Brooklyn in the 1950's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brooklyn in the 1950's - Essay Example Among these displays, some of the very best include those on 83rd and 84th streets. For the tourists nowadays a 3.5 hours tour shuttle is also offered whose name is â€Å"Tony Muia† This is what Brooklyn looks like at present times but in this article we’ll try to have a look about the outlook of Brooklyn as it was in 1950s. The main reference to the history of Brooklyn is a beautiful book by Colm Toibin named â€Å"Brooklyn†, it is basically a novel based on the life of Brooklyn in 50s. This novel basically depicts a sad life and gives an overview about the pattern of life in Brooklyn at that time. Geographical Location: In 1950s, Brooklyn had the same boundaries as of the Kings County which is now the 2nd most densely populated county of United States after the Manhattan County, if we go far behind in the past then Brooklyn was an independent city until it was included in New York in 1898, but still in 1950s, despite of the merger into New York., Brooklyn maint ained its individuality in culture, art and its architecture and it has harbor different cultures in different areas. Downfall of Brooklyn: In the post war years, Brooklyn was the main supplier of the industrial goods to the whole of the country but by 1950 these industrial supplies began to diminish pertaining to the fact that the major industrial manufacturers started to move to other cities which appeared cheaper to them as well as the Brooklyn port also started to decline as larger ships came into scene which required larger ports having deep harbors which was deficient factor in the port of Brooklyn, at that time, economy was unstable and banks were providing loans for building houses on easy conditions so a large number of white middle class community left their native homes in Brooklyn and moved to other localities which appeared to have more prosperous future for them such as Staten Island and New Jersey. Whole of the Jewish community left their homes in Brooklyn and moved t o other places such as Flatbush, Borough Park, Eastern Parkway and Brighton Beach. Most of the Italians also moved from Brooklyn and what could be regarded as a major blow was the incidence of Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles in 1957. This was quite significant as Dodgers symbolized Brooklyn for a very long time so it was a big setback for the residents of Brooklyn and the dodgers wee the unifying factor for the whole diverse ethnic groups residing in the Brooklyn. So everyone in Brooklyn in some way or the other was related to each other through the Dodgers. One such incidence which showed the significance of Dodgers was the defeat of New York Yankees by the Dodgers in 1955 which made their loyal fans felt proud and when this team suddenly became the Los Angeles Dodgers then it was also taken as a sign of the decline of the golden era of Brooklyn. Once all the colors of Brooklyn faded, the manufacturing power of Brooklyn also declined drastically and this can be shown by the fact that the Brooklyn Navy yard was closed in 1966. The Brighter Side: Despite of a large number of people migrating to other areas from Brooklyn, in 1950s there was an influx of a large number of Italians to this area resulting in the predominance of Italians in these neighborhoods and this dominance of Italians still persists in some areas of Brooklyn such as Bensonhurst which is also known as the â€Å"Little Italy† of Brooklyn. In 1950, one major event was the arrival of New York aquarium into the Coney Island. Though the abrupt voting of the Dodgers to join Los Angeles was the significant dilemma for the Brooklyn residents but event after that there were some leaders in Brooklyn like Galamison and Reverend Milton who continued the traditions of the activists to raise their voices against any injustice or

Language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Language development - Essay Example The next stage the infant goes through usually takes place between seven months of age and one year. This stage is when the child is learning to recognize his/her name, will listen when spoken to, recognizes that certain words have certain meanings (ie; ball, food etc.), and responds to requests like "come here". The toddler is also beginning to learn the vocabulary and concepts necessary for reading. This stage is when the infant uses one and two words at a time and attempts to communicate more with non-crying responses (ie; words) than in earlier stages of development. Just as there are varying times in an individual child's life for each stage, there are also many factors that affect their language development. These factors can include; other skills the child is working on, how parents respond to the child's attempt to communicate and the amount and kind of speaking the child hears on a consistent basis (http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/lang_lit.htm). Other factors can be whether the child is hearing more than one language in the household. The next factor to consider is when a parent responds to a child's attempts to communicate with indifference. The child can respond in kind, quickly learning to become indifferent himself.

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Analysis - Case Study Example From the first analysis and using the x-factor tool given to evaluate different possibilities it is observed that when the sales is at 422,733 million, the cost of goods sold is directly affected at 38% million , the cost of goods sold is directly affected at 38% million , the cost of goods sold is directly affected at 38% million. On the other hand, the cost of goods sold is directly affected at 38% to be 160,639 million. For a business to operate there are operating expenses that always has to be incurred. These include rent, internet, transport, flights, advertising, airtime among other things. These factors are consolidated into operating expenses which in this scenario is directly affected by sales at 50% meaning that half of the operating expenses are geared towards sales. As the sensitivity analysis tool suggest, when cost of goods sold is 35% of sales, the company runs into a profit of 28,787million but when the cost of goods sold is at 45% of sales the company runs into a debt of 2102 million. This happens since the company is having a lot of spending to increase sales. The breaking point ratio is at 44% of sales since no debt is made and the company has 987 excess cash for the company. Therefore the company should at least invest 200 million to offset this change. One of the assumptions made in this analysis is that interest expense is directly affected by the debt the company has. The second assumption is that the debt majorly consists of loan i.e. both long term and short term loans. Another assumption is that sales do not vary at this point and that incase it does, the effect is insignificant. In addition the current assets are also deemed a factor that affects debt and excess income in the company. There is also an assumption that total assets less total liability will give a balancing figure which will either result to a debt or an income. Moreover, we

