has a diversity of religion. The main religious groups include Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Taoism. Most of the ethnic groups have religious beliefs. The Chinese government has outlined specific policies which are meant to ensure that the freedom of all ethnic groups is safeguarded, and all the ethnic minorities are guaranteed normal religious activities (China 1999, par. 22). Additionally, they have been given freedom to â€Å"use and develop their own spoken and written languages† (China 1999, par. 23). There are specialists who have been kept aside so as to make investigations of written and spoken languages of the ethnic minorities. Additionally, there are special organizations which have been started so as to help people research in languages and train specialists in the same languages (China UN 1999, par. 23). Culture is a people’s way of life. Killing the culture of a certain ethnic community would mean killing its future generation. In a bid to protect the culture of the ethnic minorities in China, the Chinese government has formulated plans which are meant to collect, edit, translate and publish elements of culture. These studies are of a great help as they give the ethnic minorities the rights to eat the food they prefer, to perform their various rites and rituals without discrimination. Additionally, the ethnic Chinese communities are well known of practicing traditional medicine. The government has built universities and research institutions so as to ensure that the ethnic minority groups that practice traditional medicine continue, at a more advanced level. In regard to art, the Chinese government has come up with a policy which promotes all their music and literature, therefore, binding them together as minority ethnic communities. No discrimination is allowed in the educational circles, as the constitution has stated. All children are entitled to a good education (China UN, par, 40-50). Treatment of the minorities by the Chinese society Regardless of the Chinese constitution which has stated clearly on the treatment of the ethnic minorities, there has been a great amount of discontent among the ethnic minorities. As a result, they have always complained to the local and national state officials in regard to this treatment. Many at times, the law has not been taken seriously. When the officials do not give heed to the cries of the ethnic minorities, they end up protesting. A good example of recent protests which have evoked international concerns, and have actually revealed the treatment of the ethnic minorities in China is the Uighurs protests. The Uighurs are just a representation of the rest of the ethnic minorities, who have been denied their rights despite of them being stated clearly in the Chinese constitution. The Chinese government has not been so keen in the way they handle the East Turkestan and Urumqi, and there has been a general unrest in these regions (Kadeer 2009, par. 1). The number of the Uighurs that died during the protests were over four hundred, and scores of them were seriously injured. As a result, there was a curfew imposed in their dwelling region, Xinjiang province. Additionally, security was beefed up, so much so that every house has two policemen guarding it (Kadeer 2009, par. 5-6). The reason why the protests had occurred was because the Chinese government had gone back to the habits of the days before China became an independent. It has continued ‘encouraging a national streak among the Han Chinese as it seeks to replace the bankrupt communist ideology it used to promote (Kadeer 2009, par. 10). The major reason why the Uighur people demonstrated was because of the destruction of an ancient Uighur cultural problem, ‘The Old City of Kashgar’. Despite of the governments claim to protect the culture of the minorities, they failed to demonstrate this through their action. This old city has served as an example of their civilization for very many years (Times on Line 2009, par. 7). Japan’s National and Local policies on minorities Despite of the fact that both Japan and China are states in East Asia, there are fewer numbers of minorities in Japan as compared to China. The minorities in Japan form four percent of the total population (Faqs 2008, par. 1). The Japanese minorities have for a long time suffered oppression as a result of cultural and psychological factors. The ethnic minorities in Japan consist of the Koreans, Ainu, Burakumin and Okinawans. The numbers of the Burakumin minorities living in Japan are between three to four million. They are of the lower Indian castes, and therefore are generally discriminated. The other major minority group is the Korean group, which mostly inhabits the Kinki region of Japan. The name Burakumin is discriminative, and traces its origin from the early Buddhist teachings prohibiting the killing of animals. All those people who were actively involved in the unrighteous and ignoble task of killing animals were referred to as the Burakumins. This is because they were considered as polluted. All contacts with these people were shunned. As a result they have been a discriminated ethnic minority in Japan even in the current days (Karan 2005, 184). The policies in Japan and China are not different. The Japanese government has tried its best to create the participation