What can we learn about human nature from our relatives, the chimpanzees

Introduction Human beings represent the most evolved primates and their brains are the most developed among the mammals of the order Primate. Through millenniums of evolution, human beings have developed complex cultures and behavioral traits that characterize humans. However, primatologists have suggested that characteristics of human nature might not be limited to humans and primates such as the chimpanzee might share some of these features.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on What can we learn about human nature from our relatives, the chimpanzees? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Chimpanzees are unique among the primate group since they are man’s closest living relatives. Anthropologists believe that by studying these primates, we can gain insight into human behavior. Renowned primatologists such as Frans de Waal declare that the behavior of chimpanzees can provide important clues about human natu re. With this in mind, this paper will engage in an in-depth analysis of what we can learn about human nature from our relatives, the chimpanzees. Lessons from Chimpanzees Social Life Human social life can be informed by studying the chimpanzees. Specifically, chimpanzees demonstrate that primates thrive better in a communal setting than they do in isolation. Chimpanzees normally live in colonies, which are made up of males, females, and the young ones. While all the members of the colony engage in activities such as foraging and hunting, to sustain themselves, the group stays together as a community. The importance of social interactions in promoting peace is highlighted by studying chimpanzees. When groups of chimpanzees exist live together, they engage in activity such as mutual grooming, which reinforces the relationships between them. Because of this reinforced relationship, a social bond is created among the members of the group. The bond helps to promote peace and foster re conciliation when conflicts arise. In the same way, human beings are likely to coexist peacefully if they engage in activities that foster social bonds. People who engage in communal activities that strengthen social bonds are unlikely to act aggressively against each other. Self-interest is natural and it helps in the creation of behavior that is beneficial for all. In chimpanzee communities, many animals live together and act in a cooperative manner to ensure their survival. Due to self-interest, individuals avoid engaging in behavior that would lead to the collapse of the troop. The young ones in the groups are taken care of by their mothers and the rest of the group. Kupperman contends that the self-interest of human beings led to the formation of agreements that create constraints on various forms of harmful behavior (101). People therefore act in a cooperative manner out of self-interest.Advertising Looking for research paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! G et your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The ability of human beings to adapt themselves to their environment can be learnt from chimpanzees. The main distinguishing factor of human beings from other primates is their ability to adapt to their environment and use tools to increase efficiency. This ability is not confined to humans and chimpanzees demonstrate their adaptively in the wild. Chimpanzees have been observed to use stone tools to crack hard nuts and sticks to assist in the gathering of food. While this actions are very primitive compared to the ability that human beings possess, they demonstrate that it is in human nature to adapt to the environment. Social Order Studies on chimpanzees explain the sense of property observed in humans. Of all the primates, human beings have the most complex system of ownership and succession with laws being in place to protect ownership. People have an intuitive understanding of â€Å"mine† and â€Å"your† and a series of social norms and governance structures are in place to manage the relationship that exists because of property. However, this sense of property is not restricted to humans and other primates have at least elements of ownership (Brosnan 10). When chimpanzees encounter food that is held by another member, they show the behavior of begging or sharing of food instead of taking it by force, therefore suggesting that these primates understand the concept of ownership. The chimpanzees show respect for objects possessed by others and they do not try to take these objects even if the possessor is smaller and unable to defend his property through force. This suggests that â€Å"respect for possession† is not a product of human culture and civilization but rather a product of nature. Chimpanzees offer insight on the ways through which humans control each other’s behavior in the community. These primates demonstrate that ostracizing, as a way of encouraging conformity in order to increase social cohesion, is a natural concept. Ostracism, which is the practice of rejecting or excluding certain individuals, is deeply embedded in human society. However, this practice is discouraged in modern society since it can undermine the legal system in place and promote rejection of minority groups such as gays and lesbians. However, studies on chimpanzees show that ostracism is natural and bears positive outcomes. In chimpanzee communities, social order is maintained by the habit of shunning and isolating individuals who act in a defiant manner.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on What can we learn about human nature from our relatives, the chimpanzees? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ostracizing therefore plays an integral role in ensuring that the group cohesion is maintained and conforming behavior is encouraged among the members. Human beings also practice ostracism as a form of p unishment for non-conforming or deviant behavior of individuals in society. Studies on the behavior of chimpanzees show that using ostracizing is an effective method of maintaining social order. Ostracizing helps to encourage conformity to group norms and therefore foster good relationships among individuals. Culture Development of culture has been assumed to be a strictly human function. However, primatologists demonstrate that culture exists in chimpanzee colonies. Chimpanzees that come from different geographical locations exhibit varying cultures. As such, these primates display multiple cultural traits in the same way that human beings do. From this, we can learn that human culture is a product of nature. This should lead to an appreciation of the fact that different communities exhibit different languages, eating habits, traditions, dressing, and so on. We can gain an understanding about the human learning process by observing how chimpanzees learn from each other and pass d own behavior from the older to the younger generations. Older members of the colony show young ones how to behave and teach new skills on them. This active teaching increases the chances of survival for the chimpanzees as the knowledge necessary for survival is acquired and used by the young ones. Learning and cognition is therefore natural for primates including human beings. From studying chimpanzees, it is evident that human beings are naturally inclined to learn from others and pass down information and knowledge from one generation to the next. Insight into communicative patterns by human beings can be gained from observing chimpanzees. Specifically, clues about nonverbal communication can be seen from these primates. Communication is an integral part of human life and communication has played a major role in the advancement of human civilization. In addition to the verbal communication, humans make use of gestures many non-verbal cues. Frans de Waal suggests that nonverbal com munication is a natural form of communication since gestures are used by most primates (22).Advertising Looking for research paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More War and Aggression It has long been assumed that violence is an inherent part of human nature. This assumption has been reinforced by the many instances of war and aggression carried out by human beings for centuries. Research on chimpanzees indicates that violence might be an innate attribute of primates. Groups of chimpanzees engage in aggressive behavior and violence against outsiders and sometimes against members of their own colony. However, these primates tend to avoid aggression and instead coexist peacefully if they can. This behavior is similar to that of humans who are prone to acts of aggression against others. In addition to this, chimpanzees form coalitions in order to strengthen their attacks. Chimpanzees are likely to engage in coalitional aggression where a number of chimpanzees gang up to attack a common enemy. This strategy is preferred since it results in a high likelihood of winning while minimizing the costs of aggression to the individual. Human beings are al so in the habit of forming coalitions with each other in order to strengthen their attack. Another lesson on aggression from chimpanzees is that it is mostly confined to males. Frans de Waal observes that males were likely to gang up against out-group males and initiate attacks against them (80). Male aggressions are also more likely to escalate into deadly attacks. On the other hand, females are unlikely to engage in coalitional aggression and their conflicts rarely escalate to deadly levels. This is similar to human beings where men are more aggressive and play a bigger role in the proliferation of war compared to women. Sexuality Some issues of human sexuality can be learnt from observing chimpanzees. Human beings regard incest as a taboo and all societies refrain from this practice. However, there are doubts as to whether this taboo is a purely cultural product or a product of nature. The study of chimpanzees suggests that the incest taboo is a law of nature that has permeated all cultures. Primatologists document that chimpanzees avoid incest on their own accord and young females are strongly attracted to unfamiliar males whom they seek outside their own community (Frans de Waal 22). Some lessons on human behavior concerning sex can be learnt from chimpanzees. While chimpanzees are not monogamous, their sex life is not completely promiscuous. Frans de Waal states that the sexual intercourse among chimpanzees is subject to clearly defined rules (22). In some cases, males are keen to demonstrate their sexual dominance and protect their sexual partners. The dominant male will chase away the other males in the colony who try to mate with his females. This can be compared to the family unity where the male guards all sexual rights and privileges in the institute. Conclusion Chimpanzees are commonly used for comparison with humans to understand some issues on human nature. This paper has engaged in a discussion of the lessons on human nature that can be learn t from chimpanzees. It has demonstrated that there are great similarities between the social life of humans and chimpanzees. Both perform better in communal settings and individuals cooperate with each other for mutual interest. Concepts such as respect for property and social cohesion are common in both primates. The paper has shown that violence is a part of human nature and males are the greater aggressors. The common sexual conducts have also been highlighted. Through this exploration of chimpanzee nature, the natural basis of some human behavior can be recognized. Works Cited Brosnan, Sarah. â€Å"Property in nonhuman primates†. Origins of ownership of property. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development 132.1 (2011): 9–22. Web. Frans de Waal, Frans. Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes. NY: JHU Press, 2007. Print. Kupperman, Joel. Theories of Human Nature. Boston: Hackett Publishing, 2010. Print. This research paper on What can we learn about human nature from our relatives, the chimpanzees? was written and submitted by user BartRozum to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Biography of Sonni Ali, Songhai Monarch