Language development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Language development - Essay Example The next stage the infant goes through usually takes place between seven months of age and one year. This stage is when the child is learning to recognize his/her name, will listen when spoken to, recognizes that certain words have certain meanings (ie; ball, food etc.), and responds to requests like "come here". The toddler is also beginning to learn the vocabulary and concepts necessary for reading. This stage is when the infant uses one and two words at a time and attempts to communicate more with non-crying responses (ie; words) than in earlier stages of development. Just as there are varying times in an individual child's life for each stage, there are also many factors that affect their language development. These factors can include; other skills the child is working on, how parents respond to the child's attempt to communicate and the amount and kind of speaking the child hears on a consistent basis (http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/lang_lit.htm). Other factors can be whether the child is hearing more than one language in the household. The next factor to consider is when a parent responds to a child's attempts to communicate with indifference. The child can respond in kind, quickly learning to become indifferent himself.

Nothing But The Truth by avi book talk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nothing But The Truth by avi book talk - Essay Example There are larger social and community forces at work when it comes to the actions of men. Young people are introduced into these in this work. These things make the book a worthwhile read, apart from its artistic merits. This is an excellent novel for introducing young people into some hard to grasp gray areas when it comes to seeking the truth in human society (Avi, 2003; Holt, Rinehart and Winston, n.d.). In terms of readability and suitability, the novel is perfect for students in the middle school grades. Moreover, the reading difficulty appropriateness is buttressed by the aspects of the novel that relate to truth seeking, and that relate to imparting lessons about how society works, and how human nature works when it comes to dealing with the truth. Truth is not something that is out there as black and white realities, but is something that is sometimes hard to surface, despite the best intentions. This lesson goes beyond the merely literary and goes beyond language. It has large implications for the understanding of young people of their place in their community, and the ways and motivations of people and of the institutions that impact their lives. Because the novel touches on a larger social reality, I chose it as an excellent material with many layers of meaning and lessons for my students. For these reasons too, I rate this 4 stars out of 5 (Avi, 2003; Holt, Rinehart and Win ston, n.d.). The obvious curricular connections are in social studies, especially as the novel touches on the interplay of many social institutions and how they influence the thinking and behavior of the different key characters in the story. The mainstream media as an important group in society is a focus of attention, as well as the larger social reality of the school system, and the political system as well. These are all explored with some depth as they relate to the issue at hand in the novel, and tie very well with related concepts in social studies (Avi, 2003; Holt,

Foods representing American Essay Example for Free

Foods representing American Essay The United States of America is a melting pot of different ethnic cultures and hence in that respect is considered to be one of the most diverse countries in the universe. The cultural cuisine is marked by the influence of different cultures and is difficult to actually say which one stands out to be a symbolic representation of American culture. But before one can delve any further it is important to understand the root significance of what is it like to be American or the American way of life. What is the American way of life all about ? Or, what is Americanism all about and how does it permeate it’s way into defining certain kinds of food onto an iconic level. Imagine food being granted the iconic status of being truly American! An average outlook on the part of most Americans, is that they generally like and prefer food that is cheap, quick, and convenient regardless of whether it is purchased from a supermarket or a fast food store. In other words, cooking or buying food is never expected to be a hassle- it ought to be fast, easy, â€Å"with minimal or economic sacrifice† (Ikerd,2009). The characteristics of America’s food culture are cost, convenience, and appearance. Let us take a look at some of the foods that have acquired an iconic brand status of being truly American. These foods have a sense of place and a signature style as being a symbolic representative of a place / region in America. What one generally gets to hear about is hamburgers, French fries, potato chips, e. t. c Apart from just the usual common food/snack varieties that are popular, and if one were to really look harder for a search- there are regional / locational foods that have shaped the thought process all across America. Apple Pie, New England Clam Chowder, Pastrami (New York), Shoofly(Pennsylvania), Smithfield ham(Virginia), Po boys (Louisiana), Fajitas (Texas). a) Apple Pie: is considered to be a European import and has come to stay in America for centuries and been perfected over the years. An American Apple pie is homely and rustic in appearance. b) New England Clam Chowder: No trip to Boston is complete without a proper bowl of clam chowder. A proper chowder is deep and aromatic, with layered flavors atop a porky foundation (Bonne, 2009) c) Pastrami (New York): Pastrami is man’s mastery over meat. It begins with a simple slab / plate of meat — a cut which is different from the grill-and-serve of the obvious hunk of a cow, needs the much needed transformation. It is then subjected to a dry cure process: salted with a good portion of cracked black pepper and maybe with a little sugar and spice — which rest on the meat as it is left to be smoked. When it is finally ready- whole pastramis are steamed for quite a few hours before serving. d) Shoofly pie (Pennsylvania): is a fruity pie and quite a tasty one. It is crusty with molasses and crumbs. The crumbs add texture to the dense and rustic pie rich with molasses in taste. According to popular Amish folklore one is reminded of the fact that the name derives itself from an activity that refers to the constant need to shoo away flies from these succulent and juicy sweet treats atop which are the generous pools of molasses that lay formed. d) Po-boys (Louisiana): This a generally considered a workaday food meant for hungry and hardworking people trying to meet ends. It’s discovery is attributed to two brothers viz. , Benjamin and Clovis Martin, who ran a restaurant in the city’s French Market. Eating a ‘Po-boy’ is quite an unforgettable sandwich treat. WORKS CITED Ikerd, John (2009) â€Å"The American Food Culture† Retrieved on 29th May, 2009 http://www. kerrcenter. com/nwsltr/2005/spring2005/food_culture. htm Bonne, Jon (2005) â€Å"10 Foods that make America great† Retrieved on 29th May, 2009. http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/8392312//