of minorities in the region. The attitudes of the Japanese government towards the minorities stem more from social attitudes continuation than the ideologies from official state policy. Japan has a human rights and liberal constitution, which is similar in many ways to the Chinese constitution. The Constitution is keen on the culture and a, its aspects, including religion, literature, art and music. It also advocates for the education of all the children from the minority groups, as well as proper representation of the ethnic minorities is the Japanese government (Faqs 2008, par. 10). Even though Japan is known of having a human rights constitution, it maintains strong and regressive attitudes to several of the minority citizens. This is clearly revealed by the racialist attitudes towards the treatment of Koreans and the other minority groups (Faqs 2008, par. 10). The Japanese constitution stipulates in Article 14 that all people are under the law. Japan is a member of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights (ICESCR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These bodies are involved in the prohibition of discrimination on ethnic or racist grounds (HRDC 2002, par. 1). Treatment of minorities by the Japanese society The situation in Japan is no different from that of China as far as the treatment of the ethnic minorities is concerned. The Japanese authorities have always acted against the minority groups since time immemorial, regardless of the policies that the Japanese government has enacted concerning the ethnic minority treatment. A good example of an ethnic society that has been for a long time discriminated is the Koreans. In 2006, dozens of Osaka policemen and women were mobilized so as to search shops which were run by Koreans in Japan. The aim of this activity was to ensure that there was safety in the region. Additionally, the Central Hall, the main hall of the Korean residents in Tokyo, was another bone of contention (Korea 2006, par. 3). This is because unlike what they authorities had promised before, tax had to be paid for the hall (Korea 2006, par. 1). There was also the suppression of the Chongryon movement. This was the opposite of what Japan had been described as, a â€Å"constitutional state† (Korea 2006, par. 3). Chongryon is an organization which was formed by the Korean people, and its role is to defend all the rights of the Koreans as far as democracy is concerned. The authorities claim that they would dissolve the group, as it was meant to attack the Japanese government (Korea 2006, par. 3). Several people have been against the racism and discrimination that has been subjected on the Japanese minorities. Due to this level of discrimination, UN specialists have stated that it is important to introduce new legislations to combat racism, as the situation has gone out of hand. The government has failed totally to consider the seriousness of discrimination and racism in the region. As a result, the minorities have been segregated from the other tribes despite the laws that are present to protect them. These minority groups have been left to wallow in poverty in Japan’s poorest dwelling places like slums. Politicians in Japan have used nationalist or racist themes so as to ‘whip up popular emotions’. The only way that Japan would be able to curb the discrimination problem would be through cooperation of the government, the non-governmental organizations and the people. This would only be possible if the minority groups would be consulted first (BBC 2010). Conclusion The local and national policies regarding the minorities in Japan should be enacted afresh. This is because; a society with a constitution which is not strictly adhered to is the same as having no constitution at all. Japan and China should listen to the cries of the minorities’ so as to advance in all their sectors. References China UN 1999, National minorities’ policies and its practice in China, Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, viewed 25 May, 2010 Chinese Culture Center 2010, Ethnic minorities in China, Chinese culture, viewed 25 May, 2010 Chris, Hogg 2010, Japan racism ‘deep and profound’, BBC, viewed 25 May, 2010 Debra, Susan & Jensen, Lionel 2002, China Off Center: Mapping the margins of the middle kingdom, Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press. Faqs 2008, East Asia minorities, Viewed 25 May, 2010 HRDC 2002, Japan minorities yet to find their place in the sun, human rights features, viewed 25th may, 2010 Kadeer, R 2009, The real story of the Uighurs, heavy-handed police tactics by the Chinese turned a peaceful assembly into a bloodbath, Dow Jones & Company, viewed 25 May, 2010 Korea NP 2006, FM Spokesman urges Japan to stop suppression of the Chongryon, viewed 25 May, 2010 Karan, Prasad 2005, Japan in the 21st century: Environment, economy and society, Kentucky, University Press of Kentucky Times on Line 2010, The Uighurs’ cry has echoed round the world. Times Magazine, viewed 25 May, 2010, Schwartz Andrew 2007, Treatment of minorities in contemporary society, Article Base, Viewed 25 May, 2010 Smihula Daniel, Definition of national minorities in International Law, Journal of U. S. -China Public Administration, 6 (5)

The Meaning and Origin of Morales

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