Biography of Sonni Ali, Songhai Monarch Sonni Ali (birth date unknown; died 1492) was a  West African monarch who ruled Songhai from 1464 to 1492, expanding a small kingdom along the Niger River into one of medieval Africas greatest empires. Two divergent historical accounts of his life persist: the Muslim scholarly tradition that paints him as an infidel and tyrant and the oral Songhai tradition that remembers him as a great warrior and magician. Fast Facts: Sonni Ali Known For:  West African monarch of Songhai; expanded his empire, superseding the Mali empireAlso Known As:  Sunni Ali and Sonni Ali Ber (The Great)Born:  UnknownParents: Madogo (father); mothers name unknownDied:  1492Education: Traditional African arts education among the Faru of SokotoChildren: Sunni Baru Two Divergent Versions of Sonni Alis Life There are two main sources of information about Sonni Ali. One is in the Islamic chronicles of the period and the other is through Songhai oral tradition. These sources reflect two very different interpretations of Sonni Alis role in the development of the Songhai Empire. Early Life Little is known about Sonni Alis early life. He was schooled in the traditional African arts of the region and was well versed in the forms and techniques of warfare when he came to power in 1464 in the small kingdom of Songhai, which was centered around its capital city of Gao on the Niger River. He was the 15th consecutive ruler of the Sonni dynasty, which had begun in 1335. One of Alis ancestors, Sonni Sulaiman Mar, is said to have wrested Songhai away from the Mali Empire toward the end of the 14th century. Songhai Empire Takes Over Although Songhai had once paid tribute to the rulers of Mali, the Mali Empire was now crumbling and the time was right for Sonni Ali to lead his kingdom through a series of conquests at the old empires expense. By 1468, Sonni Ali had repulsed attacks by the Mossi to the south  and defeated the Dogon in the hills of Bandiagara. His first major conquest occurred in the following year when the Muslim leaders of Timbuktu, one of the great cities of the Mali Empire, asked for help against the Tuareg, the nomadic desert Berbers who had occupied the city since 1433. Sonni Ali took the opportunity not only to strike decisively against the Tuareg  but also against the city itself. Timbuktu became part of the fledgling Songhai Empire in 1469. Oral Tradition Sonni Ali is remembered in Songhai oral tradition as a magician of great power. Rather than following the Mali Empire system of Islamic city rule over a non-Islamic rural people, Sonni Ali mixed an unorthodox observance of Islam with traditional African religion. He remained attached to the traditional rites of his mothers birthplace, Sokoto. He was a man of the people rather than the elite ruling class of Muslim clerics and scholars. According to the oral tradition, he is regarded as a great military commander who carried out a strategic campaign of conquest along the Niger River. He is said to have retaliated against the Muslim leadership within Timbuktu after they failed to provide promised transport for his troops to cross the river. Islamic Chronicles The Islamic chroniclers have a different viewpoint. They portray Sonni Ali as a capricious and cruel leader. In the 16th century chronicle of Abd ar Rahmen as-Sadi, a historian based in Timbuktu, Sonni Ali is described as an impious and unscrupulous tyrant. Sonni Ali is recorded as having massacred hundreds while plundering the city of Timbuktu. This routing included killing or driving out the Tuareg and Sanhaja clerics who had acted as civil servants, teachers, and as preachers at the Sankore mosque. In later years, according to this historian, he is said to have turned on court favorites, ordering executions during temper tantrums. More Conquest Regardless of the precise interpretation of history, it is certain that Sonni Ali learned his military lessons well. Never again was he left at the mercy of someone elses fleet. He built up a river-based navy of more than 400 boats and used them to good effect in his next conquest, the trading city of Jenne (now Djennà ©). The city was placed under siege, with the fleet blockading the port. Although it took seven years for the siege to work, the city fell to Sonni Ali in 1473. The Songhai Empire now incorporated three of the greatest trading cities on the Niger: Gao, Timbuktu, and Jenne. All three had once been part of the Mali Empire. Trade Rivers formed the major trading routes within West Africa at that time.  The Songhai Empire now had effective control over the lucrative Niger River trade of gold, kola, grain, and slaves.  The cities were also part of the important trans-Saharan trade route system which brought south caravans of salt and copper, as well as goods from the Mediterranean coast. By 1476, Sonni Ali controlled the inland delta region of the Niger to the west of Timbuktu and the lakes region to the south. Regular patrols by his navy kept the trade routes open and tribute-paying kingdoms peaceful. This is an extremely fertile region of West Africa, and it became a major producer of grain under his rule. Slavery A 17th-century chronicle tells the tale of Sonni Alis slave-based farms. When he died, 12 tribes of slaves were bequeathed to his son, at least three of which had been obtained when Sonni Ali initially conquered parts of the old Mali empire. Under the Mali Empire, slaves were individually required to cultivate a measure of land and provide grain for the king. Sonni Ali changed this system and grouped the slaves into villages, each required to fulfill a common quota, with any surplus to be used by the village. Under Sonni Alis rule children born in such villages automatically became slaves. They were expected to work for the village or to be transported to the trans-Saharan markets. Sonni Ali the Warrior and Ruler Sonni Ali was brought up as part of an exclusive ruling class, a warrior horseman. The region was the best for breeding horses in Africa south of the Sahara. As such he commanded an elite cavalry, with which he was able to pacify the nomadic Tuareg to the north. With cavalry and  navy, he repulsed several attacks by the Mossi to the south, including one major attack which reached all the way to the Walata region northwest of Timbuktu. He also defeated the Fulani of the Dendi region, which was then assimilated into the Empire. Under Sonni Ali, the Songhai Empire was divided up into territories, which he placed under the rule of trusted lieutenants from his army. Traditional African cults and the observance of Islam were combined, much to the annoyance of Muslim clerics in the cities. Plots were hatched against his rule. On at least one occasion, a group of clerics and scholars at an important Muslim center were executed for treason. Death Sonni Ali died in 1492 as he returned from a punitive expedition against the Fulani.  Oral tradition claims he was poisoned by Muhammad Ture, one of his commanders. Legacy A year after Alis death, Muhammad Ture staged a coup detat against Sonni Alis son Sonni Baru and founded a new dynasty of Songhai rulers. Askiya Muhammad Ture and his descendants were strict Muslims, who reinstated orthodox observance of Islam and outlawed traditional African religions. As with his life, his legacy has two very different interpretations in the oral and Muslim traditions. In the centuries which followed his death, Muslim historians recorded Sonni Ali as The Celebrated Infidel or The Great Oppressor. Songhai oral tradition records that he was the righteous ruler of a mighty empire that encompassed more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) along the Niger River. Sources Dobler, Lavinia G, and William Allen Brown. Great Rulers of the African Past. Doubleday, 1965 Gomez, Michael A.,  African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. Princeton University Press, 2018Tesfu, Julianna. â€Å"Songhai Empire (Ca. 1375-1591) BlackPast.†Ã‚  BlackPast.â€Å"The Story of Africa| BBC World Service.†Ã‚  BBC News, BBC.

Principles of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Principles of management - Essay Example The other staffs working under them just follow the tasks provided by the executives. The said structure may be considered as bureaucratic or post-bureaucratic depending upon the performance. Bureaucratic is considered when there is a value for merits, hierarchy and definite separation of responsibilities and roles. On the other hand, a post-bureaucratic organization may have the hierarchy but there is a sense of equality in voicing out opinions and ideas through dialogues. Post-bureaucratic also favors consensus which means the decision would depend upon the majority of votes or prevailing idea (DuBrin 263). Despite of the â€Å"majority wins† mentality, hierarchy still exists in post-bureaucratic organizations. Kraft was sort of a centralized rigid organization way back before its acquisition of Cadbury. After one and a half year of acquiring Cadbury, the company decided to split the organization into two namely the snack food business and grocery business (Geller). In addit ion, it also made efforts to decentralize its structure by allowing more staffs to participate in decision-making and improving the company as a whole. The decision-making involving the product development and manufacturing would be the ones transferred to the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. In addition, the structure might look like a matrix because the information technology, human resources and logistics teams would be shared across the organization (Ferrari). Organizational structure is not the only concern in the paper as the ethical issues are also important in the productivity and performance of a company. It is already an accepted fact that making mistakes is inevitable but can be reduced by careful preparations, best practices and sound decisions. Each mistake can be detrimental to the overall state of the company so the rightness or wrongness of an action or practice is being looked at by the professionals and even by the public. After all, a business depends upon the profit that will be gained from sales that they can make from the market which includes the public. Once the public sees something wrong with the products, services or practices of a business, they will stop patronizing the business. As a result, the business will earn less due to a decrease in sales. Worst may come to worst, the business may shut down its operations. When it comes to Kraft Foods, it is not safe from ethical issues as it had been involved with two primary issues: the ethics in cloning food products and the acquisition of Cadbury. It was said that genetically-modified organisms and clones ones for food production became a controversy in the 90s when people suspect that they would not bring any good to the public. Some people speculated that those can be harmful once taken. It might have a partial truth with it but the Food and Drug Administration had released stricter guidelines in monitoring cloned food goods to ensure the safety of the consumers. Kraft ma rketed the Starlink corn which was contaminated. The said corn was used in making the Taco Bell shell which was marketed by Kraft in supermarkets (Brizek, Cameron and Woodle 5). In response, Kraft made a series of tests and when they found out the contamination to be true, they quickly pulled out the said product in the market. Another ethical issue would be the acquisition of Cadbury as Kraft made a promise not to close the plant in Summerdale community. The promise was not kept and

Women's Emancipation in The Awakening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women's Emancipation in The Awakening - Essay Example Edna had a strong and passionate spirit but this died down with her marriage to her husband, Leonce. When she became Mrs. Pontiellier, she took it upon herself to live a life of responsibility, leaving who she was before they got married. Her marriage to Leonce was not perfect. In fact, there were times when she cries at night confused on the reason she was crying (Chap.3, par.10.). But during that night, she felt even more oppressed, even to the point of feeling anguish about her situation. Her emotions during that specific night during their summer vacation indicated that, although she realizes there was something wrong with how she felt, she strived to keep it to herself. Notice that she didn’t mention anything to her husband about how she felt during night the next morning. It was as if nothing was wrong. This was a typical scene for women of the 1800s. Chopin described Edna to be a slave of the social expectations of marriage and motherhood. Edna’s individuality wa s cast aside to become what is to be expected of a woman in marriage, a supportive wife and doting mother. But Edna was not entirely such a person. She acted only as if she was that person because she was expected to do so. Her husband even had to persuade her to check their son during the night he believed the young one had a fever (Chap.3, par. 6). Chopin was not alone in her belief how married women acted and felt. Ibsen shared this idea as seen in â€Å"The Doll House.† In this story, Nora led a difficult life because of the social expectation that her husband is supposed to be the dominant figure in their family. She also had the same strong spirit that Edna exhibited in â€Å"The Awakening.† But the same with Edna, Nora was unable to show how strong she is because of the bounds of marriage. Marriage is not a bad thing. Most, if not all, women envision themselves to become married and have a family. What turns this around are the social expectations linked to marr iage. One of the heaviest things that society has linked to marriage is the expectation that it is the husband that is supposed to lead and to provide for the family. Although social expectations increased the confidence and the responsibility of men, it decreased women’s participation in the family. Yes, it is the wife who becomes the mother and the housekeeper of the family. Yes, her role in the family has a great bearing in maintaining the family’s connection with each other. But with this role, the woman releases her connection with herself, as that with Edna and Nora. She lets go of her individuality, of who she is, when she becomes a wife and a mother. Edna and Nora followed the demands of the society to become perfect partners, even if it meant they hide their true feelings and beliefs on what their husbands were doing. When women become wives, they are expected to keep the family intact. And so, when Edna and Nora acted upon their own desires and wants, the ima ge of their families were jeopardized. The society expects that families should always be whole and when something bad happens, it is blamed on the women although it is not entirely their fault. This is not to justify the actions of both female characters. This is to show that because of the strings tied to them through marriage and social expectations, these female characters were repressed of their own emotions and individual personalities. When Edna and Nora realized that their marriage was actually killing who they were, they decided to let go of their marriage not to become free of the obligations of family life but to become free from the repressing environment that kills their own desires to take care of the family. They did not leave their families just because they want to become single

General principles Essay Example for Free

General principles Essay 1. Film theory is how we study movies based general principles. It serves as a model for understanding movies and their different meanings. It is looking at film using a particular perspective, much like using different approaches in analyzing literature. Film criticism meanwhile, is focused more on the artistic value and appeal of the movie to the viewing public. It has two forms: reviews for the common viewer and critical essays for scholars. 2. Realist theory explains that our experiences can be emulated in movies by the help of cinematic language and technology, meaning movies as a representation of reality. Formalist theory explains films are more than a representation of reality. The film artists give form to reality 3. Explicit meaning is what the movie presents on the surface. Meaning the movie clearly shows what it is trying to project, viewers instantly get it without much effort. Implicit meaning is the message within the movie that is not obvious. It is the meaning behind the actions of the film. It is the message of the filmmaker that requires more or less critical analysis. 4. Mimesis is the Greek word for the imitative representation of the world in art and literature. It is basically the violence portrayed in films, suggesting that it is part of reality. Katharsis (catharsis) popularized by Aristotle in his Poetics, on the other hand is what Aristotle used to describe tragedy, it produces emotions of pity and fear. 5. Kathrarsis (catharsis) means purgation or purification. Aristotle used this Greek term in his definition of a tragedy in his Poetics, he said that tragedy must have katharsis, meaning tragedies should produce emotions of pity and fear from the audience. Looking for catharsis in movies is beneficial because it can either have a positive or negative effect on the viewers. 6. Ideology does not simply mean an idea. Ideology means a variety of related ideas, how humans see life and culture. In film, ideology is the ideas of individuals, group, class, or culture that reflects their social needs and aspirations. Ideological meaning in movies is the beliefs depicted in it. It is the belief of the filmmakers, the belief of the characters, or the population’s belief during the movie was made. Feminism, Marxism, and cultural studies are considered ideological theories because they represent ideas that attempt to explain how people and societies function. 7. Auteur theory states that the director is the author of a film. Its application has two forms: the director is judged by looking at all the films he or she has made as a whole, looking at style. The other is a classification of great directors based on a hierarchy of styles. The director must have directed numerous films to be an auteur. The style of the director should be as unique as novelist’s 8. Genre study is the process of understanding some basic ways of how genre functions to develop interesting critiques of genre films. The evolution of major film genres made filmmakers conscious about genre history and conventions, thus the remakes, parodies, sequels, and hybridization that we see today. 9. The study of the phenomenon (or art) known as film and studying film using a certain perspective or approach are involved in the study of film history. 10. Aesthetic approach evaluates movies and directors by looking at how artistic they and their films are. It is sometimes called the masterpiece approach or great man approach. Social approaches evaluate movies on the criteria of how significant they are in relation to the society. Questions when evaluating film are: What is the film’s significance to the society? What social issues does it present? and if it provides solutions.

Chinas One Party System Analysis

Chinas One Party System Analysis Zhiting Liu One-party system and multi-party system, how about China? As people know, most of the countries in the world they implement the multi-party system, like in U.S.A, UK and Germany. However, some of the countries use the one-party system to manage the government, like in China, North Korea and Cuba. So, what’s the different with one-party system and multi-party system and which one is the best one in the world? There are many question of the people, and people always argument with it. In my opinion, the United States is a dictatorship, but was a â€Å"clever dictatorship†, China have its own feature model of one-party system and people need for an effective monitoring system. So, what is the one-party system? And what is the multi-party system? One-party system is a type of state in which a single political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections (Wiki, 2014). And a multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coalition (Wiki, 2012). When people talk the party system, they always talk the one-party system is dictatorship and multi-party system is democratic. In fact, multi-party system can have authoritarian and one-party system also can have democracy. And if talks about the dictatorship and democratic, we need to explain it first. The most primitive dictatorship is in the ancient China of Qin dynasty, the emperors said Shi Wu Ju Xi Jie Jue Yu Shang(Sima Qian, shih chi), these Chinese characters mean all the events need decided by the emperor. However as history goes, the connotation of dictatorship was shifted, in nowadays it is: A few people with their own will to governing the behavior of most people. Indeed, the countries such as the United States also have this. This will be talked about later. And the democracy, it is divided into great democracy and small democracy, great democracy is a kind of denial of governmental authority, the people were completely manage the country. In fact, the Chinese Cultural Revolution is an extreme great democracy. And the cost of great democracy is Chaos. Small democracy is a behavior which part of the people in a small range to management themselves. Small democracy is scientific and feasible, because the wisdom of ordinary people is limited, for their side of things, the management is reasonable and capable, but for high-level national policy it could not, even if they are given a great democracy with limited management power, they can easily be swayed by some political forces, thus becoming a puppet dictatorship under the guise of democracy. At first, how multi-party dictatorship. For example, in the United States, the United States is a two-party country. The two parties in the political philosophy of the left (Democrat) and the right (Republicans), but the two parties are deeply influenced by American consortium. The United States is the kingdom of money first, money can control the politic and it is legitimate. When in every general election, the major consortia will selected a good team, and be the financial assistant of their contestants†, they establishment of various campaign funds, go canvassing the people and make momentum to get votes. Theres only one US president is not receiving any money support and got success in the history of the United States presidential election, that is Lincoln. When the contestants successful campaign to become US president candidate, he is bound to reciprocate the consortium which support him. Certainly, his returns are not increased tax and other fees then repay to them, but the bias of the policy. For example, in some way George W. Bush launched the Iraq war was a feedback to the US arms group. This is the issue of administrative aspects. In the legislation part, although the Member of Parliament in the United States was elected by the popular vote, but they dont have an effective monitoring mechanism. Thats mean when a person becomes member, before end of the term, he is unfettered, so he get bribe from a big consortia is a very easy thing to do. If a bill is being reviewed but is conflict of interest, then there is no guarantee of stakeholders who would think some distorted ideas. This is a test of Members, but in this time, Members are not subject to the supervision and restriction by other agencies, so he could reasonably have been legally inclined to support or deny a bill, then get the benefits from one of the stakeholders. As long as a good price then there is no need to tangle up for re-election. For this hidden dictatorship, how many people can perceive it? In fact, as long as the control of the executive power (President) and legislative (Congress) it will be able to completely control the politics of a country, and in a country where money is worshipped, in fact, the money is in charge of everything. However, the spokesperson of money is consortiums and capitalists. In essence, the United States is a dictatorship, but a clever dictatorship. The American two-party system, in essence, is representing supported their capitalist camp, but nothing on the concept of fine-tuning, the Republican Party is absolutely conservative, and it always tend to be protect by big capitalists. The Democratic Party is relatively aggressive, they tend to give benefit to the general public. But what is for their shareholders to speak? Such as the fail policy like Obamas health Insuranceâ€Å", who can give financial support to this. Though my primary example is America, I want to briefly mention that these principles can also be observed in European political parties. The European political parties actually almost as same as America, if the West countries is absolutely democratic politics, then why do they not allow the ruling is a Communist Party candidate? Almost every Western country has the presence of the Communist Party, but all of them receive severe pressure. From this point of, the Western democracy is nothing but a hypocritical rule tool. Then lets see the strengths and weaknesses of one-party system. The first advantage of one-party system is its strong ability to mobilize. It means concentrating power, then we cannot ignore the economic miracles of the Soviet Union and the economic miracles which was being staged in China, both of them are faster than the capitalist countries when they development in the capital accumulation stage. The development results in Western countries are cost two or three decades. But in the Soviet Union and China, both of them were only need to take two or three five-year plan. (Wiki, 2014) One-party state, especially the Communist Party of the State, its national mobilization capability is very powerful, it will be better able to respond to some of the major events, such as war, from the Soviet Union to North Korea, the countries which are really powerful. The disadvantage of the one-party is the abuse of its strong mobilize ability. Since the individual level issues, the direction of the Communist Party of mobilization is not necessarily correct, such as the year of the Soviet Union, the government mobilize the national forces to engage in an arms race, and finally it was lead to economic stagnation and coup. And now, in the North Korea, the government regardless of peoples life, the country is to engage in military-first policy. And now Chinese official is too much lay emphasis on speed of economic development and neglects other aspects of construction and so on, this is an abuse of mobilization capacity, which is the foreign people who always talks the dictatorship of one-party system. Before I discuss the advantages of Chinas current one-party system and the advantage of multi-party system. At first we need to have a clear concept of the one party system and Chinas current one-party system, they are not a same thing. Although it is undeniable that Chinas current one-party system has many problems, but cannot be generalized. One-party system could have a variety of modes, for example, one-party system in A-mode, B-mode single-party system, C mode one party system, etc. If now China is use an A-model party system, and its not very suitable, it’s not mean that the party system B mode is not good either. As another example, a foreigner practicing the Chinese Kungfu, and he do the terrible job, but you cannot deduce the Chinese Kungfu is very bad in itself, this is the truth. Therefore, if the Chinas current one-party system are different with the normally one-party system or have some problems, that you can understand this is a new model of one-party management which are more suitable with Chinas policy and social. And China still need time to modified the issue and make it completely. In the March 3rd, 2010, there was a news posted in the Singapore’s newspaper, the tittle is: â€Å"Comparative Politics: Why Chinas one-party system is superior to the Western multiparty system.† (Newspaper, 2010) In this whole article, the author gives six advantages of China’s current one-party system. One of the advantages of Chinas one-party system is that the country can develop a national long-term development plan and maintain the stability of the policy, it didnt effect by different political party which have the different positon. The first part is the advantage of one-party system, its the powerful ability of mobilize, needless to say anymore. The second advantage of Chinas one-party system is the high efficiency. For the challenges and opportunities China can make timely and effective response, especially in response to sudden disaster events. The word High efficiency is used inappropriately. In fact, its still talks about the national mobilization, with the ability of Western countries, they are difficult to achieve effectively mobilize from the whole society, it is the disadvantaged of their ability to mobilize. But with the high efficiency is not an appropriate word to sum up the truth, because the Western countries they are advanced in science or technology and in the field of efficiency significantly they are higher than China. In the other side Science and Technology is the driving force of its wealth creation. The third advantage of Chinas one-party, is in this particular period of social transition, the government can effectively curb the spread of corruption. For the part three, it is obviously nonsense, because under the current one-party system which corruption is impossible to get effective control. In the Chinese one-party system it was absence of have an effective monitoring mechanism. Is the government suppress the corruption, we cannot see it, because we can only get the news which is the government want us to know. But if China can develop an effective monitoring mechanism in the future, then the one-party system can really more effective than a multiparty system to curb corruption. Because when that system have the power to protect the people, ordinary people can exert a greater influence on personnel appointment and dismissal, while the peoples passion of bottom level for fighting corruption is not self-evident, therefore, anti-corruption efforts can be more efficient operation in support of its system. In contrast, multi-party system, if party A corruption, they change to Party B, then Party B and back again corrupt party A, and so forth, the result is still the same. Taiwan does not is a vivid example? DPP ousted the KMT and they do the same thing (Truth in Taiwan, 2010). Therefore, the key to solve the eradication of corruption is not one-party or multi-party system, but the people become an effective monitoring mechanism. Chinas fourth one-party Advantage is the Chinese government it is a more accountable government. If it is a one-party ruling, it must take full responsibility for all the acts. And for the multi-party ruling, actually they always have a new beginning after the election, to know the stand or fall of a political party, just look the election. For normally people, they are not choose the best, just drive away the worst. They always only hold â€Å"this is not the best, but have no choice attitude to towards the new ruling party. As for the one-party system, although normally people do not have the opportunity to choose another, but they can reasonably and lawfully to oversight and reform the government. So, the multi-party system of government needs to take more responsibility, and to take full responsibility for their words and deeds, so that people do not have elections in the game again and again to choose more responsible government Chinas one-party advantage fifth is that in personnel training and selection mechanisms the government can avoid the waste of talent. This is completely nonsense, because the one-party system China has screened talent people earlier and only those talent who support their can get a good development, the other people who was nonsupport government not only give up them, but also given pressure, thats the causing many of peoples go abroad and live overseas. In that moment, the multi-party system countries develop a training system capable of supporting the all intellectuals, and theres no political part to affect them to study and get development. The Sixth advantage of Chinas one-party system is that it can truly representative referendum. For this section and the status quo it was seem to have a very big contrast. Because the people who live in one-party system countries they always get unfair threat, but in the multi-party system countries people were feel freedom. Overall, according to the opinion of Max, a mature party system is better than a multi-party system, but nowadays the one-party system is not mature so there is not happened. Whether a one-party system or a multi-party system, all need people to supervise, we need a completely monitoring mechanism. The monitoring mechanism of Multi-party is election system, but it is too irresponsible, it only show a complete new name after the election, there are no major aspects of change, and it only mend small ways to cope the voter’s trouble. And the monitoring mechanism of Chinas one-party have not been established. As long as China can develop an effective monitoring mechanism of the one-party system, like allow the normal people to participate in the personnel appointment and removal, it is more effective and more democratic than the way of voters evaluate. Reference page One-party System.Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. Multi-party System.Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. â€Å"Shi Wu Ju Xi Jie Jue Yu Shang† Sima Qian. Shih Chi, 101-104 BC. â€Å"Five year plan† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. â€Å"Comparative Politics: Why Chinas one-party system is superior to the Western multiparty system.† Song Luzheng. Singapore united news, March 3rd, 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. KMT vs DPP. Truth in Taiwan. Truth in Taiwan, 21 May 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.

Analysis of Cloud Computing Architectures

Laptops, PDA, and Smoothness's). Computational power and battery life s one of the major issues of these mobile devices. To overcome these problems clones of mobile devices are created on cloud servers. In this paper, we define clone cloud architecture and brutalized screen architecture in cloud computing. Clone Cloud is for the seamless use of ambient computation to augment mobile device applications, making them fast and energy efficient and in a Brutalized Screen; screen rendering is done in the cloud and delivered as images to the client for interactive display.This enables thin-client mobile devices to enjoy many computationally intensive and graphically rich services. Keywords: Cloud Computing, Service Models, Clone Cloud, Brutalized Screen l. Introduction Cloud Computing has been one of the most booming technology among the professional of Information Technology and also the Business due to its Elasticity in the space occupation and also the better support for the software and the Infrastructure it attracts more technology specialist towards it.Cloud plays the vital role in the Smart Economy, and the possible regulatory changes required in implementing better Applications by using the potential of Cloud The main advantage of the cloud is that it gives the low cost implementation for infrastructure and some higher business units like Google, MM, and Microsoft offer the cloud for Free of cost for the Education system, so it can be used in right way which will provide high quality education [3]. A.Cloud Computing Service Models Cloud computing can be classified by the model of service it offers into one of three different groups. These will be described using the AAAS taxonomy, first used by Scott Maxwell in 2006, where â€Å"X† is Software, Platform, or Infrastructure, and the final â€Å"S† is for Service. It is important to note, as shown in Figure, that AAAS is built on Pass, and the latter on alas. Hence, this is not an excluding approach to classification, but rather it concerns the level of the service provided.Each of these service models is described in the following subsection. [pick] Fig. 1 Cloud computing Architecture 1) alas (Infrastructure as a Service): The capability provided to the customer of alas is raw storage space, computing, or network resources with which the customer can run and execute an operating system, applications, or any software that they choose. The most basic cloud service is alas [7]. In this service, cloud providers offer computers as physical or as virtual machines and other resources. Pass (Platform as a Service): In the case of Pass, the cloud provider not only provides the hardware, but they also provide a toolkit and a number of supported programming languages to build higher level services. The users of Pass are typically software developers who host their applications on the platform and provide these applications to the end-users. In this service, cloud providers deliver a com puting platform including operating system, programming languages execution environment, database and web servers. ) AAAS (Software as a Service): The AAAS customer is an end-user of complete applications running on a cloud infrastructure and offered on a platform on-demand. The applications are typically accessible through a thin client interface, such as a web browser. In this service, cloud providers install and operate application software in the cloud and cloud users access the software from cloud clients. This service is based on the concept of renting software from a service provider rather than buying it.It is currently the most popular type of cloud computing because of its high flexibility, great services, enhanced capability and less maintenance. B. Deployment Models Clouds can also be classified based upon the underlying infrastructure deployment del as Public, Private, Community, or Hybrid clouds. The different infrastructure deployment models are distinguishing by thei r architecture, the location of the data center where the cloud is realized, and the needs of the cloud provider's customers [4]. Several technologies are related to cloud computing, and the cloud has emerged as a convergence of several computing trends. ) Types of Cloud Computing Environments: The cloud computing environment can consist of multiple types of clouds based on their deployment and usage [6]. Public Clouds This environment can be used by the general public. This includes individuals, corporations and other types of organizations. Typically, public clouds are administrated by third parties or vendors over the Internet, and services are offered on pay-per-use basis. These are also called provider clouds. Private Clouds A pure private cloud is built for the exclusive use of one customer, who owns and fully controls this cloud.Additionally, there are variations of this in terms of ownership, operation, etc. The fact that the cloud is used by a specific customer is the disti nguishing feature of any private cloud. This cloud computing environment sides within the boundaries of an organization and is used exclusively for the organization's benefits. These are also called internal clouds. Community Clouds When several customers have similar requirements, they can share an infrastructure and might share the configuration and management of the cloud.Hybrid Clouds Finally, any composition of clouds, be they private or public, could form a hybrid cloud and be managed a single entity, provided that there is sufficient commonality between the standards used by the constituent clouds. II. AUGMENTED EXECUTION OF SMART PHONES USING CLONE CLOUDS B Chunk,[10] introduce the concept of clone cloud. The idea of introducing this concept is to improving the performance of hardware limited smart phones by using their proposed clone cloud architecture.The core method is using virtual machine migration technology to offload execution blocks of applications from mobile devic es to Clone Cloud. Clone Cloud boosts unmodified mobile applications by off-loading the right portion of their execution onto device clones operating in a computational cloud. Conceptually, our system automatically transforms a single-machine execution (e. G. , computation on a smart phone) into a distributed execution optimized for the outwork connection to the cloud, the processing capabilities of the device and cloud, and the application's computing patterns.The underlying motivation for Clone Cloud lies in the following intuition: as long as execution on the clone cloud is significantly faster than execution on the mobile device (or more reliable, more secure, etc. ), paying the cost for sending the relevant data and code from the device to the cloud and back may be worth it [9]. Ill. CLONE CLOUD ARCHITECTURE The design goal for Clone Cloud is to allow such fine-grained flexibility on what to run where. Another design goal is to take the programmer out of the business of applica tion partitioning [10].In a Clone Cloud system, the ‘Clone' is a mirror image of a Semaphore running on a virtual machine. By contrast with smart phones, such a ‘clone' has more hardware, software, network, energy resources in a virtual machine which provides more suitable environment to process complicated tasks. In the diagram, a task in smart phone is divided into 5 different execution blocks (we mark them as different colors), and the smart phone is cloned (brutalized) as an image in distributed computing environment. Then the image passes some computing or energy-intensive blocks (the Green blocks) to cloud for processing.Once those execution blocks have been completed, the output will be passed from Clone Cloud to the Semaphore [11]. [pick] Fig. 2 Clone Cloud Architecture A major advantage of the Clone Cloud is enhanced smart phones performance. Bung takes a test by implementing a face tracking application in a smart phone with and without Clone Cloud. The result s hows that only 1 second is spent in Clone Cloud environment but almost 100 seconds in the smart phone without Clone Cloud. Another advantage of Clone Cloud is reduced battery consumption as smart phones o not use its CPU as frequently.The disadvantages of Clone Cloud are handover delay, bandwidth limitation. As we know that the speed of data transmission between smart phones and base station is not consistent (according to the situation), therefore, the Clone Cloud will be unavailable if mobile users walk in the signal's blind zone. A. Evaluation of Applications To evaluate the Clone Cloud Prototype, Bung-Goon Chunk [10] implemented three applications. We ran those applications either on a phone?a status quo, monolithic execution?or by optimally partitioning for two settings: one with Wi-If connectivity and one with 36.We implemented a virus scanner, image search, and privacy- preserving targeted advertising. The virus scanner scans the contents of the phone file system against a li brary of 1000 virus signatures, one file at a time. We vary the size of the file system between KBPS and 10 MBA. The image search application finds all faces in images stored on the phone, using a face-detection library that returns the mid-point between the eyes, the distance in between, and the pose of detected faces.We only use images smaller than KBPS, due to memory limitations of the Android face-detection library. We vary the number of images from 1 to 100. The privacy-preserving targeted- advertising application uses behavioral tracking across websites to infer the user's preferences, and selects ads according to a resulting model; by doing this tracking at the user's device, privacy can be protected. 1) Time Save Fig. 3 Mean execution times of virus scanning (VS.), image search (IS), and behavior profiling (BP) applications with standard deviation error bars, three input sizes for each.For each application and input size, the data shown include execution time at the phone al one, that of Clone Cloud with Wi-If (C-Wi-If), and that of Clone Cloud tit 36 (C-G). The partition choice is annotated with M for â€Å"monolithic† and O for â€Å"off-loaded,† also indicating the relative improvement from the phone alone execution 2) Energy Save Fig. 4 Mean phone energy consumption of virus scanning (VS.), image search (IS), and behavior profiling (BP) applications with standard deviation error bars, three input sizes for each.For each application and input size, the data shown include execution time at the phone alone, that of Clone Cloud with Wi-If (C-Wi-If), and that of Clone Cloud with 36 (C-G). The partition choice is annotated with M for â€Å"monolithic† and O for â€Å"off-loaded,† also indicating relative improvement over phone only execution. Fig. 3 and 4 shows execution times and phone energy consumption for the three applications, respectively. All measurements are the average of five runs. Each graph shows Phone, Clone Cloud with Wi-If (C-Wi-If), and Clone Cloud with 36 (C-G).C- Wi-If and C-G results are annotated with the relative improvement and the partitioning choice, whether the optimal partition was to run monolithically on the phone (M) or to off-load to the cloud (O). In the experiments, Wi-If had latency of moms and bandwidth of 6. Mbps, and 36 had latency of mass, and bandwidth of 0. Mbps. Clone Cloud chooses to keep local the smallest workloads from each application, deciding to off-load 6 out of 9 experiments with Wi-If. With 36, out of all 9 experiments, Clone Cloud chose to off-load 5 experiments.For off-loaded cases, each application chooses to offload the function that performs core computation from its worker thread: scanning files for virus signature matching for VS., performing image processing for IS, and computing similarities for BP. C Wi-If exhibits significant speed-ups and energy savings: xx, xx, and lox speed-up, and xx, xx, and xx less energy for the largest workload of each of the three applications, with a completely automatic modification of the application binary without programmer input.A clear trend is that larger workloads benefit from off-loading more: this is due to amortization of the migration cost over a larger computation at the clone that receives a significant speedup. A secondary trend is that energy consumption mostly follows execution time: unless the phone switches to a deep sleep state while the application is off-loaded at the clone, its energy expenditure is proportional to how long it is waiting for a response. When the user runs a single application at a time, deeper sleep of the phone may further increase observed energy savings.We note that one exception is C-G, where although execution time decreases, energy consumption increases slightly for behavior profiling with depth 4. We believe this is due to our coarse energy cost model, and only occurs for close decisions. C-G also exhibits xx, xx, and xx speed-up, and xx, xx, and xx less energy for the largest workload of each of the three applications. Lower gains can be explained given the overhead differences between Wi-If and 36 networks. As a result, whereas gyration costs about 15-25 seconds with Wi-If, it shoots up to 40-50 seconds with 36, due to the greater latency and lower bandwidth.In both cases, migration costs include a network-unspecific thread-merge cost? patching up references in the running address space from the migrated thread?and the network-specific transmission of the thread state. The former dominates the latter for Wife, but is dominated by the latter for 36. Our current implementation uses the DEFLATE compression algorithm to reduce the amount of data to send; we expect off-loading benefits to improve with other optimizations targeting the network overheads (in reticular, 36 network overheads) such as redundant transmission elimination.B. Problem in Clone Cloud The disadvantages of Clone Cloud are [1 1] handover delay, bandwidth limit ation. As we know that the speed of data transmission between Semaphore and base station is not consistent (according to the situation), therefore, the Clone Cloud will be unavailable if mobile users walk in the signal's blind zone. Offloading all applications from Semaphore to the cloud cannot be Justified for power consumption, especially for some lightweight applications which are suitable to be deployed in local smart phones. V.BRUTALIZED SCREEN Screen rendering [1 3] can also be moved to the cloud and the rendered screen can be delivered as part of the cloud services. In general, the screen represents the whole or part of the display images. In a broad sense, it also represents a collection of data involved in user interfaces such as display images, audio data, mouse, keyboard, pen and touch inputs, and other multiplicity inputs and outputs. Screen fertilization and screen rendering in the cloud doesn't always mean putting the entire screen-rendering task in the cloud.Depending on the actual situations?such s local processing power, bandwidth and delay of the network, data dependency and data traffic, and display resolution?screen rendering can be partially done in the cloud and partially done at the clients. A. Screen Fertilization Fig. 5 The Conceptual diagram of the cloud client computing architecture. Rendering a screen in the cloud also introduces obstacles for the client devices to access the virtual screen, if it needs to maintain high-fidelity display images and responsive user interactions.Fortunately, we have already developed a number of advanced multimedia and networking technologies to address these issues. Ultimately, we would like to define a common cloud API for cloud computing with scalable screen fertilization, with which the developers never have to care where the data storage, program execution, and screen rendering actually occur because the cloud services for the API will adaptively and optimally distribute the storage, execution, an d rending among the cloud and the clients. B.Remote Computing With Brutalized Screen The cloud-computing conceptual architecture depicted in Fig 5, we have developed a thin-client, remote-computing system that leverages interactive screen-removing cosmologies. Thin-client, remote-computing systems are expected to provide high- fidelity displays and responsive interactions to end users as if they were using local machines. However, the complicated graphical interfaces and multimedia applications usually present technical challenges to thin-client developers for achieving efficient transmissions with relatively low bandwidth links.Figure depicts the proposed thin-client, remote-computing Fig. 6 The interactive screen removing system System, which decouples the application logic (remote) and the user interface local) for clients to use remote servers deployed as virtual machines in the cloud. The servers and the clients communicate with each other over a network through an interactive screen-removing mechanism. The clients send user inputs to the remote servers, and the servers return screen updates to the clients as a response.

Salsa Music and New York

This is probably because of the zesty taste of the condiment that can be found in the tunes and moves of the music, but the familiarity does not end there. Just like salsa (the condiment) is made from various vegetables, so is the music a mixture of many different kinds of Latin dance forms (such as rhumba, mambo, and chacha), other Puerto-Rican, Dominican, and Afro-Cuban music strains, Jazz, and rock music.The ain instruments used in salsa include percussions, keyboards, brass, and guitars. Most of the time, salsa music is also accompanied by dance. Salsa was made popular in the 1970s mostly by clubs in New York. Later on, in the 1980s, this style of music also became popular in areas such as Miami, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Columbia. (The Columbia Encyclopedia 2007). Since then, salsa has evolved vigorously through the years and has emerged as a very significant and dynamic component of popular music scene, especially for the social identity of the Latinos.The music that came to be called salsa developed out of Cuban dance genres, specially the son, guararba, and rumba, that had evolved into a cohesive set of commercial popular styles by the 1920s. By the 1940s, these genres, promoted primarily by RCA Victor (which monopolized the record industry in Cuba), enjoyed considerable international appeal, and Latino communities outside of Cuba had come to play an important role in the evolution of Cuban music.Puerto Ricans, who had eagerly adopted Cuban music for decades (especially since the introduction of radio in 1922), had come to regard such genres as their own, generally at the expense of indigenous genres like plena and bomba. Meanwhile, since the 1920s, New York City had become the scene of a lively blending and competition of diverse grass-roots and commercialized Latin American music.Together with Puerto Rican bandleaders like Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez, many Cuban musicians had based themselves in New York City, which they established as a center f or the music that would eventually be labeled â€Å"salsa† by the record industry (Manuel 1991). The growth of salsa as a vehicle of social identity was inseparable from its development as a commercial entity. Indeed, the more salsa flourished, the more it as subject to the pressures of the corporate music industry.Some of these pressures, toward standardization, stylistic conservatism, and absence of sociopolitical content, operated in direct opposition to the grass-roots attempt to use the genre as an expression of barrio identity. Thus, the development of salsa can be seen as an ongoing dialectic between, on the one hand, the Latino community's attempt to shape salsa as its own sub cultural expression and, on the other hand, the tendency of the commercial music industry to glamorize, decontextualize, and depoliticize the music as a bland and innocuous dance music,

Art During The Renaissance in Venice

Art During The Renaissance in Venice Just as with Florence, Venice was a Republic during the Renaissance. Actually, Venice was an empire that controlled land in modern day Italy, a whole lot of sea coast down the Adriatic and countless islands. It enjoyed a stable political climate and thriving trade economy, both of which survived outbreaks of the Black Death and the fall of Constantinople (a major trading partner). Venice was, in fact, so prosperous and healthy that it took someone named Napoleon to undo its empire status...but, that was quite a while after the Renaissance had faded away and had nothing to do with art. The important part is, Venice (again, like Florence) had the economy to support art and artists, and did so in a big way. As a major port of trade, Venice was able to find ready markets for whatever decorative arts Venetian craftsmen could produce. The whole Republic was crawling with ceramists, glassworkers, woodworkers, lace makers and sculptors (in addition to painters), all of whom made entirely satisfactory livings. The state and religious communities of Venice sponsored massive amounts of building and decorating, not to mention public statuary. Many private residences (palaces, really) had to have grand facades on at least two sides since they can be seen from the water as well as land. To the present day, Venice is one of the most beautiful cities on earth because of this building campaign. Artisan guildswood carvers, stone carvers, painters, etc.helped ensure that artists and craftsmen were properly compensated. When we speak of the Venetian School of painting, its not just a handy descriptive phrase. There were actual schools (Scuola) and they were highly selective about who could (or couldnt) belong to each. Collectively, they guarded the Venetian art market zealously, to the point that one did not purchase paintings produced outside of the schools. It simply wasnt done. Venices geographic location made it less susceptible to outside influencesanother factor which contributed to its unique artistic style. Something about the light in Venice, too, made a difference. This was an intangible variable, to be sure, but it had an enormous impact. For all of these reasons, during the Renaissance Venice gave birth to a distinct school of painting. The key characteristics of the Venetian School The main word here is light. Four hundred years prior to Impressionism, the Venetian painters were keenly interested in the relationship between light and color. All of their canvases clearly explore this interplay. Additionally, the Venetian painters had a distinct method of brushwork. Its rather smooth and makes for a velvety surface texture. It seems, too, that Venices geographic isolation allowed for a somewhat relaxed attitude toward the subject matter. A great deal of painting dealt with religious themes; there was no getting around that. Certain wealthy Venetian patrons, however, created quite a market for what we refer to as Venus scenes. The Venetian School had a brief fling with Mannerism, but mostly resisted depicting the contorted bodies and torturous emotion Mannerism is known for. Instead, Venetian Mannerism relied on vividly painted light and color to achieve its drama. Venice, more than any other location, helped make oil paint popular as a medium. The city is, as you know, constructed on a lagoon which makes for a built-in dampness factor. Venetian painters needed something durable! The Venetian School is not known for its frescoes, however. When did the Venetian School arise? The Venetian School arose in the mid to late 15th century. Pioneers of the Venetian School were the Bellini and Vivarini (descendants of those marvelous Murano glassworkers) families. The Bellini were of particular importance, for it is they who are credited with bringing the Renaissance style to Venetian painting. The important artists Well, there were the Bellini and Vivarini families, as mentioned. They got the ball rolling. Andrea Mantegna, though from nearby Padua was an influential member of the Venetian School during the 15th-century. Giorgione ushered in 16th-century Venetian painting, and is rightly known as its first really big name. He inspired notable followers such as Titian, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese and Lorenzo Lotto. Additionally, a lot of famous artists traveled to Venice, thanks to its reputation, and spent time in the workshops there. Antonello da Messina, El Greco and even Albrecht DÃ ¼rerto name but a fewall studied in Venice during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Evaluating Transaction Exposures and Hedging Solutions Essays

Evaluating Transaction Exposures and Hedging Solutions Essays Evaluating Transaction Exposures and Hedging Solutions Paper Evaluating Transaction Exposures and Hedging Solutions Paper General problem statement In an effort to meet the demand of the Vietnamese alluding materials market, Construction and Materials Trading Company is involved greatly in the international trade. Profit from materials trading makes up approximately 75 percent of CENTs total profit. In CENT company, the imports of Steel such as Steel Beams, Steel Plate, Steel Sheet Often create account payable in foreign currency (US dollar) with the suppliers. The sales of these commodities often create account receivables in home currency (VEND) with domestic buyers. Therefore, the company suffers from transaction risks during its steel trading process from the beginning of the purchase made until the moment is settled. According to CENTs management, the transaction exposure loss rarely happens, and is considered insignificant because the State Bank of Vietnam uses many mechanisms to support stability tot the VEND/USED exchange rate. Therefore, there were only minor transactions, which were hedged in the past The hedging strategy used is only limited with the price decisions tool. However, it is a necessary task for the company to design a flexible hedging strata% with different hedging tools. A proper hedging strategy can help the company to deal with the risk of exchange rate volatility in different stages of the economic cycle. Thus, the research would like to analyze other currency hedging tools which are possible to implement at CENT company, and design a suitable hedging strategy for the company for the long-term. There are two aspects of the research problem: I. The influences Of Vietnam dong fluctuation against US dollar to the accounts payable of CENT over the last five years. 2. Determine which hedging tools are available for the company, and design a suitable hedging strategy for the company for the long-term. 2. Research objectives A company is subject to transaction exposure whenever there are achievable or payable in foreign currency denominations. The hedging concept in managing transaction exposure is to be able to reduce the risk from currency fluctuations. In the end, the research will be performed as an input for further improvement at CENT. According to that, the research Objectives Of this thesis are: 1. Acknowledgement of how CENT handle transaction exposure derived from the foreign exchange rate fluctuations Of Vietnam dong against LIST dollar currency. 2. Study the hedging strategies available which CENT may possibly implement to reduce risks from the exchange rate fluctuations. 3. Provide alternative choices or CENT hedging strategies in managing transaction exposures. 3. Scope of the thesis The thesis aims to identify the effect of foreign exchange fluctuation on the profit of some Steel import contracts of Construction and Material Trading company. The timeshare of the study is limited to the last five years, starting with year 2006 and ending with year 2010, depending on the availability, and reliability of the data. In this thesis, the author only has allowance to show certain parts of information that was given why the company because it is confidential. The data are collected trot the Import- Export sales department No. F CENT company, and focuses on Steel import contracts and relevant documents. The foreign exchange rate used in this thesis is the rate offered by Vietnamese, not the foreign exchange rate in the black market, It is assumed that the company can approach the US Dollar source at banks. 4. Methodology The methodology used to accomplish the objective, is by doing a literature study, collecting primary and secondary data, processing the data, performing inductive and explanatory research, and analyzing the result. Literature study. o deepen knowledge about foreign exchange risk, and the overview of the Vietnamese foreign exchange market. Collecting data- From the reported data provided by the company, specialized reference books, information from newspapers, magazines, internet, and some research related to the topic. Processing the data- through these methods. Statistics by tables, charts, formula: statistics to find out common characteristics of analyzed factors, Comparison methods: compare the same kind of numbers to find the increasing and decreasing in each year, Methods of Experts: consult the experts. S. The organization of the thesis The thesis would be divided into three chapters which consist of: CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter explains theories Enid the analysis done in this thesis, the overview of the foreign exchange market, and the derivatives market in Vietnam. CHAPTER 2: RISK ANALYSIS OF TRANSACTION This chapter gives a brief overview regarding the company, detailed analysis of the transaction exposure in the last five years as well as the current hedging tool of the company. CHAPTER 3 DESIGNING HEDGING STRATEGY This chapter includes some available hedging tools, and long-term hedging strategy for the company and recommendations for the State Bank Of Vietnam to manage the derivatives market. CHAPTER 1- LITERATURE REVIEW 1. 1. Import 1. 1-1. Definition of importing Importing is the purchasing side of trade and takes place when one region acquires goods or services trot another region. Importing is linked with international trade and generally is distinguished from trade within a specific nation because importing involves government regulation. (Importing n. D. I The benefits and drawbacks of importing a, Benefits Many economists, businesses, and politicians continue to rely on the principle of comparative advantage and it still influences import theories and policies Consequently, countries continue to import products because they can obtain them less expensively abroad. In addition, given the technology, labor costs, government incentives, and subsidies of different countries, one country may be able to produce goods more efficiently than Other countries. Hence, Other countries Will seek to import these goods because of price and perhaps quality advantages. For example, Other countries import Robusta Coffee from Vietnam, While Vietnam imports Machinery from other countries such as Japan and China. Importing allows countries to achieve higher standards Of living by obtaining products and resources that cannot be obtained domestically. For example, in order or the Vietnam to maintain its standard of living, it must import petrol, since the country cannot produce a sufficient amount to satisfy consumer demand. B. Drawbacks Many economists and governments believe that importing goods can lead to the erosion of their national economies- especially when imports exceed exports. Importing goods poses other problems such as the tacit acceptance of social values that conflict with domestic values, Importing goods from countries that pay low wages, for instance, can cripple domestic industries that cannot compete because they have a minimum wage, obligations to labor unions, and 50 forth, Furthermore, importing cheap goods, especially textiles, from countries that force employees- even children- to work in sweatshop conditions overlooks the type of treatment of employees that many countries condemn. 1. 2. Foreign exchange market An exchange rate is a price Of one currency against another currency. The foreign exchange market is a market in which national currencies are bought and sold against one another. The foreign exchange market is an over the counter market because the market players are located in the major commercial banks around the world. The foreign exchange market comprises orientations among four groups of participants: dealers, brokers, customers and central banks (Morris Goldstein, 1993). Two fundamental types of the exchange rates (Gaur Agrarian, 2010) : D Spot exchange rate : This refers to the price of foreign exchange in terms of domestic money payable for the immediate delivery of particular foreign currency. It is an existing or day-to-day exchange rate. Forward exchange rate : There are several future transactions whose delivery would be made sometime in the future. The rates at which these transactions are consummated are called as forward rate of exchange. It is the rate fulfilling the agreement between two parties based on future delivery of goods. I Exchange rate determinants The exchange rate, just like commodities, determines its price responding to the forces of supply and demand. Therefore, if for some reason people increase their demand for a specific currency, then the price will rise, provided the supply remains stable and vice versa, Some of the factors that influence currency supply and demand are inflation rates, interest rates, economic growth, and political and economic risks. Furthermore, international parity conditions describe the core financial theories rounding the determination of exchange rates. This economic theory links exchange rates, price levels and interest rates together. The international parity conditions encompassed: Purchasing Power Parity (POP) 1. 3. . 1. Absolute Purchasing Power Parity In it absolute version, purchasing power parity states that price levels should be equal worldwide when expressed in a common currency. However, absolute Purchasing Power Parity ignores the effects on free trade of transportation costs, tariffs, quotas and other restrictions and product differentiation (Alan Shapiro, 2009) 1. 3. 1. 2. Relative Purchasing Power parity The relative version of purchasing power parity states that the exchange rate between the home currency and any foreign currency will adjust to reflect changes in the price levels of the two countries. Alan C,Shapiro, 2009) Formally, if ii and if are the rates of inflation for the home country and the foreign country, respectively; e is the home currency value of one unit of foreign currency at the beginning of the period; and el is the spot exchange rate in period 1, then 13. 2. Interest Rate Parity theory (RIP) According to interest rate parity theory, the runners if the country with a lower interest rate should be at a foamed premium in terms Of the currency Of the country With the higher rate. More specifically, in an efficient market with no transaction cost, the interest differential should be (approximately) equal to the forward differential. Interest rate parity holds when there are no covered interest arbitrage opportunities. According to Alan C. Shapiro, (2009) this no-arbitrage condition can be stated as follows: re: represents the nominal rate of home currency RFC: represents the nominal rate Of foreign currency FL :the forward rate at time O for delivery Of one unit Of foreign runners at time 1. 4. Foreign exchange risk and foreign exchange exposures 1-4. 1. Foreign exchange risk Maurice D. Levi defined foreign exchange risk as the variance of the domestic currency value of assets, liabilities, or operating incomes that is attributable to unanticipated changes in foreign exchange rates. By definition, foreign exchange risk depends on the exposure, as well as the variability of the unanticipated changes in the relevant exchange rate. Foreign exchange risk is related to the variability of domestic currency values of assets or liabilities due to unanticipated changes in exchange rate. (Maurice D. Levi, 2008, as cited in Thumbnail Caddish, 2009, up. 127) 1. 4. 2, Foreign exchange exposure Maurice D. Levi also define the meaning tot foreign exchange exposure. It is shown that exposure is a measure of the sensitivity of changes in domestic currency values of assets, liabilities or operating incomes to unanticipated changes in exchange rates (Maurice D. Levi, 2009, up. 283) Figure I Types Of Foreign Exchange Exposure Foreign Exchange Exposure Economic exposure Translation exposure Transaction exposure Operating exposure Alan Shapiro (2005) categorized foreign exchange exposure onto economic exposure and translation exposure (see Figure 1. 1), 0 Economic exposure refers to potential changes in all future cash flows of a firm that result from unanticipated changes in exchange rates. Economic exposure may further be classified into transaction exposure and operating exposure. Transaction exposure refers to potential changes in the value of contractual future cash flows, or monetary assets and liabilities, resulting from changes in the exchange rate. Operating exposure, on the other hand, represents the potential changes in the value of monetary or real assets and liabilities due to unanticipated hangs in exchange rates. Translation exposure is also knows as accounting exposure. It arises when items of financial statements that are stated in foreign currencies are restated in the home currency of an multinational corporation. Table 1. 1.Comparison of translation, transaction and operating exposure Comparison of translation, transaction and operating exposure Translation Exposure Operating Exposure Changes in income statement items and Changes in the amount of future the book value of balance sheet assets operating cash flows caused by an and liabilities that are caused by an exchange gains or losses re determined exchange rate change, The resulting by changes in the firms future exchange gains and losses are competitive position and are real. The determined by accounting rules and are measurement of operating exposure is paper only. The measurement tot prospective in nature as it is based on accounting exposure is retrospective in future activities. Nature as it is based on activities that occurred in the past Impact: Balance sheet assets and Impact: Revenues and costs associated liabilities and income statement items with future sales. That already exist. Exchange rate change occurs Impacts: Contracts already enter into, to be settled at a later date Transaction exposure Changes in the value of outstanding foreign-currency-denominated contracts (i. E, contracts that give rise to the future foreign currency cash flows) that are brought about by an exchange rate change. The resulting exchange gains and losses are determined by the nature of the contracts already entered into and are real. The measurement petrifaction exposure mixes the retrospective and protective because it is based on activities that occur rest in the past but will be settles in the future. Contracts already on the balance sheet are part of accounting exposure, whereas contracts not yet on the balance sheet are part Of operating exposure. Source: Alan C. Shapiro (5th). (2005) Foundations of multinational financial management (up,252) I Transaction exposures and managing transaction exposures 1. . 1. Transaction exposure According to Thumbnail Caddish (2009). Transaction exposure refers to potential changes in the value of contractual cash flows that arise due to unexpected changes in the foreign exchange rate. It is a measure of the sensitivity of the home currency value of assets and liabilities in foreign currency to unanticipated changes in exchange rates, According to Henry L _ Boneshaker (2002), transaction exposure arises from: 0 Borrowing or lending funds when repayment is to be made in a foreign currency. II Purchasing or selling on credit goods or services whose prices are stated in foreign currencies. C Being a party to an unperformed foreign exchange forward contract. I] Acquiring assets or incurring liabilities denominated in foreign currencies. 1. 512. Managing transaction exposures I _5. 2. 1. Identify the degree Of exposures After identified the types Of risk Which a company is exposed to, the next crucial step in a companys risk management session is the risk measurement. According to Southwestern Thomson Learning (2003), to measure the transaction exposure a company should project the net amount of inflows and outflows in each foreign currency and determine the overall risk of exposures to those currencies. (South,Western Thomson Learning, 2003, as cited in Yakima Nor Anis , 2008, pop) . 1. 5. 2. 2. Make decision on hedging the exposures The decision whether to hedge or not required a depth analysis. The company needs to consider to what extend a company are willing to take the risk, whether the company has the risk adverse attitude or not. The gains and losses should be compared with the existing exposure and the predetermined exchange rate budget, which has been agreed by the management. The companys level of certainty whether a specific event will occur or not also determine the risk management decision. A company can decide to do northing or to hedge its exposure. (Yakima Nor Anis , 2008, pop) I _5. 2,3. Choose a hedging technique 10 According to Alan C. Shapiro (2005), there are many techniques by Which the firms can manage their transaction exposure. These techniques can be broadly divided in to hedging techniques and operational techniques. Hedging refers to taking an offsetting position in order to lock in the home currency value for the currency exposure, eliminating the risk arising from changes in the exchange rate. The important hedging techniques are forwards/futures. Money market hedges. Options and swaps. Operational techniques include exposure netting leading and lagging and currency of invoicing. Figure 1. 2- Hedging techniques to manage transaction exposure Managing transaction exposure Hedging techniques Operational techniques Netting and offsetting Currency of invoicing Leading and lagging Forwards and future Money market hedge Swaps Options 1. 5. 2. 3. 1. Hedging techniques The Derivatives Market is meant as the market where exchange Of derivatives takes place. Derivatives are one type Of securities whose price is derived from the underlying assets. And value of these derivatives is determined by the fluctuations in the underlying assets. These underlying assets are most commonly stocks, bonds, currencies, interest rates, commodities and market indices. The Derivatives can be classified as Future Contracts, Foamed Contracts, Options, Swaps and Credit Derivatives. (Meaning Derivatives Market, n. D. . (i) Forward The forward market involves contracting today for the future purchase or sale of foreign exchange. Forward contact is a legally binding agreement between two parties calling for the sale of an asset or product in the future at a price agreed upon today. The forward contract cannot be traded in the stock exchange but they are traded among financial institutions or between financial institutions and its clients. Forward contract is tailor made on its currency rate, delivery date and the amount involved which is negotiated by the party involved in the contract. The forward contract value is equal zero but the future rate is changing and the livery price is fixed. Therefore, there is a possibility for gain or losses realized on the settlement date from the exchange rate fluctuation. Awkward contacts are the most common means of hedging transactions in foreign currencies because Of its simplicity. The trouble With forward contracts, however, is that they require future performance, and sometimes one party is unable to perform on the contract. When that happens, the hedges disappears, sometimes at great cost to the hedger. IIS Futures In contrast to foamed contract, a futures contract has standardized features on its contract size, delivery date, daily resettlement ND so forth. Futures are exchange trade which means traded on organized exchanges rather than over the counter. A client desiring a position in futures contracts contacts his broker, who transmits the order to the exchange floor where it is transferred to the trading floor. In the trading floor, the price for order is negotiated by open outer between floor brokers or traders. Futures recognized the gain and losses daily because its daily resettlement features. Frequently, a futures exchange may have a daily price limit on the futures price, that is, a limit as to how much the settlement price can increase or decrease form he previous days settlement price. Nevertheless, futures only allow companies to hedge approximately because futuresÐ’Â « standardized instruments on its contract size, delivery date and so forth, In addition, due to marking to market property, there are interim cash flows prior to the maturity date of the futures contract that may have to be invested at uncertain interest rates. As result, exact hedging would be be difficult. (iii) Option An option contract is a type of contract agreement which give the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell or buy underlying asset in a redeeming price during a certain period of time in the future, A person who buys an option contract pays a premium to the options seller to compensate the ability of setting the floor or ceiling price decision. The option holder has the right not to exercise the contract it the market price moves outside the projected rate. There are two types of options, American and European. American option can be exercised anytime during the contract validity. European option only can be exercised at the maturity date, Option does not have standardized features and made according to the companys specific needs. Option also differentiated as: C Call Option, which is an option to buy an underlying asset, A company exercises the call option fifth spot rate is in the money position, in this case when the spot rate is bigger than the exercise price. Put Option, which is an option to sell an underlying asset. A company exercises the put option it the exercise price is bigger than the spot rate. In hedging using options, options with its premium is considered more expensive because of its flexibility in the tailor made value. Options are particularly suited as a hedging tool for contingent scofflaws, for example in bidding processes. (iv) Hedging with swap contracts A swap is an agreement between two parties to exchange a cash flow in one currency against a cash flow in another currency according to predetermined terms and conditions, to put it differently, a swap agreement requires periodic payments from one party to the other party in order to safeguard against unfavorable exchange rate movements. A firm Which expects certain cash flows in a foreign currency in the future may enter into a swap contract in order to hedge those cash flows against foreign exchange rate fluctuation. Currency swap are generally seed to hedge long-term transaction exposures. (v) Money market Money market strategy for hedging involved the investing and borrowing in the currency market. The company can invest in the loan in the short term investment such as buying securities or deposit in a bank. For example, a company hedges a receivable by locking in the value of a foreign currency transaction in the home currency and hedges a payable by locking in the value of a foreign currency transaction in the foreign currency. The implementation of money market hedge for payable is explained as below steps: C Define how much is the liabilitiessize t the due rate. C] Define the present value Of the payable With the foreign currency deposit interest rate, and then covert it to the home currency. Loan the money in the home currency, covert it in the foreign currency, and invest in the foreign currency deposit. At the due date, the deposit will cover the exact amount of the payable in the foreign currency. CLC The cash outflow at the due date is exactly the same amount as the loan plus interest rate a company had. Therefore, the company can avoid the loss possibility for the exchange rate fluctuation if the home currency depreciated against the foreign currency. The sot attractive feature from money market hedge is its liquidity.

Individual projects- movie review or consumption Journal Essay - 2

Individual projects- movie review or consumption Journal - Essay Example CIA official James Woolsey waxes ominous concerning the American practice of large-scale borrowing in terms of money and resources, such as aluminum thru zinc, to the tune of eight-hundred billion dollars in order to finance our oil trade, with implications for disaster looming amidst the suggestion of a house-of-cards-like strategy. A series of experts deliver what are referred to as Time-capsule interviews. David Suzuki, geneticist/biologist who expounds on his theories of the importance of understanding all of mankinds needs in terms of living systems, while the iconic mathematician-scientist Stephen Hawkins delivers warnings on a myriad of ways in which we might destroy ourselves, and predicts the necessity of colonization of other planets as the only means to survive our abuse of this one. Gloria Flora exhorts us to vote, and not just in a ballot box, but vote in the way in which you use and buy products in your daily lives. In so doing, we approve of everything that goes into a product when we put our money on a counter to purchase it. Health guru Andrew Weil weighs in on his own awareness of the problem and willingness to help averting catastrophe. The founder of the Greenbelt Movement, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai informs us that it takes ten trees to process the carbon dioxide of each individu al, and for each of us to ensure such vegetation remains. A central prediction of the theme is that industrial civilization has caused irreparable damage to the planet; by way of the assumption that carbon dioxide output creates a warming climate that leads to hurricanes, such as Katrina, and various climactic disasters. An interesting premise is that the problem is primarily one of leadership, rather than technology. That is a principle that deserves further discussion and examination. For years we have heard that solar power, and wind power are just not sufficiently effective to give us profitable industry and

The Last Temptation of Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Last Temptation of Christ - Essay Example The plot of the movie revolves around the life of Jesus Christ, who moves through his life, fearful of the cross that he is destined to bear. He is given solace and encouragement by his friend and disciple, Judas Iscariot who finally betrays him at his own request. Jesus is constantly fearful and at one point in the movie, he terms fear to be the driving force of the actions that he performs or refuses to perform. Jesus’s social role is talked of in the movie, but as pointed out by the film critic Roger Ebert, the movie is more about the â€Å"inner struggle† that Christ goes through rather than his position as an individual in the society (Ebert). While on the cross, Jesus is tempted to accept the offer of the devil in the guise of a guardian angel. He relents, but the viewer later gets to know that the entire passage was a hallucination, a temptation that Christ is able to overcome as he dies on the cross for the sake of mankind. The social mores of this age are portr ayed accurately in the film. However, the director, Martin Scorsese deviates from the historical accuracies where it suits his artistic purpose. The Jesus that we see in the movie is in keeping with the tradition of the Anglo-Saxon Jesus. This can be seen as an attempt on the part of the director to cast Christ in the mould of a modernist hero who grapples with his own subjectivity. On a close analysis of the movie influences of characters from modernist fiction can be found. Even though one may be able to believe that the other characters are of Israeli origin, it is difficult to believe that of Willem Dafoe. The racial belonging of the other characters too is historically accurate and they infuse a sense of authenticity to the proceedings of the movie. The practice of stoning prostitutes that is depicted in the movie too is an accurate depiction of history. This practiced was consistent with the manner in which gender operated in ancient Rome (the Roman Empire). In these societies , there existed the hypocrisy of the practice of visiting prostitutes who were at the same time, vilified and cast in a bad light. Their occupation was frowned upon; however, as is seen from the number of clients that Mary Magdalene has in the scene where Jesus goes to visit her, their existence was known to everybody. Codes of sexuality in the movie are also accurately shown and Mary Magdalene is able to lead a normal family life only after she is married in a traditional manner to Jesus. One of the most controversial scenes of the movie is the one where Jesus and Mary Magdalene are making love. This, according to the social mores of the period in which this movie is set in, would be completely acceptable, since it is post-marital. This only heightens the level of the hypocrisy that is indulged in by the people of this society when they visit a prostitute. The social position of inferiority that was assigned to women is also obvious from such a depiction. This is again, a historica lly accurate description. The position of women in ancient Rome was not a very high or respectable one. This was especially true in the case of the classes of people who did not belong to the ruling classes. This is the class that Jesus belonged to and this is again obvious from the social customs that he believes in and practices throughout the movie. The historical accuracy that is maintained in these situations enables the viewer of this movie to identify with Christ as a human and not