Utilitarianism As The Principle Of Happiness Philosophy Essay

Utilitarianism As The Principle Of Happiness Philosophy Essay According to John Stuart Mill (author of Utilitarianism), utility is happiness, and happiness is pleasure minus pain. Widely known as a universal hedonism, utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy in which the most ethical acts are those which serve to increase the happiness for the most people or at the very least, decreases the suffering for the most people. Nonetheless, albeit with the fact that happiness is recognized as a universal though objectively valuable goal , utilitarianism has been for centuries recognized as the doubt of most moral philosophers, criticized for being impractical, cold and distant from individual rights and the real complexities of life. Bernard Williams is one of the critics, who brought about explicit series of objections against utilitarianism in his book, A Critique of Utilitarianism (Williams 1973b). Obviously, it is impossible for me to cover all areas concerning utilitarianism and so concentrating on morality objections, I will first of all attempt to present Bernard Williams integrity objection and the well known counter-examples against utilitarianism. Then, I will try to counter these objections, and rebutted Williams argument with stern objections as well, with Mills Utilitarianism as my reference. At the end of this essay, I hope to show that utilitarianism is indeed right, and likewise, moral intuitions are without a doubt unreliable to be used as a base in criticising utilitarianism. From what I can understand, Williams believes that utilitarianism fails to recognise the reality of complexities in life, the value of integrity, and as I mentioned earlier, individual rights. Morality comes with the recognition of individual rights and if decisions or judgments are made based on numerical value of the greatest number of happiness in a situation, the happiness of this lesser number group is ignored. Hence, integrity failed to be satisfied. In order to maximize the number of happiness, simply favour the largest number of members in a group and this irked the mind of Williams. Moreover, according to Williams, a normal utilitarian man wouldnt be able to fulfil the demanding ridiculous principle of utilitarianism. It is asking too much of an individual person and so because of that the theory must be flawed. From experience itself we can be sure that morality indeed, does not require so much of us.   Yet, the latter argument of Williams can still be argued as it is not that the theory is demanding, it is just that people dont want to fulfil their moral obligations, and that we just dont like being told to do what we dont want to do.   After all, a moral theory that wouldnt ask us to do what we dont want to do would be useless. Critics of utilitarianism have never fail to construct hypothetical situations where in each of them is the definite clear expectation of what the utilitarian would say, and it is also clear that the saying of the utilitarian would always be potentially wrong in almost all hypothetical cases. These counter-examples against utilitarianism do not conclusively show that utilitarianism is wrong, but indeed they are common reasons why people are rejecting it. And so because of that, I will present two such common counter-examples and the expected utilitarian response for these counter examples. First Counter-Example: Hypothetically speaking, there would be a television show of the future, a show where a person is taken and subjected to tortures on the show.   This is a pay-per-view show that costs a good amount of money to get.   Only people who want to see the show will ever see it, but there are a large number of people who get a great amount of pleasure from seeing this plus all the profits go to charity.   This isnt a regular program, it may only happen once.   Should this show be made? Speaking in a utilitarian manner, it is indeed right to give a green light to this show as even though, it is really sad and bad for this one person, it is however, brings a lot of happiness and pleasure to those who will see it (obviously thousands of watchers). Moreover, all the profits will go to the charity thus benefited a lot more people! Clearly, the benefits outweigh the harms. But obviously, it is indeed still wrong to torture people. This could indeed be the main argument of the opponents. Regardless of the benefits, it is still a violation of that tortured mans rights. Furthermore, to enjoy watching the torture could indeed be more morally wrong than to be physically involved in the show. Second Counter-Example: Jim, a botanist travelling in South America, comes upon a public execution in a small town. A military captain has lined up 20 Indians. He explains to Jim that they have been chosen at random from the local population, which has recently been protesting against the government. The captain offers Jim a guests privilege. If Jim wishes, he can select one of the Indians and shoot him; the other nineteen will then go free. Otherwise, the execution by the captains henchman, Pedro, will go as planned. Utilitarianism seems to claim that it is obvious that the right thing to do is for Jim to just select one of these Indians to be shot at, so that another 20 lives could be spared. To not choose, or refusing to choose could lead to unhappiness of 20 persons, whereas to choose could only cause unhappiness of one. And so as we are referring to the theory of maximizing utility, to lose one is better than to lose 20. However, the objector will claim that it is just obvious that this is the wrong thing to do.   Killing a persons life is still wrong for whatever the reason is. From what that I can deduce, the two counter-examples have one thing in common that is our sense of Morality or our moral intuitions clashes with the principles that utilitarianism hold. Indeed, opposite commands. Nevertheless, it does not mean that utilitarianism must be wrong or flawed. First of all, the arguments made by these counter-examples can only be conclusive if only our moral intuitions are correct.   However, as we all know, our moral intuitions are volatile due to the complexities of life and due to the significant numbers of gray areas that could result in confusion, according to Mill, that is why we refer to moral theories in the first place. Since it is unclear to us of the universal approval for moral intuitions, the critics cannot use their moral intuitions as the base for rejecting a moral theory which is in this case, the moral theory of utilitarianism. Indeed, of course, for example, stealing is a disgrace yet to think of it now, maybe our other supposed to be right moral beliefs might be wrong. Yet, is stealing really wrong? What about Robin Hood? Is he a hero or just a plain mere thief? The point that Im trying to state here is that we dont really know which are right and which are wrong. Our moral beliefs are inconsistent.   Some may percei ved certain things are right. Some may not. And so, we cannot know that our common sense moral intuitions about The Torture Show or Jim and The 21 Indians are right mainly because we dont really know which of our moral beliefs to trust. Second of all, the counter-examples are based on complicated moral situations; and truth to be told, biased as have they are design in such a way that the morally right answer seem obvious.   In reference to Jim and the 21 Indians, let me re-describe the situation to highlight the utilitarian benefit. Indeed, it is hard to overlook how terrible the consequences would be if 20 Indians are to be killed, when Jim has the power to prevent that. We must acknowledge the fact that, yes, although it is easy to sympathize with one innocent unfortunate person, we must also sympathize with the other 20 people, each of whom will suffer greatly if they are to be killed.  In this case, the morally right action is not obvious.  The situations presented are almost always unusual and extraordinary they are situations that one is unlikely to come across, much less to be prepared for when one does come across it.   And so conclusively, we based our moral intuitions on our moral educations. Mor al education is applicable to our daily lives and if it was to be applied in aggravating counter-examples and in every possible situation, it is indeed impossible. And so because of that, moral intuitions are not valid and any objections based on them are flawed and can be disregarded. Conclusively, these could somehow rebut the arguments made by William on the basis of integrity and morality. Conclusively, we can actually deduce that things that are morally wrong usually involve the harming of people and things that are of high moral values such as charity work, heroic deeds all contribute to the welfare of the people. Moreover, it is not a coincidence that wrong actions harm people and right action help people.  Indeed, utilitarianism claimed that the reason that right actions are right is that they help people, and the reason that wrong actions are wrong is because they harm people.   The basis of morality is inside the principle of utilitarianism. You make people happy when you help them and you make them unhappy when you harm them. And so, conclusively, as long as a person accepts that it is best to help people as much as possible and hurt them as little as possible, he or she must accept that utilitarianism is right! Works Cited/References: Crisp, Roger 1997: Routledge Philosophy Guide Book to Mill on Utilitarianism. E. Goodin, Robert 1995: Utilitarianism as a Public Philosophy. Mill, John Stuart (Reprinted in Penguin Classics 1985, first published in 1859): On Liberty. Would you kill someone to save one hundred people? CreateDebate. Retrieved on 15th November 2009, from http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/ould_you_kill_ someone_to_save_one_hundred_people Utilitarianism Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved on 12th November 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism Bernard Williams Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved on 12th November 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Williams Introduction to utilitarianism. Retrieved on 16th November 2009 from http://www.utilitarian.org/utility.html Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill Retrieved on 18th November 2009 from http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm